Last Word BBC Radio 4

Matthew Bannister on

Professor Peter Higgs, the physicist who won the Nobel prize for explaining why the building blocks of the universe have mass.

Trevor Griffiths, the playwright whose stage and TV dramas focused on left wing politics and social issues. We have a tribute from the actor Jack Shepherd.

Hella Pick, the long serving Guardian foreign correspondent who enjoyed the company of many world leaders.

Margaret Tynes, the African-American soprano who sang leading operatic roles and worked with Duke Ellington.
Interviewee: Roland Pease
Interviewee: Dr Alan Walker
Interviewee: Jack Shepherd
Interviewee: Paul Allen
Interviewee: Linda Christmas
Interviewee: Michael Harper
Producer: Catherine Powell
Archive used:
BBC News at Six : 04/07/2012; BBC The Life Scientific 18/02/2014; Nobel Prize Announcement in Physics 2013, Youtube, 08/10/2013; All Good Men, Play for Today, BBC 1, 31/01/1974; Trevor Griffiths, BFI, YouTube Upload, 02/06/2017; Through the Night, Play for Today, BBC 1, 04/08/1977; Trevor Griffiths interviewed by Sir Tony Robinson, Showreel 88, BBC2, 26/12/1988; Hardtalk, BBC, 1997; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 16/11/2018; Aida - 'Ritorna vincitor' az I. felvonásból, 08/09/1962; Macbeth - 'Una macchia e qui tuttora' a IV. felvonásból (Gran Scena del Sonnambulismo / Alvajáró jelenet) 08/09/1962; A Drum Is a Woman, Pt. 1 by Duke Ellington, Margaret Tynes, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra; "Salome" excerpt, Spoleto, 1961

Matthew Bannister on

Joe Lieberman, the US Democrat politician who fell out with his party over the Iraq War.

Diana Baring, the respected literary agent. We have a tribute from her client Frederick Forsyth.

Lynn Kinnear, who was one of the most influential landscape architects of her generation.

Kay Benbow, who commissioned and made many acclaimed TV shows for children.

Interviewee: Matt Lieberman
Interviewee: Frederick Forsyth
Interviewee: Caroline Dawnay
Interviewee: Sean Griffiths
Interviewee: Kim Tserkezie
Producer: Catherine Powell

Archive used:
Joe Lieberman addresses the Senate floor, 04/09/1998, AP Archive, YouTube upload, 21/07/2015; Joe Lieberman interview, The Mehdi Hasan Show, MSNBC, YouTube Upload, 27/10/2021; Joe Lieberman interview, HardTalk, BBC News, 29/06/2017; Joe Lieberman interview, All things considered, NPR, 12/10/2015; Late Night with Conan O'Brien 15/01/2003 Show Executive Producers Lorne Michaels Jeff Ross; The Day of the Jackal trailer, Universal City Studios LLC, IMDb, 1973; Walthamstow Wetlands, London Wildlife Trust, YouTube upload 04/2021; Lynn Kinnear interviewed by Hattie Hartman, 01/07/2022; Balamory Theme Song – BBC Foster Paterson; Woman's Hour : Children's Television; 12/09/2014; Nina and the Neurons BBC Series 2 “Nina’s Cake Bakes” 02/04/2008; The Clangers, Smallfilms for the BBC, 31/10/08

John Wilson on
Richard Taylor, who became a tireless campaigner against knife crime and supported disadvantaged young people.
Lisa Lane, the chess champion who was the first player to feature on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Rose Dugdale, the English heiress and debutante who went onto join the IRA.
Ian Green, the Scottish folk music champion who started the record label Greentrax.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
Rose Dugdale – Mná an IRA, Sé Merry Doyle Loopline Film, 2012; Rose Dugdale charges, BBC News, 06/05/1974; Anti-war march 1967,BBC,26/03/1967; Alfred Beit – Russborough House interview, Midweek, BBC, 03/07/1974; What’s my Line, Freemantle – May 1961, YouTube upload 26/04/2014; BBC Archive – News report Rose sentencing, BBC, 27/11/1974; BBC News – report on murder of Damilola; BBC News – Hardtalk; BBC News interview with Richard Taylor; Ian McCalman – Farewell to the haven; Shian Road sung by Isla St Clair. Written by Ian McCalman; The Pearl Aly Bain, Phil Cunningham and Violet Tulloch; Take the Floor – 19/02/11 Programme number: 10L33047/01; Dateline East Asia Presented By Kathryn Davies;

In this special edition of Last Word, John Boyega pays tribute to campaigner Richard Taylor, the father of Damilola Taylor who was killed 24 years ago.
Richard Taylor - a Nigerian civil servant - dedicated years to improving the lives of disadvantaged children in the wake of his son's death via the Damilola Taylor Trust. Mr Taylor said he wanted his son to be remembered as a boy of hope and for his legacy to be a better life and opportunities for underprivileged young people.
Boyega - best known for his roles in Star Wars sequel movies – was schoolfriends with Damilola Taylor in South London, as well as being a beneficiary of the Trust set up in his friend’s name.
John was one of the last people to see him alive. Until now he had never spoken about that night, or the impact the death of Damilola has had on him.
Presented by John Wilson
Produced by Ed Prendeville

Matthew Bannister on

Vince Power, the live music promoter whose Mean Fiddler group operated a string of London venues and built up the Reading and Leeds festivals.

Olga Murray, the American lawyer who devoted her later life to helping the children of Nepal.

Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello, the Italian businesswoman who ran a major container shipping company.

Akira Toriyama, the Japanese manga artist who created the Dragon Ball series which has millions of fans around the world.
Interviewee: Melvin Benn
Interviewee: Shaun Clarkson
Interviewee: Gina Parker
Interviewee: Som Paneru
Interviewee: Janet Porter
Interviewee: Chris Gray
Interviewee: Shao Dow
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used;
Reading Festival 2023 Aftermovie promo, Reading and Leeds Festival, YouTube uploaded 27/10/2023; Vince Power interview , BBC 6Music, 27/03/2008; Vince Power interview, BBC Radio London, 04/12/2022; The Pogues appearance at the Mean Fiddler, 26/01/201986; New Order appearance at the Reading Festival, Reading Festival,1989; Olga Murray interview, Nepal Youth Foundation, YouTube uploaded, 17/09/2012; Olga Murray presentation, TEDx Talks, YouTube uploaded 18/11/2015; Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello acceptance speech, Lloyds Group, YouTube uploaded 28/10/2015; ShaDow Clone, Shao Dow, YouTube uploaded 26/01/2024;

Matthew Bannister on
Audrey Adams who became a tireless campaigner for the rights of black people after her son was stabbed to death in a racist attack.
Nicola Trahan, who joined the French Resistance as a teenager and was later awarded the Croix de Guerre.
Edward Bond, the controversial playwright who played a key role in the abolition of censorship in British theatre.
The singer and songwriter Eric Carmen whose biggest hit “All By Myself” was based on a Rachmaninov piano concerto.
Interviewee: Lord Simon Woolley
Interviewee: Reverend Eleanor Rance
Interviewee: Simon Callow and Sean Holmes
Interviewee: Debbie Wiseman
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
French Wartime Service: Musical Items, Sound Archive, BBC; D-Day Announcement - Communique No. 1, Sound Archive, BBC; The Reverend Al Sharpton, Kilroy BBC 1, BBC; Audrey Adams interviewed by C4 news in 2021, C4 News, YouTube upload, 19/03/2021; Edward Bond interview - TX Date: 12.10.2011; Eric Carmen - Never Gonna fall in love again; Eric Carmen - All by myself; The Raspberries – Go all the way