…

Last Word

…

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently

#546

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Vera Weisfeld, Frank Gehry, Martin Parr

Matthew Bannister on Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the zoologist who devoted his life to the stud... more

Yesterday

27 MINS

27:52

Yesterday

#545

Sir Tom Stoppard, Pam Hogg, Yanxin He, Jack Shepherd

Matthew Bannister has a star-studded cast on this week’s Last Word: Sir David Hare pays t... more

05 Dec 2025

27 MINS

27:46

05 Dec 2025

#544

Jimmy Cliff, Charlotte Bingham, Skye Gyngell, David Bellos

Kirsty Lang on: Jimmy Cliff, who took reggae music onto the global stage. His former reco... more

28 Nov 2025

27 MINS

27:36

28 Nov 2025

#543

Baroness Newlove, Zoe Wicomb, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC, Professor Roland Paxton

Matthew Bannister on: Baroness Newlove, who turned a tragic event in her own life into a p... more

21 Nov 2025

27 MINS

27:42

21 Nov 2025

#542

James Watson, Pauline Collins, Judith Vidal-Hall, Dugald Ross

Matthew Bannister on James Watson who shared the Nobel Prize for identifying the structure... more

15 Nov 2025

27 MINS

27:45

15 Nov 2025

#541

Dick Cheney, Yvonne Brewster, Mary McGee, Peter Watkins

Matthew Bannister on Dick Cheney, the Republican politician who was Vice President under G... more

07 Nov 2025

27 MINS

27:55

07 Nov 2025

#540

Prunella Scales CBE, Gillian Tindall, Roger Smith, Anthony Grey

Matthew Bannister on The actor Prunella Scales, best known for playing Sybil in the TV com... more

31 Oct 2025

27 MINS

27:44

31 Oct 2025

#539

SPECIAL EDITION: Prunella Scales

In this special edition of Last Word, Matthew Bannister talks to the actor Samuel West abo... more

31 Oct 2025

21 MINS

21:23

31 Oct 2025

#538

Raila Odinga, Bill Colley, Baroness Rosalind Howells, Sister Marion Irvine

Matthew Bannister on The influential Kenyan politician Raila Odinga, who was detained for... more

24 Oct 2025

27 MINS

27:44

24 Oct 2025

#537

Peter Gurney, Diane Keaton, Peter Hall, Angela Bond

Matthew Bannister on Peter Gurney, the George Medal winning bomb disposal expert who regul... more

17 Oct 2025

27 MINS

27:45

17 Oct 2025

#536

Patrick Bradley, Dame Jilly Cooper, Sara Jane Moore, Dame Patricia Routledge

Matthew Bannister on Patrick Bradley, the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland at ... more

10 Oct 2025

27 MINS

27:46

10 Oct 2025

#535

Dame Jane Goodall, Tony Harrison, Lord Menzies Campbell, Danny Thompson

Matthew Bannister on Dame Jane Goodall, the primatologist and environmental campaigner who... more

03 Oct 2025

27 MINS

27:46

03 Oct 2025

#534

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, John Stapleton, Mary Elizabeth Dodd, Claudia Cardinale

Matthew Bannister on Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the architect who designed the international t... more

26 Sep 2025

27 MINS

27:34

26 Sep 2025

#533

Robert Redford, Barbara Harvey, Rosa Roisinblit, Stuart Craig

Matthew Bannister on: Robert Redford, the film star who believed his striking good looks c... more

19 Sep 2025

27 MINS

27:49

19 Sep 2025

#532

The Duchess of Kent, Giorgio Armani, Valerie Pearlman, Rick Davies

John Wilson on: The Duchess of Kent, who stepped back from royal duties to teach music in... more

12 Sep 2025

27 MINS

27:31

12 Sep 2025

#531

Joe Bugner, Ann McManus, Angela Mortimer Barrett, Frank Strang

John Wilson on Joe Bugner, the heavyweight boxer who fought the titans of the sport from H... more

05 Sep 2025

27 MINS

27:52

05 Sep 2025

#530

David Richardson, Doris Lockhart Saatchi, Dame Annette Brooke, Byron Rogers

John Wilson on: Broadcaster David Richardson who was for over 60 years a leading voice in ... more

29 Aug 2025

27 MINS

27:51

29 Aug 2025

#529

Terence Stamp, Stephanie Shirley, Kay Dunbar, Eric Midwinter

John Wilson on: Actor Terence Stamp, the Oscar nominated 60s screen icon who went onto pl... more

22 Aug 2025

27 MINS

27:37

22 Aug 2025

#528

Jim Lovell, Biddy Baxter, Razia Jan, Iris Williams

Matthew Bannister on Jim Lovell, the astronaut who commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 missi... more

15 Aug 2025

27 MINS

27:53

15 Aug 2025

#527

Dame Stella Rimington, Sylvia Young, Sir Jamie McGrigor, Joan Anderson

Matthew Bannister on Dame Stella Rimington, the first woman to be Director General of MI5,... more

08 Aug 2025

27 MINS

27:51

08 Aug 2025

#526

Dame Cleo Laine, Hulk Hogan, Margaret Boden, Tom Lehrer

Matthew Bannister on Dame Cleo Laine, whose glorious voice was equally at home singing jaz... more

01 Aug 2025

27 MINS

27:46

01 Aug 2025

#525

Ozzy Osbourne, Connie Francis, Jacqui Browne, Douglas Chamberlain

Matthew Bannister on Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath lead singer known for his outrageous... more

25 Jul 2025

27 MINS

27:51

25 Jul 2025

#524

Sir Ian Blair, Jennie Street, Dr Anna Ornstein, Muhammadu Buhari

Matthew Bannister on Lord Blair the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Jenni... more

18 Jul 2025

27 MINS

27:51

18 Jul 2025

#523

Lord Tebbit, Daphne Boden, James Leprino, Sir Francis Graham-Smith

Matthew Bannister on Lord Tebbit, who as Norman Tebbit was a member of Margaret Thatcher’s... more

11 Jul 2025

27 MINS

27:53

11 Jul 2025

#522

Courtney Griffiths KC, Sara Venn, Nina Kuscik, Mohammad Hussain

Matthew Bannister on Courtney Griffiths, one of the first black lawyers to become a Queen’... more

04 Jul 2025

27 MINS

27:50

04 Jul 2025

#521

Michael Lachmann, Pik-sen Lim, Leon Krier, David 'Syd' Lawrence

Matthew Bannister on The TV director Michael Lachmann who made some of the most acclaimed ... more

27 Jun 2025

27 MINS

27:50

27 Jun 2025

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

#546

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Vera Weisfeld, Frank Gehry, Martin Parr

#545

Sir Tom Stoppard, Pam Hogg, Yanxin He, Jack Shepherd

#544

Jimmy Cliff, Charlotte Bingham, Skye Gyngell, David Bellos

#543

Baroness Newlove, Zoe Wicomb, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC, Professor Roland Paxton

#542

James Watson, Pauline Collins, Judith Vidal-Hall, Dugald Ross

#541

Dick Cheney, Yvonne Brewster, Mary McGee, Peter Watkins

#540

Prunella Scales CBE, Gillian Tindall, Roger Smith, Anthony Grey

#539

SPECIAL EDITION: Prunella Scales

#538

Raila Odinga, Bill Colley, Baroness Rosalind Howells, Sister Marion Irvine

#537

Peter Gurney, Diane Keaton, Peter Hall, Angela Bond

#536

Patrick Bradley, Dame Jilly Cooper, Sara Jane Moore, Dame Patricia Routledge

#535

Dame Jane Goodall, Tony Harrison, Lord Menzies Campbell, Danny Thompson

#534

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, John Stapleton, Mary Elizabeth Dodd, Claudia Cardinale

#533

Robert Redford, Barbara Harvey, Rosa Roisinblit, Stuart Craig

#532

The Duchess of Kent, Giorgio Armani, Valerie Pearlman, Rick Davies

#531

Joe Bugner, Ann McManus, Angela Mortimer Barrett, Frank Strang

#530

David Richardson, Doris Lockhart Saatchi, Dame Annette Brooke, Byron Rogers

#529

Terence Stamp, Stephanie Shirley, Kay Dunbar, Eric Midwinter

#528

Jim Lovell, Biddy Baxter, Razia Jan, Iris Williams

#527

Dame Stella Rimington, Sylvia Young, Sir Jamie McGrigor, Joan Anderson

#526

Dame Cleo Laine, Hulk Hogan, Margaret Boden, Tom Lehrer

#525

Ozzy Osbourne, Connie Francis, Jacqui Browne, Douglas Chamberlain

#524

Sir Ian Blair, Jennie Street, Dr Anna Ornstein, Muhammadu Buhari

#523

Lord Tebbit, Daphne Boden, James Leprino, Sir Francis Graham-Smith

#522

Courtney Griffiths KC, Sara Venn, Nina Kuscik, Mohammad Hussain

#521

Michael Lachmann, Pik-sen Lim, Leon Krier, David 'Syd' Lawrence