Last Word

BBC Radio 4

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

  1. -1 J

    Sir Mark Tully, Dame Gillian Wagner, Dr Gladys West, Richard Larn OBE

    Matthew Bannister on Sir Mark Tully who reported on India for the BBC for decades, covering some of the most significant events in the country’s recent history. Dame Gillian Wagner who campaigned to raise the standards of residential care in the UK. Dr. Gladys West, the mathematician whose work paved the way for the development of GPS. Richard Larn OBE, the diver who was one of the UK’s leading experts on shipwrecks. Interviewee: Sarah Tully Interviewee: Qurban Ali Interviewee: Lucy McCarraher Interviewee: Carolyn West Oglesby Interviewee: Steve Roue Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Colin Paterson Archive used: Mark Tully interview with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Outlook, BBC World Service, 1975; Mark Tully interview, Desert Islands Discs, BBC Radio 4, 15/06/2003; Mark Tully news analysis, BBC World Report, 12/07/1971; Mark Tully report from Bhopal, BBC News, 04/12/1984; Mark Tully report from Ayodhya, BBC News, 06/12/1992; Mark Tully presenting, Something Understood, BBC Radio 4, 30/07/2000; Gillian Wagner, The Barnardo Family, BBC Radio 4, 23/04/1979; Gillian Wagner interview, Scene on Six, BBC News NI, 15/10/1981; Gillian Wagner, The Flower of the Flock, BBC Radio 4, 31/07/1981; Dr Gladys West interview, Today, BBC Radio 4, 31/12/2022; Gladys West interview, PBS News Hour, PBS, 20/01/2026; Hannah Fry: The Secret Genius of Everyday Life, BBC Two, 17/11/2022; Richard Larn interview, BBC News at One, 19/08/2010; Richard Larn , Richard Larn, Shipwrecks, Countryfile, BBC One, 25/02/2007; Richard Larn interview, The Mullion Pin Wreck, BBC, 07/08/1975; The Raising of the Mary Rose, BBC Radio 4, 10/10/1982; Richard Larn, Divers Midweek, 29/08/1974;

    28 min
  2. 2 JANV.

    Brigitte Bardot, Sir Alec Reed, Alwyn Crawshaw, Dame Shân Legge-Bourke

    Jon Kay on The French actor Brigitte Bardot who starred in over 40 films in the 1950s and 60s before a career-change saw her give up the big screen to campaign for animal welfare Sir Alec Reed who founded the UKs most successful recruitment agency and, through his philanthropy, raised millions for charity Alwyn Crawshaw, the artist who encouraged millions to paint landscapes through his how-to books and TV programmes Dame Shan Legge-Bourke who transformed the Glanusk estate in the Black Mountains and was for many years lady in waiting to Princess Anne Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Josie Hardy Editor: Glyn Tansley Archive The Lady of Glanusk: Winter, BBC Two Wales, 28/09/2006​; The Lady of Glanusk: Summer, BBC Two Wales, 14/09/2006​; The Lady of Glanusk: Autumn, BBC Two Wales, 21/09/2006​; The Lady of Glanusk: Spring, BBC Two Wales, 07/09/2006​; Reed Podcast, Sir Alec Reed at 91: A British Business Legend, Permission granted by James Reed; The Fast Show: The Last Fast Show Ever, BBC Two, 28/12/2000​; Daytime Live, BBC One, 16/03/1990​; …And God Created Woman (Official Trailer), 1956, Directed by Roger Vadim, Starring Brigitte Bardot, Curd Jürgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant​; Worldwide: France’s New-Look TV, BBC Two, 14/05/1975​; And God Created Bardot, BBC One, 28/09/1994​​; The World at One, BBC Radio 4, 25/04/1968​; Brigitte Bardot, BBC Archive, 01/11/1956

    28 min
  3. 19/12/2025

    Rob Reiner, Joanna Trollope, Stanley Baxter, Sophie Kinsella

    Matthew Bannister on Rob Reiner, the film director, screenwriter and actor behind pictures like “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Stand By Me” and “When Harry Met Sally”. Stanley Baxter, the Scottish comedian best known for his impersonations of Hollywood stars and royalty. The actor Bill Paterson pays tribute. And Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella, two best-selling novelists who, in their different ways, told stories of modern life and relationships. Interviewee: Hadley Freeman Interviewee: Linda Evans Interviewee: Bill Paterson Interviewee: Brian Beacom Interviewee: Bill Scott-Kerr Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn Tansley CORRECTION: In this episode we mistakenly refer to Stanley Baxter being born in 1928. He was born in 1926. Archive used: Rob Reiner interview, HardTalk, BBC News, 06/05/1998; All In The Family trailer, Tandem Productions, 1975; This is Spinal Tap, Sony Pictures Entrainment, uploaded to YouTube 31/07/2025; Stand By Me, Film Trailer, Castle Rock 1986, Dir: Rob Reiner; When Harry Met Sally, Official Film Trailer, 1989, Director: Rob Reiner; Joanna Trollope interview, BBC Four, 23/03/2014; Stanley Baxter: Compilation of Best Sketches and Impressions, BBC Scotland 1962; Stanley Baxter interview, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 02/02/1970; Stanley Baxter, Best of Show, BBC Television, 14/02/1961; Sophie Kinsella reads a second extract from her novel Mini Shopaholic, Transworld Books, uploaded to YouTube 08/09/2010; Confessions of a Shopaholic Trailer 2009, Touchstone Pictures, Director P.J. Hogan; Sophie Kinsella interview, Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4, 22/04/2013; Meet the Author: Sophie Kinsella, BBC News, 05/02/2017; Sophie Kinsella, Extract from book preview, What Does It Feel Like?, Read by Sally Phillips, Penguin Random House;

    28 min
  4. 12/12/2025

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

    Matthew Bannister on Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the zoologist who devoted his life to the study and conservation of African elephants. Vera Weisfeld, the businesswoman whose chain of What Every Woman Wants stores offered fashion designs at bargain prices. Frank Gehry, the architect best known for his flamboyant designs for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles Martin Parr whose celebrated colourful photographs showed the messy details of British life. Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn Tansley Archive used The Late Show, BBC Two, 11/11/1992; Imagine… Frank Gehry: The Architect Says "Why Can't I?", BBC Two, 25/08/2015​; The John Tusa Interview, BBC Three, 09/01/2005;​ The Simpsons – "The Seven-Beer Snitch", Created by Matt Groening, Directors: Matthew Nastuk, David Silverman; Writers: Bill Odenkirk, Daniel Chun; Production companies: Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television; 8/05/2025; This Cultural Life: Martin Parr, BBC Radio 4, 10/04/2023​; Britain in Focus: A Photographic History – Series 1 Episode 3, BBC Four, 21/01/2020​; I Am Martin Parr, BBC Four, 01/09/2025​; The Natural World: Ivory Wars, BBC Two, 01/09/2025​; Encounters with Animals: Last Stand in Eden, BBC Two, 08/10/1989​; Encounters with Animals, BBC Two, 15/08/1980​; Outlook, BBC World Service, 02/12/2010​; Millionaires, BBC One, 17/12/1990; Reporting Scotland 2019: What Everyone Wants, BBC One Scotland, 23/11/2019​; What Every Woman Wants had all the clothes for women at Christmas 1985, UK ADS Uploaded to YouTube 27/12/2023

    28 min

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

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