Last Word

Epizódok

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  The life and times of "Dr Death" - the Body Worlds founder Gunther von Hagens 31.07.2026 27p

  Gunther Von Hagens, often known as Dr Death, was a German anatomist who developed a system of plastination to preserve human bodies permanently after death. His aim was to de-mystify anatomy and created the internationally successful “Body Worlds” exhibition. Former Channel 4 producer Nick Curwen, who helped Gunther broadcast a public autopsy, tells his story.Sir Ian Wood was the billionaire Scottish businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune by transforming his Aberdeen based family fishing boat repair business into one of the oil and gas sector’s biggest engineering firms. The former Business Editor at BBC Scotland, Douglas Fraser, covered Sir Ian’s work for many years and shares his memories.Juliet Gardiner was a social historian who poured over the diaries of ordinary people in WWII to bring a different perspective to history. She wrote books and made radio and TV programmes such as Channel 4's “The 1940s House” in which a modern family were challenged to live as they would have done during the war. Fellow social historian Simon Garfield reveals what inspired her to choose her field of study.Dinkie Flowers was a mere 98-years-old when she wowed the audience and judges alike on the BBC TV show The Greatest Dancer. She had previously had a long and successful dancing career when in the 1940s she moved from the ballroom to the ice rink, to become England's only ice acrobat. She went on to set up her own dance school in her home town of Shoreham-by-Sea. Her friend and former pupil Louise Durrant remembers her.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: BBC World Service, The Interview, 17/08/2007; BBC Two, Newsnight, 22/11/2002; Channel 4, Firefly Film, Television, The Autopsy, 20/11/2002; BBC News, Reporting Scotland, 18/11/2012; Channel 4, Wall to Wall Media, The 1940’s House, 02/01/2001; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, 05/09/2015; BBC, A Blitz Scrapbook, 01/01/1941; BBC Radio 4, The History of the Future, 20/02/2018; BBC Radio 4, Making History, 23/02/2016; BBC Two, Who Do You Thin You Are?, 27/12/2007; BBC Two, the Goodies, Kitten Kong, 09/04/1972; BBC Two, Springwatch, 29/05/2006; BBC News, 10/03/2021; BBC One, The Greatest Dancer, 04/01/2020
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  Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar 24.07.2026 27p

  Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story. Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: "My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall
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  Sam Neill: the silent child with a stutter who became a movie star 17.07.2026 27p

  Sam Neill starred in over fifty films and numerous television series, playing often wildly different roles, from a palaeontologist in Jurassic Park to a repressed husband in The Piano. When he was seven years old the family moved from Northern Ireland to his father’s native New Zealand, a country which Sam grew to love, and, as his friend and fellow actor Oscar Kightley told Matthew, which also came to love Sam. We also hear from writer and journalist Hadley Freeman.Phyllis Kinney became known as one of the most influential figures in traditional Welsh music, although she was born many miles from Wales in Michigan, USA. She moved to London to further her training as an opera singer, when on a trip to Wales, she met and fell in love with folk musician Meredydd Evans. The two married and together performed and edited collections of Welsh songs that came to be regarded as the definitive reference works of Welsh traditional music. Her friend, poet Arwel Jones, tells her story.Acclaimed chef Bill Poon brought authentic Chinese cooking to the UK and set about changing the negative perception of Chinese food across the country. In 1980 his was only the second Chinese restaurant in Britain to be awarded a Michelin Star. His daughter Amy Poon remembers him.For almost seventy years Patricia “Paddy” Greene, starred as Jill Archer, the matriarch of the central farming family. As a trainee actor Paddy had been told that her mic technique would never pass muster. Then In 1957, as she was about to go on tour with a theatre company, she got a call to audition for a role in The Archers. They were looking for a temporary cast member to be a love interest for Philip Archer. As the current editor of The Archers, Jeremy Howe explains – the audition went well.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 27/12/2015; The Archers, BBC Radio 4, Jan 1959; The Archers, BBC Radio 4, 25/07/2017; The Archers, BBC Radio 4, 20/12/2023; The Archers, BBC Radio 4, 17/02/2019; Wogan, BBC Radio 2, 15/11/1985; Sam Neill Instagram post; Conversations with Sarah Kanowski, ABC Radio National, 2023; Beti a'i Phobol, BBC Radio Cymru, 06/03/1997
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  Bonnie Tyler: How the "sweet soul singer" found her growl 10.07.2026 27p

  Bonnie Tyler, went from a Welsh council house to topping the international charts with songs like: ”Lost In France”, “Holding out for a Hero” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Born Gaynor Hopkins in South Wales she grew up in a passionately religious family, which is where young Gaynor’s first experience of performing came – singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at her local chapel. Fellow Welsh musician and broadcaster Mal Pope tells Matthew about her life. Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee was arrested and held for more than four hundred days by the Chinese authorities. They were investigating the publications sold at his Causeway Bay Bookstore, some of which were critical of the Communist regime on the mainland. He became a symbol of freedom of speech after he revealed his incarceration at a news conference. The journalist and author Emily Feng interviewed him. In 1988 Colonel Abdul Ahad Momand became the first, and so far only, Afghan citizen to travel into space. He was part of the three-person crew that launched from Kazakhstan on board the Soviet Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft. During the trip, Colonel Momand, who was a Muslim, became the first person to read from the Koran on TV while in orbit. General Khyan Zadran was a friend and colleague of Colonel Momand.TV and radio director Kay Patrick was best known for her work on Coronation Street, where she oversaw 250 episodes in 20 years. During that time, she steered some of the show’s most memorable storylines including the death of Hayley Cropper, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh - Julie remembers her sensitive and talented director.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse EdwardsArchive: BBC One, Top of the Pops, 24/02/1983; BBC Two, On Show, 30/03/2005; BBC World Service, Witness, 22/06/2026; YouTube, Hong Kong Free Press, 21/06/2016; ITV Studios, Coronation Street, Episode 8305, 20/01/2014; Dr Who: Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels, 18/09/2023; BBC Four, The Spaceman of Afghanistan, 13/10/2014
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  The Good Life of Dame Penelope Keith 03.07.2026 27p

  Dame Penelope Keith became a household name for her performances in two classic TV comedy shows of the 1970s and early 80s: The Good Life and To The Manor Born. We share her story through her own words, with interviews from the BBC Archives.David Hencke was an award-winning investigative journalist who worked for the Guardian newspaper for over thirty years. His scoops brought to light wrongdoing in many spheres of public life. His friend and colleague Francis Beckett reveals where his drive to uncover the truth came from.The solitary nun, Sister Maggie Ross, born Martha Reeves, extolled the virtues of silence. A renowned theologian, she spent part of her time in the wilderness of Alaska with a tamed raven. Her bishop protector, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, pays tribute.Marion Fossett was an Irish contortionist, and Eurovision hopeful, who became a fourth generation circus performer by joining the family business. She started young, brought in to the circus ring as an 18 month old baby, by an elephant. Marion became one of the industry’s few ringmistresses. Her niece, Sonya Fossett, takes us inside the world of Fossett's Circus.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: BBC One, Wogan, 13.09.1985; BBC Radio 4, In Conversation… with Penelope Keith, 28.10.1999; BBC One, The Heaven and Earth Show, 24.08.2003; BBC One, The Good Life: "Silly, but it's fun”, 26.12.1977; BBC One, The Good Life: “A Tug of the Forelock”, 24.09.1976; BBC Four, Penelope Keith Remembers To The Manor Born, 02.01.2024; BBC One, To The Manor Born: “Grantleigh”, 30.09.1979; BBC News, 20.10.1994; BBC Two, Westminster Daily, 26.10.1994; BBC News, 23.12.1998; BBC Two, Limits of Freedom: “Who Is Big Brother?”, 10.10.1983; BBC Radio 4, Museum of Curiosity, 26.03.2008; The Gilded Thread with Irene O’Brien, 23.05.2023
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  "He became one of the most powerful men in the world” - the story of the man who shaped modern economics 26.06.2026 27p

  A giant of American economics, former US Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, was an economic pioneer who shaped the modern American economy and believed in free markets and light touch regulation. A world financial crisis after he left the job, however, forced him to question some of his economic assumptions. We hear from Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders.Tulsi Vagjiani survived the plane crash which killed her family, but it left her with burns over much of her body. She went on to be a legendary camapigner for better treatment for people who have visible differences. Phil Gorf from Changing Faces and broadcaster model and fellow campaigner Katie Piper pay tribute to her work.French sailor Charlie Dalin, smashed the record in the non-stop round-the-world Vendée Globe race. It was only afterwards that he revealed that he had taken part in the gruelling competition with a rare cancer. We hear from friend and Vendée Globe competitor Pip Hare.Teddie Beverley was the last surviving member of the original girl group, The Beverley Sisters. The trio found huge fame in the 1950s, with hits such as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Teddie's daughter Sasha Felix tells us how they became the highest-paid female entertainers in the UK, and why some of their tracks were banned from the airwaves. Presenter: John Wilson Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse EdwardsArchive: Beverley Sisters: London Plus, BBC, 04/02/1985; Legends: The Beverley Sisters – Tickled Pink, BBC Two, 31/12/2010; Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 05/03/2022; Changing Faces: Visible Hate campaign, YouTube, 23/01/2020; Changing Faces: Our ambassador Tulsi on our #IAmNotYourVillain campaign, YouTube, 14/10/2021; Charlie Dalin: Vendée Globe, 14/01/2025; Alan Greenspan, Capitalism, Newsnight, BBC One, 01/10/2007; Alan Greenspan, Newsnight, BBC One, 01/10/2007; Evan meets Alan, BBC Radio 4, 23/10/2013
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  A “bone marrow love for the Labour party” Lord Kinnock remembers Lord Hattersley 19.06.2026 27p

  Lord Roy Hattersley, the former Deputy Leader of the Labour party. He was born and brought up in Sheffield. In his book A Yorkshire Boyhood, he confessed to being passionate about three things: Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Yorkshire County Cricket and socialist politics. His friend and colleague, Lord Kinnock, pays tribute.Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, spoke out for tolerance after her husband was killed by an IRA bomb. He had inspired her to become a speech therapist and after his death she set up one of the first specialist schools for dyslexia and other special educational needs. She named it Fairley House, after her husband. Her daughter Diana Hamilton-Fairley shares her memories.Roger Cook was the intrepid investigative journalist who pioneered the technique known as “doorstepping” - challenging those he suspected of wrongdoing face to face with the camera or tape recorder running. First on Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme Checkpoint and then on ITV’s The Cook Report he took on criminals and fraudsters on behalf of listeners and viewers. Matthew talks to his colleague Tim Tate.Sterling Betancourt was a pioneer of steel pan music from Trinidad and Tobago. He was one of the first to bring the instrument to Britain in the 1950s and went on to play a big role in the early days of the Notting Hill Carnival. Sterling’s wife Beatrice Elokbi tells his story.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ribika Moktan Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: BBC Midlands Today, 23/02/94; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 31/01/1986; Labour Party Conference 1983 , BBC News , 2.10.1983; Newsnight, BBC Two, 19/04/1981; Tony Livesey, 5 Live, 24/01/2012; PM, BBC Radio 4, 23/10/1975; Tonight, BBC One, 17/12/1975; Forty Minutes: Women in Black, BBC 2, 21/04/1988; Nationwide, BBC One, 29/11/1982; David Hockney, Desert Island Discs, 07/02/1972; The 1951 Festival of Britain: A Brave New World, BBC Four, 24/09/2011; Steel Pan Alley, Radio 4, 6/12/2003
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  Founder of the ‘MOBOs’ and champion of black music – Kanya King 12.06.2026 27p

  For thirty years, Kanya King was a champion of Black music. She was the founder and guiding light of the Music of Black Origin Awards, the ‘MOBOs’. Launched in 1996, the awards became a highly successful annual event. Sir Alex Younger was one of the longest serving chiefs of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6. He held the role known as “C” from 2014 to 2020. In that time, he headed the security operation to protect the 2012 Olympics and led Britain’s response to the Salisbury Novichok poisoning.Diane Carlson Evans served as a nurse with the US Army during the Vietnam War and led the campaign for a memorial to the women who had served alongside her. And Marjane Satrapi, the French-Iranian graphic novelist and film maker who created Persepolis, a story of growing up in 1980s Iran. The book, that was designed to make western readers reflect on the humanity of Iranian people, sold millions of copies around the world before being made into an Oscar nominated film in 2007.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, 26/02/2020; Trevor Nelson, Rhythm Nation, BBC Radio 1, 9/11/1997; Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 4/10/2014; BBC News at 10 05/03/2018; Today Programme: Theresa May Guest Editor, 31/12/2025; Newscast, 30/09/21; Start the Week, Radio 4, 09/12/2024; PERSEPOLIS | Official Trailer; BBC News at 10, 28/09/2022; Woman’s Hour, Radio 4, 30/12/2003; Front Row, Radio 4, 19/03/24
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  Larry King: The man behind Billie Jean King’s feminist tennis revolution 05.06.2026 27p

  Larry King teamed up with his wife Billie Jean King to start the women’s professional tennis circuit in the USA.Baroness Ramsay was MI6 Head of Station in Helsinki during the Cold War and then became a leading figure in Labour politics.Caroline Marland transformed the financial fortunes of The Guardian newspaper as a senior executive in the 1980s and 90s. Valie Export challenged centuries of misuse of the female body from male artists by exhibiting her own form for controversial performances.Archive used: Women’s Tennis Association, 03/2024; VisNews, 01/05/1981; BBC News, 12/09/1985; Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game, BBC Two, 08/05/2024; BBC Parliament, 02/12/2015; The Money Programme, BBC Two, 14/02/1988; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 01/06/2000Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Josie Hardy Editor: Andrea Kennedy
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  Clarence B Jones, Judith Chalmers, Dr Anna Ritchie, Professor Frank Land 29.05.2026 27p

  Matthew Bannister onClarence B Jones the American lawyer and civil rights campaigner who helped Martin Luther King to write his famous I Have A Dream speech.Judith Chalmers, the TV and radio presenter best known for her globetrotting holiday series Wish You Were Here.Dr Anna Ritchie, the archaeologist who excavated some of Orkney’s most revealing ancient sites.And Frank Land, one of the prime movers in the development of the world’s first business computer - at the Lyons catering company.Interviewee: Mark Durden Smith Interviewee: Matt Ritchie Interviewee: Georgina FerryProducer: Catherine Powell Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Josie Hardy Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive used: Martin Luther King March on Washington, SOUND ARCHIVE Reference: 28322, 28/08/1963; BBC News special, BBC News, 28/08/2020; Wish you were Here…? Thames TV, ITV, 10/01/1978. From YouTube upload ThamesTv, 8/08/2020; Wish you were there, BBC Archive, 28/03/1966; Tracks of My Years, BBC Radio 2, 28/09/2017; Smillie’s People: Judith Chalmers, BBC 1, 20/01/1997; Pebble Mill, BBC 1, 14/05/1993; Gardeners’ Question Time: Matt Biggs’ House, BBC Radio 4, 27/08/2023; The House the Picts Built, BBC, 28/08/1974; Around Scotland: The Scots, BBC1 Scotland, 10/03/1977; Around Scotland: Early History: The First People, 17/09/1979; LEO celebration Part 2 - Panel Discussion with Frank Land, Georgina Ferry, Martin Campbell-Kelly, Centre for Computing History and the LEO Computers Society (partnership project), 18/05/2023; BBC Oral History Collection - Interview with Judith Chalmers, John Escolme History of the BBC, 26/03/1982;
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  Michael Pennington, Cynthia Shange, Scott Hastings, Beverley Martyn 22.05.2026 27p

  Kirsty Lang on Michael Pennington, the Shakespearean actor who preferred a life on stage to the glamour of Hollywood. For Dame Judi Dench, he was her 'Mr Plum', she recalls his life.Cynthia Shange defied apartheid to become the first Black woman to represent South Africa at Miss World. Scott Hastings the rugby legend, who was once Scotland’s most capped player. He went on to become a well-known commentator and campaigner for mental health charities, following the death of his wife after her long battle with depression. And Beverley Martyn, the singer songwriter, a star of the British folk scene, who was signed by Beatles producer George Martin aged 16, but her career was not a smooth ride. Please note this programme references suicide. Support and information is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.Interviewee: Dame Judi Dench Interviewee: Nonhle Thema Interviewee: John Beattie Interviewee: Joe BoydProducer: Catherine Powell Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: Miss World 1972. BBC TV, 01 Dec 1972; Bob Harris Sunday : Beverley Martyn plays live, BBC Radio 2, 27th April 2014; Five Nations, Rugby Union, Scotland v England, 17th March 1990; Scrum V, Live Pro12: 2016/2017, Edinburgh v Blues, 24th Feb 2017; BBC News Breakfast, 21st Dec 2020; Richard II, writer William Shakespeare, dir Gregory Doran, Royal Shakespeare Company, 2013; Gift of Gorgon, writer Peter Shaffer, dir Peter Hall, RSC, 1993; Henry V, dir Michael Bogdanov, The English Shakespeare Company in The War of the Roses, Produced by John Paul Chapple and Andy Ward, A Portman Classics production in association with Contracts International and Windmill Lane Productions, 1990
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  Ruth Slenczynska, Dame Bridget Ogilvie, Tony Worthington, Russell Tyner KC 15.05.2026 27p

  The virtuoso pianist, Ruth Slenczynska was the last living student of Sergei Rachmaninoff. She began performing at the age of four, and was once reputed to be the greatest child prodigy since Mozart.From the Australian outback to the forefront of British science, Dame Bridget Ogilvie was the daughter of sheep farmers who went on to help make the UK a leader in biomedical research.Labour MP, Tony Worthington, survived a violent ambush in Somaliland and played a role in the Northern Ireland peace talks.Crown prosecutor, Russel Tyner KC, was a pioneer in the prosecution of cyber-crime.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Lowri Morgan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: BBC News, 12/01/2019; BBC, Hunting the Lorry Killers, 03/11/202; BBC, Eureka, 08/01/1997; BBC, Newsnight, 25/10/1999; BBC, Current Account, 16/10/1979; BBC, Reporting Scotland, 11/02/1994; BBC, Newsline, 06/05/1997; BBC, Panorama, 18/03/2003
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  Dr Ittai Gradel, Dame Shirley Porter, Professor Nigel Dunnett, María Nieves Rego 08.05.2026 27p

  Dr Ittai Gradel, the Danish antiquities dealer who uncovered the theft of hundreds of artefacts from the British Museum. Katie Razzall recalls how he helped her report the story.Dame Shirley Porter, the Conservative leader of Westminster Council who had a spectacular fall from grace over the 'homes for votes' scandal.Professor Nigel Dunnett, the horticulturalist and garden designer, known for his ambitious public planting displays at the Olympic Park in East London and the moat of the Tower of London. His friend and fellow gardener Arit Anderson pays tribute.Maria Nieves Rego, the dancer who took the tango from Argentina to the rest of the world. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: BBC One, News at Ten, 16/08/2023; BBC Radio 4, Front Row, 11/09/2023; BBC Parliament, House of Commons Culture Media and Sport Select Committee, 23/10/2023; BBC Radio 4, Shadow World: Thief at the British Museum 31/05/2024; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs, 28/04/1991; BBC, Radio 4, The Report, 10/05/1996; BBC One, News at Six, 05/07/2004; BBC Radio 4, Costing the Earth: Where Have all our Gardens Gone?, 29/09/2015; The Man from Atlanta, 23/08/1982; Our Last Tango: Official Trailer, Uploaded to YouTube, 31/05/2016
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  Xia De-hong, Lord Hunt of Chesterton, Joan Burstein, Bill Leader 01.05.2026 27p

  Xia De-hong, inspired her daughter Jung Chang to write the best selling book Wild Swans about her trials and tribulations at the hands of the Chinese government.Lord Hunt, the meteorologist and former Director General and Chief Executive of the Met Office, who was an expert in turbulence.Joan Burstein, ran the influential Browns boutique in London’s South Molton Street, backing the careers of many leading designers.Bill Leader, the recording engineer who captured all the leading performers of the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s.Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Ben Mitchell Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive: Tomorrow's World, BBC One,18/11/1965; You and Yours, BBC Radio 4, 27/06/2005; My Life in Seven Charms, with Annoushka Ducas MBE, 27/05/2021; Joan Burstein Browns 50 Testimonial, Browns Fashion (Uploaded to Youtube - 22 Oct 2020); Best of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, BBC Two, Uploaded to Youtube
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  Andy Kershaw, Dame Averil Cameron, Dr Judith Rapoport, Desmond Morris 24.04.2026 27p

  Matthew Bannister on Andy Kershaw, the radio DJ who championed world music, traversing the globe to bring new and eclectic sounds to a mainstream audience. For a time he was roadie to Billy Bragg who recalls their life on the road together. Dame Averil Cameron, the leading historian who re-shaped our understanding of the Byzantine empire. Her friend, Professor Mary Beard, pays tribute. Dr Judith Rapoport, the child psychiatrist who challenged received wisdom about obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. And the zoologist, author, artist and TV presenter Desmond Morris, best known for his provocative 1967 bestselling book The Naked Ape.Producer: Catherine Powell Assisstant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive Michael Parkinson, BBC 1, 06/10/69; Michael Parkinson, BBC 1, 07/11/81; The Evolution of The Naked Ape: Archive on 4, BBC Radio 4 18/04/2026; The Likely Lads, BBC 2; The Time of Your Life, BBC 1, 06/08/85; Timewatch: Verdict on the Shroud, BBC 2, 27/07/88; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 11/05/90; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 24/09/95; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 16/03/98; The Hermit Kingdom (North Korea), BBC Radio 3, 28/12/03; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 08/10/04; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 11/03/07; Judith Rapoport on Dimensional Research in Mental Illness, YouTube, 25/06/13; "Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia" With Judith Rapoport, M.D., YouTube, 12/09/13; A History of the World in 100 Objects : The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD) : Hinton St Mary Mosaic, BBC Radio 4, 11/03/21;
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  Asha Bhosle, Sir Neil Cossons, Professor Harold Ellis, Daphne Selfe 17.04.2026 27p

  Matthew Bannister onThe Indian singer Asha Bhosle who soundtracked countless Bollywood films and collaborated with Boy George, Michael Stipe and Damon Albarn.Sir Neil Cossons, a leading light in the development of the UK’s museums.Professor Harold Ellis, the respected surgeon whose long career began at the same time as the foundation of the NHS.Daphne Selfe, the elegant model who was rediscovered in her seventies and transformed the image of older people in fashion.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Colin PatersonArchive: Ironbridge Gorge Museum, BBC News, 01 Jan 1930; Network East, BBC Two, 22 Aug 1987; The Courage to Fail: Nerves of Steel, BBC Two, 02 Nov 1987; Talk of the 80's: Neil Cossons, BBC Two, 21 Dec 1989; Everywoman, BBC World Service, 16 Dec 2002; PM, BBC Radio 4, 02 Jul 2008; Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 26 Dec 2009; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 16 May 2013; Evening News, BBC London, 03 Jul 2018
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  Sir Craig Reedie, Bronwen Naish, Geoff Yeadon, Margareta Magnusson 10.04.2026 27p

  Matthew Bannister onSir Craig Reedie, the sports administrator who led London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics and went on to become President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Lord Coe pays tribute. Bronwen Naish, the musician who devoted her life to promoting the joys of the double bass.Geoff Yeadon, the world record breaking cave diver from Yorkshire.And Margareta Magnusson, best known as the author of the book “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive: Daytime Live, BBC One, 21/01/1988; Edinburgh Festival Fringe, YouTube Upload, Browen Naish, 01/09/2020; Bartholomew, YouTube Upload, Bronwen Naish, 04/09/2020; Wogan, BBC One, 01/07/1985; A Visit with Bronwen Naish, Bass-Talk with Hagen and Heyes, YouTube Upload, 25/02/2024; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 09/01/2018 Conversation Piece, BBC Radio 4, 07/05/1982; Behind the Ears, BBC Radio 3, 15/06/2025; BBC Look North, BBC, June 1983; BBC News, BBC, 06/06/2005; Newsnight, BBC One, 21/07/2016; Mixed Zone interview of Sir Craig Reedie – The ANOC Awards 2022; BBC News, BBC, 06/07/2005; The Daily Politics, BBC 2, 14/01/2003
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  Robert Fox, Mary Rand MBE, Sir Tony Hoare, Biruté Galdikas 10.04.2026 27p

  John Wilson onRobert Fox the producer who had a career that spanned theatre, film and television. We have tributes from Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and Robert’s brother, the actor Edward Fox.Mary Rand MBE, the first British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.Sir Tony Hoare, one of the world’s leading computer software designers who developed algorithms and languages which have become industry standards. Biruté Galdikas, the primatologist and conservationist whose years of studying orangutans in their natural habitat helped understand and protect the primates.Interviewee: Edward Fox Interviewee: Rupert Everett Interviewee: Colin Firth Interviewee: Wendy Sly Interviewee: Professor Bill Roscoe Interviewee: Professor Erin VogelProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive used: Another Country movie promo, Another Country Trailer, 1984, director Marek Kanievska, writer Julian Mitchell, Goldcrest Films International,, YouTube Uploaded by Sundance Now, 04/10/2017; Another Country, Queen’s Theatre, directed by Stuart Burge, written by Julian Mitchell, 1982, broadcast on Newsnight, BBC Two, 02/03/1982; Mary Rand at the 1964 Olympics, BBC Sound Archive, commentary by David Coleman, 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 14/01/1964; An Interview with Tony Hoare, ACM 1980 A.M. Turing Award Recipient, Interviewer: Cliff Jones, Newcastle University, 24/11/2015, uploaded to Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) YouTube channel on 25/10/2016; Biruté Galdikas interview, Good Morning, BBC One, 15/02/1995; Biruté Galdikas, Great Apes Documentary, BBC Two, 29/02/1976; Biruté Galdikas interview, Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4, 16/02/1995;
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  Dame Jenni Murray, Len Deighton, Lynda Hale, Jurgen Habermas 03.04.2026 27p

  Matthew Bannister onThe Woman’s Hour presenter Dame Jenni Murray. Mark Steel joins us to recall her triumphant debut as a stand-up comedian. Len Deighton who created “anti-James Bond” novels including The Ipcress File, Billion Dollar Brain and Horse Under Water.Lynda Hale, the footballer who battled against sexism to play in the first official England women’s international in 1972.Jurgen Habermas, the German philosopher who came up with the influential concept of “the public sphere”.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive: Jurgen Habermas interview, YouTube Upload, Davidmeme, 1/02/2007; Jürgen Habermas Interview, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs (Georgetown University), 10/2011; Scotland v England, BBC News, 18/11/1972; South Today, BBC, 29/07/2025; South Today, BBC, 18/07/2022; Nationwide, BBC, 17/11/1972; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 19/06/1976 The Lively Arts: Len Deighton, BBC Two, 18/12/1977; The Truth About Len Deighton, BBC Four, 01/08/2007; The Ipcress File, BBC Radio 4, 04/01/2015; Pebble Mill, BBC One, 13/05/1993; South Today, BBC (via TV Ark), 20/10/1983; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 19/01/1987; Comic Relief, BBC, 09/03/2011 BBC News, BBC, 21/12/2006; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 01/10/2020
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  Yanar Mohammed, MP Phil Woolas, Professor Robin Weiss, Jane Lapotaire 20.03.2026 27p

  Matthew Bannister onYanar Mohammed who campaigned for women’s rights in Iraq and set up a secret network of shelters for those fleeing abusive relationships. She was shot dead on 2nd March.Phil Woolas, a key figure in the New Labour project who became MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.Professor Robin Weiss, the eminent virologist who carried out important work to understand HIV.Jane Lapotaire, the classical actor who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Edith Piaf.Interviewee: Nawal Al-Maghafi Interviewee: Nick Jones Interviewee: Jonathan Weber Interviewee: Zoë WanamakerProducer: Ribika Moktan Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive used: Outlook, BBC World Service, 09/05/2005; News 1800, BBC Radio 4, 14/12/2003; BBC News, 1/04/1992; BBC News, 02/05/1997; Daily Politics: 2010 Election, Debates: The Immigration Debate, 4/05/2010; BBC News at Ten, BBC, 07/05/2009; BBC News at One, 09/12/2010; BBC News, 21/11/1986; Frontiers, BBC Radio 4, 24/02/1996; Piaf, playwright Pam Gems, director Howard Davies, production by Royal Shakespeare Company, broadcast on Arena: Theatre, BBC 12/02/1979; The 35th Annual Tony Awards, dir Clark Jones, Producer Alexander H. Cohen, produced and written by Hildy Parks, A Bentwood Television Production, CBS, 07/06/1981; Desert island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 22/08/1986; Richard II, dir Gregory Dean, The Royal Shakespeare Company, 2013; Woman's Hour, Radio 4, 24/04/2003