Matthew Bannister on Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB agent who defected to Britain and became a valued source of secret intelligence during the 1970s and 80s.Renee Goddard, the actress and TV commissioner who fled Nazi persecution only to be interned in Britain.Professor Richard Fortey, the palaeontologist who used his expertise in trilobites to tell stories about the origins of life on earth. Bill Bryson pays tribute.Sofia Gubaidulina, the composer whose large scale religious works attracted criticism from the Soviet authorities. Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive: Friendly Enemy Aliens, BBC Radio 4, 1980; Kaleidoscope: Simon’s War, BBC Radio 4, 1984; Year of the Great Betrayal, BBC Radio 4, 1977; Reni and the Brownshirts, BBC Radio 4, 2002; Lisel, BBC Radio 4, 1955; Desert Island Discs : Oleg Gordievsky, Radio 4, 10/02/2008; In the Psychiatrist's Chair : Oleg Gordievsky, BBC Radio 4, 26/07/2015; BBC News, 15/12/1984; BBC News, 15/10/1990;

Matthew Bannister on: Group Captain John Allman ‘Paddy’ Hemingway DFC , the last surviving pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain during the second world war.Dame Julie Kenny, the successful businesswoman from Rotherham who led the regeneration of one of Britain’s largest stately homes.Tuppy Owens, who campaigned for greater openness about sex – and set up charities to help disabled people enjoy fulfilling relationships.Dick McTaggart, the only Scottish boxer to win an Olympic gold medal. Described as a “legend” in the world of boxing.Interviewee: Brian Hemingway Interviewee: Sarah McLeod Interviewee: Professor Claire De Than Interviewee: Ray CaulfieldProducer: Catherine Powell Assistant Producer: Ribika MoktanArchive used: Over the Edge, BBC2, 15th October 1996, Outsiders: Disabled and Looking for Love, BBC3 30th March 2006, Victoria Derbyshire Show, BBC 19th February 2016. BBC News 15th September 2020. BBC News Northern Ireland 9th November 2023. “The Battle of Britain, with Ewan and Colin McGregor” BBC Two 11th July 2015. Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill 20th August 1940. “Hitler's Luftwaffe vs The RAF In The Battle Of Britain, Blitz Spirit” BBC Select YouTube Channel, Uploaded 20th September 2021. “Remembering the Battle of Britain” Reuters, 23rd June 2010. Jamie Veitch, Sheffield Live FM radio, 27th September 2019. Dame Julie Kenny, from the Wentworth Woodhouse Trust. BBC Radio Scotland, The Scottish Olympians, 8th August 2004. Tales of Gold: Jack Beresford, Dick McTaggart and Don Thompson, BBC1, 29/05/1992/

Kirsty Lang on: Athol Fugard, the playwright whose art became synonymous with exposing the inequities of the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Janet Pharaoh, the dancer from Yorkshire who became the artistic director at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Alison Halford who rose through the ranks to become the first female Assistant Chief Constable. Johnny Green, the former roadie and tour manager for The Clash. His friend, the poet John Cooper Clarke pays tribute. Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:Athol Fugard interview, Third Ear, BBC Radio 3, 12/02/1991; Inside The Mind Of Athol Fugard: A Master Playwright's Journey, Tekweni, YouTube channel, uploaded 02/07/2018; Janet Pharaoh interview, Moulin Rouge: Yes We Can-Can! Dragonfly Film and Television, BBC TWO, 27/09/2023 and 04/10/2023; Moulin Rouge film promo, Director: Baz Luhrmann, 20th Century Fox; YouTube uploaded 2015; Alison Halford interview, BBC Radio Wales, 28/02/2002; Johnny Green interview, The Joy of 6: London Calling, BBC 6 Music, 03/11/2019; Johnny Green interview, A Riot of Our Own, Rock City Networks, Ben Pitchers Rock City Networks, YouTube uploaded, 03/04/2012; Johnny Green interview/actuality taken from ,Off The Page: Le Tour de France, BBC Radio 4, 24/06/2010; John Cooper Clarke Presents Clarkie’s Christmas Crackers, BBC Three, 19/12/2018;

Matthew Bannister on Bill Dare, the writer and producer behind some of Radio 4’s best loved comedies, including “The Now Show” and “Dead Ringers”. Jan Ravens pays tribute.Clint Hill, the American Secret Service agent who threw himself across President John F. Kennedy’s body after he was shot in Dallas.Valérie André, the first woman General in the French military who was also a field surgeon and an accomplished helicopter rescue pilot.And Gene Hackman, the Oscar winning actor best known for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven

John Wilson on:Musician Roberta Flack, best known for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly. Dr David Hessayon, the author of a series of gardening books known as The Expert guides. His one word advice to keen gardeners was 'mulch'. Keith Dewhurst whose work for television and stage included the National’s unconventional adaptation of Lark Rise to Candleford. And Rose Hanks the motorcycle sidecar passenger who became the first woman to stand on the winner’s podium at the Isle of Man TT in 1968.Producer: Ribika MoktanArchive: Killing Me Softly: The Roberta Flack Story, BBC4, 13/06/2014; London Plus: Roberta Flack, BBC1 South East, 16/10/1984; The Albion Band, BBC 2, 17/09/1980; Pick of the Review: Artists and their Art,05/09/1972; Munich Air Disaster, BBC News, 06/02/1958; Isle of Man 1968 TT Race Produced as part of the “Stanley Schofield Sound Stories”, digitally remastered and provided by Duke Video https://www.dukevideo.com/prd9952/TT-1968-Audio-2-CD-Set; 1961 Sidecar TT - Isle of Man, Uploaded to YouTube by JZijlstra, 06/06/2012 https://www.youtube.com/@jilmer1; The 1965 Sidecar Race of the Year at Mallory Park, Duke Video, Uploaded to YouTube, 10/05/2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYut9uApeg4; TT 1967 Diamond Jubilee Audio CD by Duke video https://www.dukevideo.com/prd9932/TT-1967-Diamond-Jubilee-Audio-CD

John Wilson on Rick Buckley, the drummer in The Jam, one of the most popular and influential British bands of the 70s and 80s. Margaret Miles-Bramwell who founded Slimming World in response to what she saw as humiliation tactics by weight loss groups. World War Two fighter pilot Harry Stewart Jr, part of the all-African American Tuskegee Airmen who despite huge successes in aerial combat, faced discrimination and segregation on the ground. Maureen Halton, the biology lecturer who introduced and popularised the Frisbee in the UK.Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: Interview with WW2 Veteran Harry Stewart Jr” From: Friends of the National World War II Memorial, uploaded 21.02.2024; Red Tails (2012) HD Movie Trailer - Lucasfilm Official Trailer, Uploaded to Youtube by Rotten Tomatoes, 29.07.2011; Remembering the Tuskegee Airmen From: U.S. Department of the Interior; Slimming World podcast, Permission granted by Rebecca Robinson – Director of Comms at Slimming World; Rock On!, BBC Radio 1, 21.05.1977; THE JANICE FORSYTH SHOW: THE JANICE FORSYTH SHOW, BBC, 11.12.2017; Sounds of the 70s with Johnnie Walker : Rick Buckler, BBC Radio 2, 06.02.2018

Matthew Bannister onNigel McCrery, the former police officer who created the popular TV series “Silent Witness” and “New Tricks”.Andrée Dumon, who rescued many allied service men during the Second World War by escorting them along “The Comet Line” from Brussels to Paris.Lord Elis-Thomas, the former leader of Plaid Cymru and the first Presiding Officer of the National Assembly. Diana Melly, the author known for her unconventional marriage to the jazz singer and art expert George Melly.Interviewee: William Ivory Interviewee: Dr Helen Fry Interviewee: Professor Laura McAllister Interviewee: Kezzie MoynihanProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used: Silent Witness, BBC Promo, 2005 & 2025; Nigel McCrery interview, Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 02/11/2024; Nigel McCrery interview, Midweek, BBC Radio 4, 04/11/2013; Nigel McCrery talks about the life of Professor Helen Whitwell, Last Word, BBC Radio 4, 09/08/2024; Silent Witness, Series 1 , Episode 1, BBC ONE, 22/02/1996, Directed by Harry Hook; New Tricks, Promo, BBC Studios, 08/08/2008; Andrée Dumon, a Comète escape line organiser and courier, interview, author: Martyn Cox; source: www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/andree-dumon/ ; Dafydd Ellis Thomas elected to the House of Commons, BBC News, 1974; Dafydd Elis Thomas Interview , Good Morning Wales, BBC Radio Wales, 20/06/1972; Dafydd Elis Thomas becomes President of Plaid Cymru and interview, Conference Report, BBC News, 28/10/1984; Presiding Officer address to the National Assembly for Wales, The Second Term, BBC News, 2003, Diana Melly interview, Last Word, BBC Radio 4. 06/07/2007; Diana Melly interview, Private Passions, BBC Radio 3, 15/01/2023;

Matthew Bannister onTony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who shot dead a burglar and started a national debate about the rights of householders to defend themselves.Pete Wilkinson, the co-founder of Greenpeace UK, known for his high-profile direct-action campaigns. Loretta Ford, who pioneered the role of nurse practitioner in American health care.Marianne Faithfull, the singer and actress who came to fame in the 1960s and overcame drug addiction and ill health to continue performing.Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: The World at One, BBC, 1985; Today, BBC, 1985; Sizewell Power Station Protest, 2009; What to do with nuclear waste?, TV Eye, 1981; GREENPEACE SHIP SUNK BY BOMB, BBC News, 1985; Close Up: Marianne Faithful – Keeping the Faith, BBC2 7th October 1999; Including a performance of “As Tears Go By – written by Mick Jagger Keith Richards & Andrew Loog Oldham on Decca record; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 28th May 1995; BBC news 23rd August 1999; Newsnight – 19th April 2000; BBC News 15th August 2023; Loretta Ford Documentary - University of Colorado College of Nursing, Sue Hagedorn and Seed Works, uploaded to Youtube 15 Nov 2019; This is your life 05 Jan 1998

Matthew Bannister on The Reverend Don Cupitt, the controversial theologian whose TV series “The Sea of Faith” asked in what form - if any - is Christian faith possible for us today?Phyllis Dalton, the Oscar winning costume designer who worked on classic films, including “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Doctor Zhivago” and “Oliver!”.Cecile Richards, the American activist who campaigned for women’s right to have abortions.Michael Longley, the Northern Irish poet whose subjects included love, war and the natural world. Interviewee: Professor Catherine Pickstock Interviewee: Alexander Ballinger Interviewee: Laura Kusisto Interviewee: Paul MuldoonProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:Sea of Faith, BBC TWO, 12/09/1984; Thinking Aloud: Religion, BBC TWO, 22/12/1985; Don Cupitt on the non-realist position on God, Podcast 20:, The Middle Way Society, YouTube 12/04/2014; Doctor Zhivago film promo, Warner Bros, 1965; Oliver! Film promo, (1968), Sony Pictures Entertainment, YouTube 07/10/2021; Phyllis Dalton, The British Entertainment History Project, www.historyproject.org.uk, 11/02/2000; Championing Choice, The Thread Documentary Series, Life Stories. 17/06/2022; Hundreds protest at Planned Parenthood, WPRI, YouTube 22/08/2015; Cecile Richards, Life Stories, YouTube uploaded 12/10/2022; Protesters outside Louisville's Planned Parenthood, Courier Journal, 22/08/2015; Letters to a Young Poet: Michael Longley, BBC Radio 3, 15/01/2014; Poet Michael Longley reads "Wounds" in UCD Library, University College Dublin Library, UCD YouTube Channel 16/08/2016; Michael Longley, "Ceasefire", The Arts Show, BBC TWO, 12/03/2014; Michael Longley interview, Where Poems Come From, BBC, 11/02/2024; Michael Longley, The Culture Cafe, BBC Radio 4, 18/02/2024

Matthew Bannister on Dame Joan Plowright, one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation who was married to Laurence Olivier. Dame Judi Dench pays tribute.Sir Jim Walker, who built up his family business from a small bakery in the North of Scotland to become a global food exporter. Barbara Clegg, the first woman to write a story for Dr Who.Denis Law – the Scottish born footballer who was part of Manchester United’s “Holy Trinity” alongside Bobby Charlton and George Best. Producer: Ed PrendivilleArchive: Doctor Who : Season 20 : Enlightenment : Part 1, BBC1, 01.03.1983; Emergency Ward 10; 14.08.1959; THE DALES: BBC Radio, 27.10.1966; Jim Walker reflects on 125 years of Walker's Shortbread, Highlands News & Media, 2022; Nothing Like a Dame, BBC 2, 31.12.2021; In Touch : Dame Joan Plowright at Home, BBC Radio 4, 25.12.2018; Wogan, 10.12.1990; Private Passions : Sound Frontiers: Dame Joan Plowright, BBC Radio 3, 25.09.2016; Roots, BBC Radio 3, 29.02.1960; FOOTBALLERS LIVES, DENIS LAW, 21.03.2002; MORE THAN A GAME, BBC, 26.05.2001; MEMORY MATCHES: ENGLAND V SCOTLAND 1967; 15.04.1967; Sports Special, BBC,, 24.11.1979