Last Word

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

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

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

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;

Jimmy Cliff, Charlotte Bingham, Skye Gyngell, David Bellos

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

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

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.

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

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