Last Word

Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare - Jeffery Archer - was a top sprinter in his 20s, an MP at 29, a multi-million best-selling author and a close confidant of Conservative Prime Ministers, his career came crashing down following unwise investments, a scandal involving a sex worker and a conviction for perjury. A life worthy of a novel, told by journalist Michael Crick when he wrote 'Stranger than Fiction', an unauthorised biography of Jeffrey Archer.
Cassandra Wilson was once described by Time magazine as the best singer in America. She was also a Grammy award winner who had a distinctive and versatile voice which allowed her to move seamlessly from experimental jazz to the great American song book and on to covers of well-known pop songs. Alyn Shipton, presenter of Radio 3’s Jazz Record Requests and Research Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music, only ever gave one five star review to a jazz performer, and that was to Cassandra.
During the 1990s BBC journalist Mark Doyle became one of the most trusted voices reporting for TV and radio on Africa. His balanced and thoughtful dispatches gained him many admirers across the continent. He was an eyewitness to terrible events during the civil war in Sierra Leone and the genocide in Rwanda:. Milton Nkosi was a former Africa bureau chief for the BBC, he worked closely with Mark for many years.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
Cassandra Wilson in Conversation with Robert Sandall, BBC Radio 3, 02/11/2002; Jazz Library: Cassandra Wilson, BBC Radio 3, 04/07/2008; 24 Hours, BBC One, 04/12/1969; Desert Island Discs: Jeffrey Archer, BBC Radio 4, 31/01/1981; Jeffrey Archer Resigns, BBC News, 26/10/1986; The Ian Wooldridge Interviews: Jeffrey Archer, ITV, 05/03/1982; Newsnight, BBC Two, 24/07/1987

The spectacular designer to the stars Bob Mackie, who created Cher’s notorious “nude illusion” dress. From Diana Ross to Tina Turner and more recently from Miley Cyrus to Sabrina Carpenter, wearing a Bob Mackie creation, most likely studded with sequins and elaborate embroidery and with a revealing cut, was bound to turn heads and lead to acres of media coverage. Joe McFate was Bob’s Design Director for over thirty years. He explained the design process Bob went through with every single dress he created, the relationship Bob had with the celebrities he dressed, and the Elton John costume which went wrong, but brought Bob the most joy.
Stephanie Cole, the actor best known for playing formidable characters in Tenko and Open All Hours. At the age of 17 in her first paid acting role, Stephanie was cast as the 90-year-old medium Madame Arcati in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit. Caroline Frost is the TV Editor of the Radio Times. and told Matthew being offered parts much older than her years became something of a recurring theme for her. Stephanie worked regularly in theatre and on TV but her big break came midway through her career in her 40s when she played the role of Dr Mason in Tenko.
Peter Llewellyn-Jones who played a leading role in the development of British Sign Language, helping to create the profession of sign language interpreter and train the next generation. Graham Turner is policy and research lead at the British Deaf Association, he explained how Peter was at the fore of bringing BSL to public attention in the 80s and 90s when he interpreted at political party conferences, on television and in theatres. Peter also co-presented television programmes such as Insight and The Riddlers, both were groundbreaking for deaf children. In later years, Peter was also involved in the academic development of the language at several universities.
Emma Bonino, was an Italian politician who championed women’s rights in her native country. Through her campaigning she brought about the legalisation of abortion, the right for women to divorce and the abolition of the death penalty. Emma Bonino first got involved in Italian politics after she became pregnant aged 26 and had an abortion, even though it was illegal at that time. Her motivation, she said, was to make sure no other woman had to suffer the humiliation she went through. The Italian journalist Sabina Castelfranco told Matthew that she has much to thank Emma Bonino for, "maybe more than any other woman in Italy".
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
BBC News at One,BBC One,20/08/2018; Cult Heroes: Happy Birthday Mr President, BBC Radio 4, 13/11/1990; Bob Mackie – Naked Illusion; Cher Meets Rylan, BBC Two, 09/06/2026; Elton John: Uncensored, BBC Two, 28/11/2019; This Is Your Life (Series 35, )BBC One, 21/12/1994; Waiting for God, BBC One, 28/06/1990; Tenko (Series 3, Episode 10, BBC Two, 16/12/1984; Open All Hours (Series 4, "Soulmate Wanted"), BBC One, 01/09/1985; Witness History, BBC World Service, 19/09/2023; HARDtalk, BBC World News / BBC World Service, 28/10/2013; News (Peter Llewellyn-Jones), BBC World Service,10/03/1994; Spotlight, BBC World Service, 20/01/1998; See Hear: 25th Anniversary Special, BBC Two; Insight: The Pretty Nasty Programme, Yorkshire Television, 1983

Playwright and critic Bonnie Greer was a frequent panellist on programmes such as Newsnight and Question Time where she took part in one of its most contentious episodes. Kirsty spoke to Judith Antell who was Bonnie's agent and friend for over 20 years. They discuss how Bonnie's father being stationed in the UK during World War 2 shaped her view on the country; the surprising backlash Bonnie faced after appearing on a 2009 edition of Question Time with the then leader of the British National Party, they also discuss the project Bonnie was most proud of in her later career.
Jeremy Thomas was a film producer whose 80 plus films ranged from the Oscar Award-winning The Last Emperor to the hugely controversial 'Crash'. He also produced wartime drama Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, the gangster thriller Sexy Beast and the adaptation of William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch. Mark Cousins wrote and directed “The Storms of Jeremy Thomas” which documented his eclectic career. He tells Kirsty how through his films Jeremy "wanted to dig deeper into human life, his films are about the biggest questions". (Please note: In the introduction to this item we incorrectly stated that Mark was the producer of 'The Storms of Jeremy Thomas'. Mark was the writer and director.)
Wendell Berry, the Kentucky farmer and environmental campaigner who warned for many years of the excesses of industrial society. As a writer, he published hundreds of essays, poems and more than forty books. Wendell argued for most of his life that small-scale agriculture was essential to the preservation of the land and culture. Writer Paul Kingsnorth has been reading Wendell's work since the 90s and recently worked with him to compile a series of his essays into a book. He discusses Wendell's philosophy to farming, the environment, the wider community and how they are all intrinsically linked together. Wendell famously never owned a computer and only wrote with a pencil, which presented challenges, and unexpected joys, for Paul when editing the book.
Frances Stonor Saunders was a historian who exposed secret CIA attempts to manipulate public opinion through popular culture during the cold war. Her 1999 book 'Who Paid the Piper' was hugely successful and groundbreaking in its work. It was said that it "single-handedly established a new branch of sub-history" and is to be republished in 2026. Frances' brother Alexander Stonor Saunders explains how she was able to uncover the range of CIA activities, they included the production of an animated version of George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
ARCHIVE:
Conversation Piece, BBC Radio 4, 01/12/1988; Start the Week, BBC Radio 4, 28/06/1999; The Food Programme, BBC Radio 4, 25/08/2002; Fast Food Nation, BBC Film Network, 03/05/2007; Question Time, BBC One, 22/10/2009; Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 09/12/2010; Belief, BBC Radio 4, 31/12/2010; GMT, BBC News / World News, 21/11/2011; The Film Programme, BBC Radio 4, 16/10/2014; My Food Hero: Ella McSweeney Meets Wendell Berry, BBC Radio 4, 24/08/2015; Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 29/07/2024; Era of Reclamation (Ep. 1: In Search of Black History), British Museum

The pioneering feminist leader, Gloria Steinem, moved the dial on critical issues regarding women’s health and reproductive rights as well as equal pay. But, she was first and foremost a journalist who started out, in her words, “as a girl reporter” forced to do light fluffy magazine features, a role she resented. She went on to write serious investigative pieces before co-founding Ms Magazine, the first magazine owned and run by women. Amy Richards, co-founder of Gloria’s Foundation, remembers her.
With his top hat, big smile and pack of cards, Juan Tamariz, was an instantly recognisable magician, known in his home country of Spain as "The Maestro". He studied physics and film at university, two disciplines which he wove into his magic, and was also fascinated by psychology and philosophy. He was a funny and charismatic performer who appeared regularly on TV in Spain and here in the UK. His former student, and fellow magician, Jorge Blass shares his memories.
Sir Andrew Nicol was a British barrister and judge who defended the rights of journalists and broadcasters in several high-profile cases – such as his defence of journalists from the New Statesman who were held in contempt of court for interviewing jurors in the infamous Jeremy Thorpe trial. He later went on to cowrite the first book on Media Law, alongside fellow KC Geoffrey Robertson, with whom he also founded the internationally renowned Doughty Street Chambers.
The ballerina Pauline Clayden began her career amid the destruction of the Second World War with the internationally renowned Sadler’s Wells Ballet - know known as the Royal Ballet. She was thought of as one of the most talented performers of her time, but perhaps unfortunately for her, she shared the stage with Margot Fonteyn, and thus never became a principal ballerina. Her friend and critic Alastair Macaulay shares her life in dance - her passion until her death at 103.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Alice McKee
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editors: Andrea Kennedy and Glyn Tansley
Archive:
BBC World Service, Witness History, 02/12/2024; BBC Radio 2, John Dunn Show, 02/04/1984; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs, 25/03/2016; BBC News, 100 Women, 03/12/2023; BBC One, Paul Daniel’s Secrets, 06/12/1995; BBC One, Paul Daniel’s Secrets, 10/01/1996; BBC Radio 4, PM, 22/06/1979; BBC One, News, 02/11/2020

The work of Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama is famed for its use of dots and inspired the likes of Andy Warhol. She was a work of art herself, often photographed wearing a bright orange wig and technicolour clothes covered in her signature polka dots. But, behind the canvas Yayoi was suffering with her mental health and spent almost five decades living in a psychiatric hospital. Frances Morris, the former Director of Tate Modern, now chair of the Gallery Climate Coalition, curated a retrospective exhibition of Kusama’s work. 
The Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladić was jailed for life in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was known as the "Butcher of Bosnia" and infamously ordered the death of thousands of men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in July 1995. The author and journalist Tim Judah met and interviewed Ratko Mladić and tells his story.
When the actor Tim Curry slapped on full make up, donned fishnet stockings and corset and let loose his uniquely powerful voice, no one in the audience was ever going to forget meeting the Rocky Horror Show's Frank N Furter. Curry was born in Warrington in 1946 and his first acting job came after university in the original London production of the equally groundbreaking rock musical “Hair” in 1968. He was known also as the original Pennywise from Stephen King's "It”, the naturalist Nigel Thornberry in the much-loved children’s series “The Wild Thornberrys”, and Long John Silver in the 1996 film “Muppet Treasure Island” alongside a young Kevin Bishop who recalls his experience of working with Tim Curry.
Violet Hensley has died at the astonishing age of 109. She was one of the last surviving links back to depression-era America, she was also a luthier, or instrument maker, and a fine fiddle player. Her instruments were of such high quality that she became known as the “Stradivarius of the Ozarks”. Violet made her first instrument when she was 14, but four years later she got married and stopped performing and making fiddles while she raised nine children. After a thirty-year break, she started making music again. Her daughter Sandra Flagg remembers her.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producers: Lowri Morgan and Alice McKee
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
BBC One, Newsnight, 01/02/2012; BBC Radio 4, Front Row, 09/02/2012; BBC One, News, 26/05/2011; BBC World Service, Witness History, 29/10/2025; BBC One, News, 04/11/2011; BBC, Film Week, 26/07/1975; “Muppet Treasure Island”, directed by Brian Henson, produced by The Jim Henson Company and The Walt Disney Company, 24/05/1996 (UK release)