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BBC Radio 4

Last Word

Matthew Bannister on

The colourful life of artist, fashion editor, sex columnist and bonkbuster author Molly Parkin. Her daughter shares the highs and lows of living with Molly.

Kristina Gjerde, the maritime lawyer who fought to protect the high seas.

Michael Barton, the BBC executive who oversaw the expansion of English local radio

Eva Schloss, the holocaust survivor who became Anne Frank’s stepsister.

Producer: Ed Prendeville 
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used
Breakfast Time, BBC 1, 12/02/1986; Outlook, BBC World Service,27/01/2022; BBC Sound Archive, Murrow, Edward R, CBS Recording, 13/03/1938; BBC Sound Archive, Sinclair W.A.,19/05/1940; Learning about the Past to Make a Better Future, YouTube Upload, Anne Frank Trust UK, 24/03/2021; News – Gulf War special, BBC 1, 20/01/1991; Neighbours Shall Speak, BBC Archives; Archive on 4 : Close to Home - The Story of Local Radio, BBC Radio 4, 12/11/2017; The Time of your life – Molly Parkin, BBC 1, 08/06/1984; Molly Parkin – Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 13/05/2011; The Seven Ages of Man : Molly Parkin, BBC 2, 12/08/1996; Wogan, BBC 1, 03/12/1990; Dr Harriet Harden-Davies’ personal recording of Kristina Gjerde, 2024

Molly Parkin, Kristina Gjerde, Michael Barton, Eva Schloss

Jon Kay on 

The French actor Brigitte Bardot who starred in over 40 films in the 1950s and 60s before a career-change saw her give up the big screen to campaign for animal welfare

Sir Alec Reed who founded the UKs most successful recruitment agency and, through his philanthropy, raised millions for charity

Alwyn Crawshaw, the artist who encouraged millions to paint landscapes through his how-to books and TV programmes 

Dame Shan Legge-Bourke who transformed the Glanusk estate in the Black Mountains and was for many years lady in waiting to Princess Anne

Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Josie Hardy
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive
The Lady of Glanusk: Winter, BBC Two Wales, 28/09/2006​; The Lady of Glanusk: Summer, BBC Two Wales, 14/09/2006​; The Lady of Glanusk: Autumn, BBC Two Wales, 21/09/2006​; The Lady of Glanusk: Spring, BBC Two Wales, 07/09/2006​; Reed Podcast, Sir Alec Reed at 91: A British Business Legend, Permission granted by James Reed; The Fast Show: The Last Fast Show Ever, BBC Two, 28/12/2000​; Daytime Live, BBC One, 16/03/1990​; …And God Created Woman (Official Trailer), 1956, Directed by Roger Vadim, Starring Brigitte Bardot, Curd Jürgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant​; Worldwide: France’s New-Look TV, BBC Two, 14/05/1975​; And God Created Bardot, BBC One, 28/09/1994​​; The World at One, BBC Radio 4, 25/04/1968​; Brigitte Bardot, BBC Archive, 01/11/1956

Brigitte Bardot, Sir Alec Reed, Alwyn Crawshaw, Dame Shân Legge-Bourke

Jon Kay on 

Fashion designer Antony Price who fused together the worlds of fashion and music in the 70s and 80s

Sister Stan Kennedy, the nun who founded one of Ireland’s largest homelessness charities

Ena Collymore Woodstock, the Jamaican barrister and magistrate who throughout her career broke many barriers for women 

John Carey, the academic and former chief literary critic for The Times who took no prisoners with his reviews.

Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive
Midweek: Professor John Carey, Benny Lewis, Eduardo Niebla, Lynn Ruth Miller, BBC Radio 4, 19/03/2014; The Verb (Week 10), BBC Radio 3, 13/03/2015; Meet the Author, BBC News, 20/03/2014; SAL Night 2020 – A Message From Sister Stan, Founder and President, Focus Ireland, YouTube, 16/10/2020; Redlight – Sr Stan Kennedy, YouTube (Immigration Council), 20/08/2018; Everyman: Ireland’s Hidden People, BBC One, 24/04/1988; Mary H.R.H. Princess Royal, BBC Archive, 26/06/1940; Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – Gone Christmas Fishing, BBC Two, 13/12/2020

Antony Price, Sister Stan Kennedy, Ena Collymore Woodstock, John Carey

Matthew Bannister on

Rob Reiner, the film director, screenwriter and actor behind pictures like “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Stand By Me” and “When Harry Met Sally”.

Stanley Baxter, the Scottish comedian best known for his impersonations of Hollywood stars and royalty. The actor Bill Paterson pays tribute. 

And Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella, two best-selling novelists who, in their different ways, told stories of modern life and relationships.

Interviewee: Hadley Freeman
Interviewee: Linda Evans
Interviewee: Bill Paterson
Interviewee: Brian Beacom
Interviewee: Bill Scott-Kerr

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

CORRECTION: In this episode we mistakenly refer to Stanley Baxter being born in 1928. He was born in 1926.

Archive used:
Rob Reiner interview, HardTalk, BBC News, 06/05/1998; All In The Family trailer, Tandem Productions, 1975; This is Spinal Tap, Sony Pictures Entrainment, uploaded to YouTube 31/07/2025; Stand By Me, Film Trailer, Castle Rock 1986, Dir: Rob Reiner; When Harry Met Sally, Official Film Trailer, 1989, Director: Rob Reiner; Joanna Trollope interview, BBC Four, 23/03/2014; Stanley Baxter: Compilation of Best Sketches and Impressions, BBC Scotland 1962; Stanley Baxter interview, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 02/02/1970; Stanley Baxter, Best of Show, BBC Television, 14/02/1961; Sophie Kinsella reads a second extract from her novel Mini Shopaholic, Transworld Books, uploaded to YouTube 08/09/2010; Confessions of a Shopaholic Trailer 2009, Touchstone Pictures, Director P.J. Hogan; Sophie Kinsella interview, Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4, 22/04/2013; Meet the Author: Sophie Kinsella, BBC News, 05/02/2017; Sophie Kinsella, Extract from book preview, What Does It Feel Like?, Read by Sally Phillips, Penguin Random House;

Rob Reiner, Joanna Trollope, Stanley Baxter, Sophie Kinsella

Matthew Bannister on

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, the zoologist who devoted his life to the study and conservation of African elephants.

Vera Weisfeld, the businesswoman whose chain of What Every Woman Wants stores offered fashion designs at bargain prices.

Frank Gehry, the architect best known for his flamboyant designs for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles

Martin Parr whose celebrated colourful photographs showed the messy details of British life.

Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used
The Late Show, BBC Two, 11/11/1992; Imagine… Frank Gehry: The Architect Says "Why Can't I?", BBC Two, 25/08/2015​; The John Tusa Interview, BBC Three, 09/01/2005;​ The Simpsons – "The Seven-Beer Snitch", Created by Matt Groening, Directors: Matthew Nastuk, David Silverman; Writers: Bill Odenkirk, Daniel Chun; Production companies: Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television; 8/05/2025; This Cultural Life: Martin Parr, BBC Radio 4, 10/04/2023​; Britain in Focus: A Photographic History – Series 1 Episode 3, BBC Four, 21/01/2020​; I Am Martin Parr, BBC Four, 01/09/2025​; The Natural World: Ivory Wars, BBC Two, 01/09/2025​; Encounters with Animals: Last Stand in Eden, BBC Two, 08/10/1989​; Encounters with Animals, BBC Two, 15/08/1980​; Outlook, BBC World Service, 02/12/2010​; Millionaires, BBC One, 17/12/1990; Reporting Scotland 2019: What Everyone Wants, BBC One Scotland, 23/11/2019​; What Every Woman Wants had all the clothes for women at Christmas 1985, UK ADS Uploaded to YouTube 27/12/2023

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Vera Weisfeld, Frank Gehry, Martin Parr

Matthew Bannister has a star-studded cast on this week’s Last Word: 

Sir David Hare pays tribute to his friend and fellow playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.

Boy George recalls the flamboyant fashion designer Pam Hogg.

Sir Mark Rylance gives an insight into the many talents of the actor, director and writer Jack Shepherd.

We also remember Yanxin He, one of the last surviving speakers in a village that spoke a secret language that helped women to share their suffering in a patriarchal society.

Interviewee: Sir David Hare
Interviewee: Boy George
Interviewee: Dr Tessa Hartmann
Interviewee: Yehong Wei
Interviewee: Sir Mark Rylance 

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used:
Tom Stoppard, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 12/01/1985; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Hamlet), Official Promo, Director: Tom Stoppard; MGM Studios, 1990; Tom Stoppard interview, BBC One 29/05/1977; Shakespeare In Love, Official Trailer, MiraMax pictures 1998, Directed: John Madden; Pam Hogg interview, Icons of Style, BBC Scotland, 16/03/2025; Pam Hogg interview, BBC Radio 2, 26/09/2012; Pam Hogg music track: Honeyland, pamhogg.com/music; He Yanxin, interview, Hidden Letters Official Trailer, Fish+Bear Pictures, Director: Violet Du Feng; Nushu: The secret Chinese language, BBC Culture, Video by Harriet Constable; Co-produced by Fiona Macdonald; 16/11/2022; Acting with...Jack Shepherd , BBC Two, 15/04/1996; In Lambeth, BBC Two, 04/07/1993; Written and Directed by Jack Shepherd; Play For Today: Through The Night, BBC One, 04/09/1977; Wycliff, ITV Official Trailer, IMDB; Season 1, Episode 1: The Four Jacks; Director: Ferdinand Fairfax;

Sir Tom Stoppard, Pam Hogg, Yanxin He, Jack Shepherd

Kirsty Lang on: 

Jimmy Cliff, who took reggae music onto the global stage. His former record producer and founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell pays tribute. 

Charlotte Bingham, the writer who mined the experience of her upbringing and relationships to pen dozens of novels and screenplays.

Skye Gyngell, the Australian born chef whose devotion to fresh seasonal produce made a lasting impact on modern British cooking.

David Bellos, the award-winning literary translator who revelled in linguistic challenges.

Interviewee: Chris Blackwell
Interviewee: Lloyd Bradley 
Interviewee: Candida Brady
Interviewee: Thomasina Miers
Interviewee: Rory O'Connell 
Interviewee: Alex Bellos

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used:
Jimmy Cliff interview, The First Time, BBC Radio 6, 26/08/2012; The Harder They Come, Official Film Promo 1972, Director: Perry Henzell, International Films Inc; Charlotte Bingham, If I had A Million, BBC Television, 23/11/1968; Skye Gyngell interview, The Food Programme, BBC Radio 4, 09/09/2007; Skye Gyngell interview, The Conversation, Star Chef, BBC World Service, 23/07/2018; David Bellos, The Verb, BBC Radio 3, 16/09/2011

Jimmy Cliff, Charlotte Bingham, Skye Gyngell, David Bellos

Matthew Bannister on:

Baroness Newlove, who turned a tragic event in her own life into a powerful campaign for victims’ rights.

Zoe Wicomb, the South Africa-born author whose novels are set against the backdrop of the apartheid regime.

Sir Geoffrey Bindman, the lawyer who helped to shape equality legislation, represented Labour politicians and fought many human rights cases.

Roland Paxton, the civil engineer who campaigned to preserve the Forth Bridge and other fine examples of historic engineering.

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Colin Paterson

Archive used:
Helen Newlove, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 22/07/2018; Helen Newlove, Baroness Newlove speech , House of Lords, 15/07/2010; Art Work by Zoe Wicomb, Reader, Janice Acquah , Commonwealth Stories, BBC Radio 3, 11/03/2014; Zoe Wicomb, The Book Café, BBC Radio Scotland, 14/03/2011; Zoe Wicomb, My Life in Five Books, Series 2 BBC Radio 4 Extra, 21/03/2015; Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC - Legal Seminar Preserving the Rule of Law, Uploaded to YouTube 20/05/2013; Sir Geoffrey Bindman interview, Phil Williams: Race Relations special, BBC Radio 5 Live, 07/12/2015; Hardtalk: Geoffrey Bindman, BBC News, 01/06/2000; Law Lords Ruling on Pinochet ruling, BBC News, 25/11/1998; Britain’s Lost Routes, Highland Cattle Droves, BBC One, 14/06/2012; Roland Paxton interview, Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland, 01/02/2011; Union Chain Bridge news item, Reporting Scotland, BBC Scotland, 17/04/2023.

Baroness Newlove, Zoe Wicomb, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC, Professor Roland Paxton

Matthew Bannister on

James Watson who shared the Nobel Prize for identifying the structure of DNA, but was widely condemned later in life for his racist and sexist views.

Pauline Collins, the comic actor who triumphed in the role of Shirley Valentine on stage and screen. The play’s director Simon Callow pays tribute.

Judith Vidal-Hall, who edited the Index on Censorship magazine and campaigned for freedom of expression around the world

Dugald Ross, the crofter and palaeontologist from the Isle of Skye who discovered dinosaur footprints on the island as a schoolboy.

Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse G Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive:
Witness History: Discovering the Secrets of DNA, BBC World Service, 25/04/2025; Archive on 4: DNA 60 Years On, BBC Radio 4, 30/10/2016; Interview with James Watson and Francis Crick, The Medical Television Centre, UT Southwestern, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre at Dallas, 16/05/1968; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 22/12/1989; Shirley Valentine, Paramount Pictures, 1989 (Producer: John Dark; Produced & directed by Lewis Gilbert; Written by Willy Russell); Upstairs Downstairs, ITV; Reporting Scotland 1830, BBC One Scotland, 11/06/2014; Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands: Northern Skye – A Land of Giants and Fairies, BBC Two, 26/04/2017; Out of Doors, BBC Radio Scotland, 07/08/2010; Newsnight, BBC Two, 20/02/2002; One Year On: 9/11, BBC One, 11/09/2002

James Watson, Pauline Collins, Judith Vidal-Hall, Dugald Ross

Matthew Bannister on

Dick Cheney, the Republican politician who was Vice President under George W Bush and played key roles in both Gulf Wars.

Yvonne Brewster, the Jamaican-born director and actor who founded the Black British Theatre Company Talawa.

Mary ‘May’ McGee, the Irish woman who brought s successful legal challenge against the country’s ban on contraception.

Peter Watkins, the film maker whose powerful depiction of a nuclear attack on the UK was banned by the BBC

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used: 
Dick Cheney interview, Oral Histories, C-Span, 19/12/2007; Dick Cheney, PBS, 04/11/2025; Dick Cheney, Operation Desert Storm press Conference, 17/01/1991; George W Bush names Vice President candidate and running mate, CNN, 25/07/2000; Yvonne, Brewster interview, Fighting Talk, BBC Two, 22/02/1991; Mary McGee interview, No Country For Women documentary series, directed by Anne Roper, RTE ONE, 19/06/2020; May McGee interview, Misneach, May & Séamus McGee, TG4 YouTube Channel, uploaded 20/09/2023; The World This Weekend, BBC Radio 4, 23/05/1971; Yvonne Brewster, Desert Island Discs, Radio 4, 01/04/2005; Peter Watkins interview, The Lively Arts, BBC Radio 3, 22/05/1966; The War Game, BBC, 1966, Dir: Peter Watkins; Culloden, 1964 trailer , director: Peter Watkins;

Dick Cheney, Yvonne Brewster, Mary McGee, Peter Watkins

Sir Michael Parkinson was a journalist, broadcaster, and arguably Britain’s greatest television chat show host. During a TV career than spanned six decades, Parky interviewed hundreds of the world's most famous stars.

Sir Michael died on 16th August 2023.

For Last Word, John Wilson talks to Sir Michael's son Mike about his father's life and career. Starting with his upbringing in a council house in Cudworth, near Barnsley, discussing his relationship with his parents, and later with his wife Mary.

In this revealing special edition, Mike says his father was "constantly questioning himself" after joining the mainstream media and "didn't have as much self-confidence as he appears". He also tells of how despite going on to success at both Granada Television and ITV, Sir Michael harboured "an innate distrust of the establishment.

Presented by John Wilson
Produced by Ed Prendeville

SPECIAL EDITION: Michael Parkinson

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