Last Word

Kirsty Lang on Michael Pennington, the Shakespearean actor who preferred a life on stage to the glamour of Hollywood. For Dame Judi Dench, he was her 'Mr Plum', she recalls his life.
Cynthia Shange defied apartheid to become the first Black woman to represent South Africa at Miss World.
Scott Hastings the rugby legend, who was once Scotland’s most capped player. He went on to become a well-known commentator and campaigner for mental health charities, following the death of his wife after her long battle with depression.
And Beverley Martyn, the singer songwriter, a star of the British folk scene, who was signed by Beatles producer George Martin aged 16, but her career was not a smooth ride.
Please note this programme references suicide. Support and information is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Interviewee: Dame Judi Dench
Interviewee: Nonhle Thema
Interviewee: John Beattie
Interviewee: Joe Boyd
Producer: Catherine Powell
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
Miss World 1972. BBC TV, 01 Dec 1972; Bob Harris Sunday : Beverley Martyn plays live, BBC Radio 2, 27th April 2014; Five Nations, Rugby Union, Scotland v England, 17th March 1990; Scrum V, Live Pro12: 2016/2017, Edinburgh v Blues, 24th Feb 2017; BBC News Breakfast, 21st Dec 2020; Richard II, writer William Shakespeare, dir Gregory Doran, Royal Shakespeare Company, 2013; Gift of Gorgon, writer Peter Shaffer, dir Peter Hall, RSC, 1993; Henry V, dir Michael Bogdanov, The English Shakespeare Company in The War of the Roses, Produced by John Paul Chapple and Andy Ward, A Portman Classics production in association with Contracts International and Windmill Lane Productions, 1990

The virtuoso pianist, Ruth Slenczynska was the last living student of Sergei Rachmaninoff. She began performing at the age of four, and was once reputed to be the greatest child prodigy since Mozart.
From the Australian outback to the forefront of British science, Dame Bridget Ogilvie was the daughter of sheep farmers who went on to help make the UK a leader in biomedical research.
Labour MP, Tony Worthington, survived a violent ambush in Somaliland and played a role in the Northern Ireland peace talks.
Crown prosecutor, Russel Tyner KC, was a pioneer in the prosecution of cyber-crime.
Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Lowri Morgan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
BBC News, 12/01/2019; BBC, Hunting the Lorry Killers, 03/11/202; BBC, Eureka, 08/01/1997; BBC, Newsnight, 25/10/1999; BBC, Current Account, 16/10/1979; BBC, Reporting Scotland, 11/02/1994; BBC, Newsline, 06/05/1997; BBC, Panorama, 18/03/2003

Dr Ittai Gradel, the Danish antiquities dealer who uncovered the theft of hundreds of artefacts from the British Museum. Katie Razzall recalls how he helped her report the story.
Dame Shirley Porter, the Conservative leader of Westminster Council who had a spectacular fall from grace over the 'homes for votes' scandal.
Professor Nigel Dunnett, the horticulturalist and garden designer, known for his ambitious public planting displays at the Olympic Park in East London and the moat of the Tower of London. His friend and fellow gardener Arit Anderson pays tribute.
Maria Nieves Rego, the dancer who took the tango from Argentina to the rest of the world.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
BBC One, News at Ten, 16/08/2023; BBC Radio 4, Front Row, 11/09/2023; BBC Parliament, House of Commons Culture Media and Sport Select Committee, 23/10/2023; BBC Radio 4, Shadow World: Thief at the British Museum 31/05/2024; BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs, 28/04/1991; BBC, Radio 4, The Report, 10/05/1996; BBC One, News at Six, 05/07/2004; BBC Radio 4, Costing the Earth: Where Have all our Gardens Gone?, 29/09/2015; The Man from Atlanta, 23/08/1982; Our Last Tango: Official Trailer, Uploaded to YouTube, 31/05/2016

Xia De-hong, inspired her daughter Jung Chang to write the best selling book Wild Swans about her trials and tribulations at the hands of the Chinese government.
Lord Hunt, the meteorologist and former Director General and Chief Executive of the Met Office, who was an expert in turbulence.
Joan Burstein, ran the influential Browns boutique in London’s South Molton Street, backing the careers of many leading designers.
Bill Leader, the recording engineer who captured all the leading performers of the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s.
Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive:
Tomorrow's World, BBC One,18/11/1965; You and Yours, BBC Radio 4, 27/06/2005; My Life in Seven Charms, with Annoushka Ducas MBE, 27/05/2021; Joan Burstein Browns 50 Testimonial, Browns Fashion (Uploaded to Youtube - 22 Oct 2020); Best of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, BBC Two, Uploaded to Youtube

Matthew Bannister on

Andy Kershaw, the radio DJ who championed world music, traversing the globe to bring new and eclectic sounds to a mainstream audience. For a time he was roadie to Billy Bragg who recalls their life on the road together.

Dame Averil Cameron, the leading historian who re-shaped our understanding of the Byzantine empire. Her friend, Professor Mary Beard, pays tribute.

Dr Judith Rapoport, the child psychiatrist who challenged received wisdom about obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD.

And the zoologist, author, artist and TV presenter Desmond Morris, best known for his provocative 1967 bestselling book The Naked Ape.
Producer: Catherine Powell
Assisstant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Archive
Michael Parkinson, BBC 1, 06/10/69; Michael Parkinson, BBC 1, 07/11/81; The Evolution of The Naked Ape: Archive on 4, BBC Radio 4 18/04/2026; The Likely Lads, BBC 2; The Time of Your Life, BBC 1, 06/08/85; Timewatch: Verdict on the Shroud, BBC 2, 27/07/88; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 11/05/90; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 24/09/95; Andy Kershaw Show, BBC Radio 1, 16/03/98; The Hermit Kingdom (North Korea), BBC Radio 3, 28/12/03; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 08/10/04; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 11/03/07; Judith Rapoport on Dimensional Research in Mental Illness, YouTube, 25/06/13; "Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia" With Judith Rapoport, M.D., YouTube, 12/09/13; A History of the World in 100 Objects : The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD) : Hinton St Mary Mosaic, BBC Radio 4, 11/03/21;