Last Word

Kirsty Lang onThe author Jane Gardam, whose works included The Queen of the Tambourine and Old Filth.Sir Roger Birch, the former Chief Constable of Sussex Police who oversaw the investigation following the IRAs' Brighton bomb attack in 1984. Mike Peters, the lead singer of the band The Alarm, whose own battle with cancer saw him become a campaigner and fundraiser for cancer treatment. Professor Francoise Hampson, a lawyer who specialised in human rights in conflict zones. Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: Front Row, BBC Radio 4, Presenter Kirsty Lang, 16/09/2009; World Book Club, BBC World Service, 12/10/2017; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 20/10/2017; “Somebody” by Jane Gardam, Read by Gillian Bevan, BBC Radio 4, 06/03/2022; File on Four, BBC Radio 4; Witness History, BBC, 2015; Human Rights Map, BBC Two, 05/12/1998; Human Rights and Human Wrongs, John Simpson, BBC TV, 02/11/1994; BBC Breakfast News, 14/08/1990; I Write the Songs, Archive: Mike Peters, BBC Radio Wales, 31/12/2014; Value Judgements, BBC Radio Wales, 30/06/2006; Brighton Bomb Attack, BBC News, 12/10/2009; Drink Drive Crackdown, BBC News, 12/10/1984; Breakfast Time – Drink Driving at Christmas, BBC News, 14/03/2020

Matthew Bannister on Virginia Giuffre, who waived her anonymity to accuse the billionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his friend Ghislaine Maxwell of sex abuse and trafficking. Rosy Bremer, a leading campaigner against nuclear weapons at the women’s protest at Greenham Common airbase. LJ Smith, author of the best-selling “Vampire Diaries” series of novelsAnd the influential folk and blues guitarist Wizz Jones. His friend Ralph McTell pays tribute.If you have been affected by the issues reflected in tthis programme, you can visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionlineInterviewee: Sean Coughlan Interviewee: Fran Vigay Interviewee: Julie Divola Interviewee: Ralph McTellArchive used: The Prince and the Epstein Scandal, FKBH539N/02, Sixty Minutes: Greenham Common, BBC, 14/11/1983, BBC Wales, 17/06/1982, Rosy Bremer, interviewed by Nicky Arikoglu in 2019, Greenham Women Everywhere, https://greenhamwomeneverywhere.co.uk/ , Podbite 8. Singing, Greenham Women Everywhere, 17/12/2020 , LJ Smith interviewed by Matthew Peterson, The Author Hour radio show, 19/11/2009  https://theauthorhour.com/l-j-smith/ , The Vampire Diaries, Season 1; Episode 1, developed for TV by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, Production companies: Outerbanks Entertainment, Alloy Entertainment, CBS Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television, Outlook – BBC World Service. Sept 2014 , Tonight BBC 29/08/1960

Matthew Bannister onPope Francis, the first Latin American Pope who was noted for his humility and modest lifestyle.Paddy Higson, the TV and film producer once described as “the mother of the Scottish film industry”. Jed Mercurio and Clare Grogan pay tribute.And David Sassoon, the fashion designer who dressed royalty and film stars. Dame Zandra Rhodes tells us about his life.Interviewee: David Willey Interviewee: Rogelio Pfirter Interviewee: Frances Higson Interviewee: Clare Grogan Interviewee: Jed Mercurio Interviewee: Dame Zandra RhodesProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used:Pope Francis, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican, BBC News, 25/04/2025; Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio appears on balcony of St Peter's Basilica addressing large crowd after being elected Pope Francis, BBC News, 13/03/2013; Pope Francis visits Lesbos, Greece, BBC News, 05/12/2021; Pope Francis speech, BBC Parliament, 25/09/2015; Pope Francis Speech, BBC News, 29/07/2013; Pope Francis Speech, 21/04/2025; Pope Francis speech, BBC News, 24/04/2025; Gregory's Girl, Film Promo, Director: David Forsyth;, 1981; Paddy Higson interview, Singular Scots, BBC Radio 4, 05/09/1991; That Sinking Feeling, Film Promo, Director: Bill Forsyth, 1979; Cardiac Arrest, Series 1, Promo, BBC ONE, 21/04/1994;

Matthew Bannister onAnne Scargill, who founded the Women Against Pit Closures group when her husband Arthur was leading the Miners Strike of the 1980s. The actor Maxine Peake pays tribute. Ronnie Appleton who was Chief Crown Prosecutor for Northern Ireland during the height of the troubles.Cecil Wright, the Jamaican born cricketer who made his mark playing alongside some of his countrymen in the Lancashire league.Mario Vargas Llosa, the Nobel prize winning novelist who was a candidate for the Presidency of his native Peru.Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: BBC Manchester, Cecil Wright at 70, BBC; BBC News, Cecil Wright Retires at 85, BBC; Not by The Playbook, BBC World Service, 07/09/2019; MERIDIAN, BBC, 09/07/1985; Made in Latin America: 2 – The Heirs of Conquest, BBC Two, 07/11/1989; Mario Vargas Llosa, BBC Radio 4, 30/10/1993; Eye of the Storm with Emma Barnett, BBC Radio 5 Live, 26/07/2018; Video Diaries: Major, the Miners and Me, BBC Two, 04/09/1993; BBC News, BBC One, 16/05/1984; BBC News, BBC One, 09/04/1993; Inside Ulster: Murders – Army; Funerals – I.R.A., BBC, 19/03/1988; Witness History, BBC World Service, 27/01/2025; Inside Ulster: Murders – Civilians (Multiple); Personalities, BBC, 29/09/1989

Matthew Bannister onLord Kalms, who turned his family’s camera shop into the multi-million-pound Dixons electronics chain. Melissa Llewellyn-Davies, the anthropologist who made an acclaimed TV series about Kenya’s Masai tribe before turning her camera on the UK.Rex Cowan, the lawyer who changed career to become one of the world’s most successful shipwreck hunters.Wilma Finlay, who worked with her husband David to introduce what they saw as more ethical animal husbandry on their farm in the Scottish borders.Producer: Ed Prendeville**In this episode we mistakenly referred to the town of Forres being in Aberdeenshire. Forres is located in MorayArchive: On Your Farm, “The Ethical Dairy”, BBC Radio 4, Interviewer Caz Graham, 03/02/2019; Escape to the Country, Series 21, Dumfries & Galloway, BBC One, Presenter Sonali Shah, 25/05/2021; Children Calling Home, BBC, 25/12/1942; Escape to Fulfilment, Rex Cowan: Wreck Hunter, BBC, 02/09/1971; BBC News, 10/04/1972; Retail Week Legends, 28/07/2016; Desert Island Discs, Sir Stanley Kalms, BBC Radio 4, 01/07/2001; Dixons Advert, ITV, late 1970s; BBC News, 22/11/1986; London Plus – Broadwater Farm Riot, BBC News Archive; Nurses: The Team on B6, BBC; Diary of a Maasai Village, BBC; Scenes from the Farm, Documentary, Broadwater Farm Estate, London, UK, 1988

Matthew Bannister on The Hollywood actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors. Jane Reed, the media executive who made Woman’s Own magazine a powerful voice for its readers at a time of changing roles for women in society. Sir Torquil Norman, who used the proceeds from the sale of his successful toy business to restore the fortunes of the Roundhouse Arts Centre in London. Dr Marika Sherwood, the Hungarian-born academic who wrote groundbreaking books on the history of black people in Britain.Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: Desert Island Discs – Sir Torquil Norman, 12/12/2010; Marika Sherwood, interviewed by Tayo Aluko, Dec 2023; Woman’s Hour, BBC, 25/02/2015; Top Gun, Paramount Pictures presents, A Tony Scott Film, A Don Simpson / Jerry Bruckheimer Production,1986; The Heaven and Earth Show, BBC 1, 16/01/2005; Top Secret!, Paramount Pictures, Kingsmere Properties, 1984; Batman Forever, Warner Bros. presents, A Tim Burton Production, A Joel Schumacher Film, Polygram Filmed Entertainment (PolyGram Pictures, produced in association with, 1995; Authors Series: Marika Sherwood, YouTube Upload by UCLA Bunch Center, 17/08/2016; Dr Marika Sherwood at Discover Black History: Beyond the Windrush, Daily Motion Upload by King Cipher Jewels, 31/08/2012; WORKING LUNCH, BC2, 11/07/2006; The Roundhouse - The People's Palace, BBC 4, 23/10/2016; The Editors, 09/07/1978; THE PERSUADERS: WOMEN'S OWN WEEKLIES, 07/01/1969; RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN ON THE THORN BIRDS, BBC1, 01/01/1984

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