Last Word

Julian Worricker on:One of the greatest attacking footballers of all time, Jimmy Greaves, who later became a successful and often very funny TV presenter...The inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, who made home computers and calculators portable and affordable.Olivia Jordan whose heroism during World War 2 saw her driving ambulances through France before she became Charles De Gaulle's translator.And the astrophysicist, Carolyn Shoemaker, one of the world's foremost detectors of comets and asteroids.Interviewed guest: Jim Rosenthal Interviewed guest: Jason Fitzpatrick Interviewed guest: Christopher Curry Interviewed guest: Tessa Dunlop Interviewed guest: Dr Jennifer Wiseman Interviewed guest: David LevyProducer: Neil GeorgeArchive clips from: The Levin Interview: Radio 4 24.06.1984; Today, Radio 4 20.09.2021; Profile, Radio 4 22.03.1979; Newsreel: German Invasion of France 1940, Pathe News; To All Free Frenchmen: Charles de Gaulle on the French Defeat 1940, Pathe News 13.04.2014; The Jupiter Collision - Watch this space, BBC Two 16.07.1994; BBC News: BBC One 22.07.1994.

Datshiane Navanayagam on Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, the army officer who led the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. Jean-Paul Belmondo, the unconventional film star who made his name in the film Breathless. Angela Milner the palaeontologist who identified the previously unknown fish-eating theropod, the Baryonyx Walkeri.Inge Ginsberg - the holocaust survivor who became a heavy metal singer in her nineties.Produced by Neil George Interviewed guest: Kenneth Maxwell Interviewed guest: Raquel Varela Interviewed guest: Neil Christie Interviewed guest: Paul Barrett Interviewed guest: Pedro da Silva Interviewed guest: Lucia CarusoArchive clips used: Thames TV, Portugal The Carnation Revolution 02/05/1974; Les Productions Georges de Beauregard/Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC)/Les Films Imperia, A Bout de Souffle 1960; YouTube, Tetes d'affiche Jean-Paul Belmondo interview 1961; Films Georges de Beauregard/Rome Paris Films/Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC), Pierrot Le Fou (trailer) 1965; Cerito Films/Les Films/ArianeSimar Films, Stavisky (trailer) 1974; Dinosaurs Dinosaurs Dinosaurs, Interview with Angela Milner 1985; Natural History Museum, Baryonyx - the discovery of an amazing fish-eating dinosaur 2011; The New York Times YouTube Channel, How a Holocaust Survivor Became Death Metal Grandma 2018.

Matthew Bannister on Sergei Kovalev, the scientist and leading dissident, who spoke out against human rights abuses under the Soviet Union and the Yeltsin and Putin regimes. He was sent to a labour camp and suffered internal exile. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the reggae pioneer who helped Bob Marley to develop his sound.Abebech Gobena, the Ethiopian humanitarian who devoted her life to helping thousands of disadvantaged children, with some calling her ‘Africa’s Mother Theresa’.Ed Asner, the American actor best known for playing the irascible but principled news editor in the TV series Lou Grant.Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Jonathan Dimbleby Interviewed guest: Victor Davidoff Interviewed guest: Neil ‘Mad Professor’ Fraser Interviewed guest: David Katz Interviewed guest: Elias Mulugeta Hordofa Interviewed guest: David Gritten Interviewed guest: Angie ErrigoArchive clips used: BBC, Russia: A Journey with Jonathan Dimbleby 25/05/2008; ITN, Chechnya war report 1995; YouTube - Human Rights Watch, Sergei Kovalev interview 28/12/2011; BBC, Lee 'Scratch' Perry in His Own Words 13/06/2011; YouTube - Choir at Emmanuel Orphanage in Woliso 2010; BBC, News Report 1Ethiopia Famine 7/07/1984; BBC, Everywoman 27/02/2004; Addis Post, Abebech Gobena funeral 06/07/2021; My Generation, Bill Newcott interview with Ed Asner 2021; Pixar/Disney, Up movie 2009; MTM Productions, Lou Grant S01 E01 1977; EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG, Ed Asner interview 2011; New Line Cinema/Guy Walks into a Bar Productions/Gold/Miller Productions, Elf movie 2003.

Matthew Bannister on:The children’s author Jill Murphy who based her best-selling stories of the Worst Witch on her own schooldays.Len Gibson, the former prisoner of war from Sunderland who worked on the notorious Burma railway and later taught Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics to play guitar.Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, the acclaimed artist noted for her exquisite Japanese-influenced paintings of flowers and cats.Nanci Griffith, the singer and songwriter from Texas who was known as the 'queen of folkabilly'.Producer: Lucy WaiInterviewed guest: Bob Harris Interviewed guest: Alexandra Gladwell Interviewed guest: Brian Burnie Interviewed guest: Pamela Todd Interviewed guest: Alice Strang Interviewed guest: Duncan MacmillanArchive clips used: BBC, Jackanory Words or Pictures 1995; CBBC/ZDF, The Worst Witch 2017; BBC, Woman's Hour 2016; Pathe News, Japanese planes 1943; WarGen, The War Memories of Len Gibson 2019; Daft as a Brush charity, Dave Stewart tribute to Len Gibson 2021; BBC, Conversation with Artists 1982; BBC, Words and Music 1994; BBC, Bob Harris' Country 2012.

Matthew Bannister onThe Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. We have a tribute from the boogie woogie pianist who played with Charlie in his other band.The maverick Labour MP and TV presenter Austin Mitchell who fought for the fishing industry in his constituency of Great Grimsby, once changing his surname to 'Haddock' as a publicity stunt.The composer Hugh Wood, remembered by his former student the pianist Joanna MacGregor. And the comedian Sean Lock, a regular on Channel Four’s panel show '8 Out of 10 Cats'. His friend and fellow comic Lee Mack pays tribute.Producer: Lucy WaiArchive clips used: Daily Politics: BBC Two, TX 13.11.12; BBC NEWS: BBC One, TX 1.2.1989; Woman's Hour: Radio 4, TX 23.8.2014; YORKSHIRE TV - September 1974; BBC Proms 2019: Radio 3, TX 29.8.2019; Cheltenham Festival 1999: London Mozart Players & Chilingirian Quartet; 15 Storeys High: Radio 4, TX 24.11.1999; Channel 4, You Tube page.

Matthew Bannister onUna Stubbs, the actor who first came to fame in the 1960s TV sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part', then attracted a new generation of fans as Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge. She was also an acclaimed stage performer and ended her career as Mrs Hudson in the Sherlock TV series. Gino Strada, the Italian surgeon who set up the charity Emergency to provide state of the art hospital facilities in some of the world’s poorest countries, including Afghanistan. The photographer Giles Duley pays tribute.Mo Hayder, the best-selling crime writer known for describing the grisly details of violence, who in a previous life was a glamour model and TV actor.Producer: Laura NorthedgeInterviewed guest: Christian Henson Interviewed guest: David Benedict Interviewed guest: Giles Duley Interviewed guest: Alice Jolly Interviewed guest: Selina Walker Archive clips used: Yorkshire Films Archive, Dairy Box advert 1958; Ivy Films, Summer Holiday 1963; Southern Television, Worzel Gummidge 1979; Freemantle/Thames TV, 5's Company 1997; Hartswood Films, Sherlock 2014; The Graduate Institute Geneva, Gino Strada wins Right Livelihood Award 09/12/2015; Right Livelihood Awards, Gino Strada acceptance speech 04/12/2015; Dreamscape Media/ISIS Productions, Birdman audiobook.

Matthew Bannister on The Jamaican-born poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE, who was known for her compelling performances. We have a tribute from Linton Kwesi Johnson.Sir Nicholas Goodison, chairman of the stock exchange at the time of the Big Bang in the 1980s and also a noted expert on antique clocks.Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, the influential Muslim teacher who was born Ian Dallas, worked as an actor and script writer in the 1960s and converted to Islam after a visit to the holy city of Fez in Morocco. Joyce Shrubbs, who joined the Royal Observer Corps during World War II and rose to become its highest ranking woman officer.Producer: Laura NorthedgeInterviewed guest: Justin Urquhart Stewart Interviewed guest: Jonathan Betts Interviewed guest: Linton Kwesi Johnson Interviewed guest: Dona Croll Interviewed guest: Shaykh Paul Salahuddin Armstrong Interviewed guest: Yasin Dutton Interviewed guest: Michael Marks Interviewed guest: Edwina HoldenArchive clips used: Pathe News, London stock exchange during Second World War; Cineriz, Federico Fellini's 8 1/2; Cyclops TV, documentary Sentinels of Britain.

Julian Worricker on:The opera director, Sir Graham Vick, who challenged people's perceptions by discovering new performers and new audiences.Carmel Budiardjo, the human rights campaigner whose work was influenced by time spent in jail in Indonesia.The award-winning radio documentary maker, Piers Plowright, who set out to shine a light on the everyday lives of ordinary people.And Dusty Hill....the bearded bass player from Texas, who enjoyed worldwide success as part of ZZ Top.Producer: Laura NorthedgeInterviewed guest: Simon Halsey Interviewed guest: Nicholas Payne Interviewed guest: Jonathan Head Interviewed guest: Barbara Patilla Interviewed guest: Simon Elmes Interviewed guest: Sam Dunn

Matthew Bannister onJackie Mason, the comedian and former rabbi whose observations of Jewish life took him from the Borscht Belt to Broadway. John Woodcock, the veteran cricket writer who reported on some of the greatest matches of the twentieth century.Dinah Murray, a tireless campaigner for the rights of autistic people.Billy Lacey, thought to be the last of the Norfolk marshmen who used traditional methods to clear dykes and cut reeds. Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Michael Goldfarb Interviewed guest: Jonathan Agnew Interviewed guest: Fergus Murray Interviewed guest: Dr Rebecca Wood Interviewed guest: Sue GoodchildArchive clips used: 20th CENTURY FOX, Simpsons episode 8F05, 1991; WARNER, The World According To Me, 1987; YouTube, A Bi Geznut The Genius Which is Jackie Mason; Angel/EMI, Look Who's Laughing - Live at the London Palladium, 1997; SPORTS BOOK AWARDS, John Woodcock, 2018; WISEArchive, Bill Lacey interview, 2021.

Matthew Bannister onGillian Sheen, the first and only British person to win an Olympic Gold Medal for fencing.Professor William 'Twink' Allen, the equine fertility expert whose request for permission to clone a horse was turned down by regulators.Squadron Leader Lawrence 'Benny' Goodman, the bomber pilot who flew highly dangerous missions with the 617 squadron during the second world war.Alan Lewis, the publisher and editor who presided over some of the most successful music magazines of the late twentieth century, including 'Sounds', 'NME' and 'Kerrang!'.Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Bruce Donaldson Interviewed guest: Malcolm Fare Interviewed guest: Richard Greenwood Interviewed guest: Dr. Robert Owen Interviewed guest: James BrownArchive clips used: BRITISH FENCING interview, 2012; PATHE, Olympian wins at foil competition, 1957; CSA The Melbourne Rendezvous film, 1956; Global Entertainment Test Tube Foals, 2016; MYFOOTAGE.COM Bombers Sink Nazi Battleship, 1944; PATHE RAF's New 10 Ton Bomb, 1945; EMAP Kerrang! UK advert, 2007.