Last Word Episodes Episode guide
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Some of the most memorable lives of the past twelve months
A scientist, a diver, a marchioness and a singer - memorable lives from 2015 are recalled.
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Mick Murphy, Ahmed Chalabi, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Brajraj Mahapatra and Holly Woodlawn
Matthew Bannister on a cyclist, a politician, a singer, a king, an actress.
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Marcus Klingberg, William McIlvanney, Setsuko Hara, Joel Elkes and John Peel
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the lives of people who have recently died.
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General Sir Robert Ford, Hazel Adair, Jane Wardle, Gerry Byrne and P.F Sloan
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the lives of people who have recently died.
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Peter Dimmock, Alix d'Unienville, Yolanda Sonnabend, Maggie Eales and George Barris
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the lives of people who have recently died.
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Roy Dommett, Warren Mitchell, Allen Toussaint, Cynthia Payne and Jonah Lomu
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the lives of people who have recently died.
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Helmut Schmidt, Pat Eddery, Julia Jones, Lord Noon and Nat Peck
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the lives of people who have recently died.
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Norman Moore, Diane Charlemagne, Professor David Cesarani, Colin Welland and Peter Donaldson
Matthew Bannister on a conservationist, a singer, an historian, an actor, a newsreader
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Professor Lisa Jardine, Philip French, Ronnie Massarella, Maureen O'Hara
Matthew Bannister on a polymath, a critic, a showjumping manager, a film star
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General John Galvin, Joan Leslie, Michael Meacher, Howard Kendall, Jerry Parr and Coleridge Goode
Matthew Bannister on a general, an actress, an MP, a football manager and a bodyguard.
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Geoffrey Howe, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Joe Henson, Hugh Scully and Alexander Faris
Julian Worricker on a politician, a journalist, a farmer, a TV presenter and a composer.
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Lord Denis Healey, Carmen Balcells, Henning Mankell, Revd Kenneth Leech and Captain Bob Arnott
Lucy Ash on a politician, a literary agent, a crime writer, a QE2 captain and a churchman.
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Brian Friel, General Mario Menendez, Tessa Ransford, John Guillermin, Ben Cauley
Matthew Bannister talks about a playwright, a general, a poet and a director.
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Brian Sewell, Jackie Collins, Ted Smith CBE, PJ Kavanagh, Yogi Berra
Matthew Bannister on an art critic, a novelist, a naturalist, a poet and a baseball player
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Sir David Willcocks, Merv Adelson, Mariem Hassan, Brian Close, Beryl Renwick
Matthew Bannister on a choirmaster, a producer, a singer, a cricketer, a radio presenter.
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Sir Adrian Cadbury, Rico Rodriguez, Ieng Thirith, Margaret Harrison, Judy Carne
Matthew Bannister on a businessman, a trombonist, a Khmer Rouge leader, a charity founder.
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Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Joy Beverley, Oliver Sacks, Annette Worsley-Taylor
Matthew Bannister talks about a peer, a singer, a neurologist and a fashion promoter.
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Bernie Passingham, Christopher Marshall, Wayne Carson, Michael Turk, Marie Dobbs, Yvonne Craig
Matthew Bannister on a union official, a researcher, a songwriter, a waterman, an author.
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Khaled al-Asaad, Jazz Summers, Jack Gold, Manual Contreras, Dawn Wofford
Lucy Ash on an archaeologist, a music manager, a director, a show jumper and a general.
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David Nobbs, Frances Kelsey, Kyril Zinovieff, Elio Fiorucci, Harry Pitch
Reeta Chakrabarti on a writer, a scientist, a spy, a fashion designer and a musician.
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Cilla Black, Michael Kidson, APJ Abdul Kalam, Evelyn Gillan, George Cole
Matthew Bannister discusses a singer, a teacher, a president, a campaigner and an actor.
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Nova Pilbeam, Reverend Owen Chadwick, Jon Vickers, Yoichiro Nambu, Nick Ryman
Matthew Bannister on a historian, a tenor, a physicist, an actress, a vigneron
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Scot Breithaupt, E. L. Doctorow, Claudia Alexander, Ron Pollard, Magali Noel
Matthew Bannister on a space scientist, a bookie, an author, a BMX pioneer, an actress.
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Rev Joyce Bennett, Prince Saud al-Faisal, Burt Shavitz, Michael Oliver, Ian Allan
Matthew Bannister on a priest, a foreign minister, a beekeeper and a medical professor.
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Omar Sharif, Stanley 'Steve' Moore, Jules Wright, Yevgeny Primakov, Ernest Tomlinson
Matthew Bannister on an actor, a detective, a director, a politician and a composer.
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Sir Nicholas Winton, Val Doonican, Nek Chand, James Salter, Lady Rozelle Raynes
Matthew Bannister on a humanitarian, a singer, an artist, a writer and an aristocrat.
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Sir Chris Woodhead, Patrick Macnee, Dame Anne Warburton, Vic Mayhew, James Horner
Matthew Bannister on a school inspector, an actor, a diplomat, a subeditor and a composer.
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Morris Beckman, Ornette Coleman, Tanith Lee, Süleyman Demirel and Doris Hart
Matthew Bannister on an activist, a musician, a writer, a president and a tennis player.
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Christopher Lee, Marguerite Patten, James Last, Major Roy Homard, Ron Moody
Andrea Catherwood on two actors, a polar explorer, a cookery writer and a musician.
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Tariq Aziz, Charles Kennedy, Julie Harris, Alan Bond, Peter Cropper
The lives of two politicians, a costume designer, an entrepreneur and a violinist.