Last Word

Matthew Bannister on:Sir Paul Fox, the respected TV executive who commissioned some of the best loved programmes of the 1960s and 70s. We have a tribute from his former colleague Sir David Attenborough. Lynne Reid Banks, the author best known for her novel “The L Shaped Room.”Joan Hills, the artist who played a key role in the art world of the 1960s and, with her husband and tw

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 comp

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

John Wilson onRichard 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 Greentra

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

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 Japan

Matthew Bannister onAudrey 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

Matthew Bannister onIris Apfel the colourful fashion and interior designer whose own dress sense made an impact until her death aged 102.Dr Colin Murray Parkes, the psychiatrist once described as “the David Attenborough of the bereavement world.”Baroness Henig, the deputy House of Lords Speaker who was a historian and expert on the security industry.Jim Lawrence who became skip

John Wilson on the celebrated sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby, responsible for numerous well known commissions around the country. Lord Patrick Cormack the politician, historian and prolific author.Wendy Mitchell, the author and blogger who was diagnosed with young onset dementia and worked tirelessly to help improve the understanding of the condition. Eleanor Fazan, the theatre directo

John Wilson onAlexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner and leading opponent of President Vladimir Putin, who has died in a Russian state prison. Dr Brooke Ellison, an American academic and disabilities rights advocate who drew on her own experience of living with quadriplegia.Gertrude Wright, who survived the bombing of her German home city during World War Two and went on to