Last Word

Last updated

Last Word
GenreFactual
Running time28 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Home station BBC Radio 4
Hosted by Matthew Bannister
Original release10 February 2006 
present
Website BBC website page

Last Word is an obituary BBC radio series broadcast weekly on Radio 4. Each week, the lives of recently-deceased famous people are summarised with narration and interviews with people who knew them. The programme is normally presented by Matthew Bannister, although in some occasions, it has been presented by other people such as Kate Silverton or Julian Worricker.

The programme was first broadcast on 10 February 2006, [1] with a biography of American songwriter Paul Vance (1929–2022) being broadcast on the edition of 29 September 2006, a rare example of somebody still living being featured as a Last Word subject, [2] [3] with Vance also being interviewed by the programme, after his death was announced in the media by mistake.

Related Research Articles

<i>Today</i> (BBC Radio 4) BBC Radio 4s long-running early morning news and current affairs programme

Today, colloquially known as the Today programme, is BBC Radio 4's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00, it is produced by BBC News and is the highest-rated programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks. In-depth political interviews and reports are interspersed with regular news bulletins, as well as Thought for the Day. It has been voted the most influential news programme in Britain in setting the political agenda, with an average weekly listening audience around 6 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Light Programme</span> Former British national radio station (1945–1967)

The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the long wave frequency which had earlier been used – prior to the outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939 – by the BBC National Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Blackburn</span> British radio presenter, offshore broadcaster

Antony Kenneth Blackburn is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter.

Broadcasting House (BH) is a current affairs programme produced by BBC News for BBC Radio 4, presented by Paddy O'Connell, with Jonny Dymond regularly appearing as a relief presenter. It was launched on 19 April 1998 and is broadcast every Sunday between 9 am and 10 am.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Gambaccini</span> UK radio and television presenter

Paul Matthew Gambaccini is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio London</span> BBC Local Radio station for London

BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London.

What The Papers Say is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a script read by a studio presenter, usually a prominent journalist. The show did not have a regular host, and was intended as a wry look at how British broadsheets and tabloids covered the week's news stories. The programme was most recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Bannister</span> British media executive and broadcaster

Richard Matthew Bannister is a British media executive and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smashie and Nicey</span> British comedy characters

Mike Smash and Dave Nice are comedy characters who first appeared in the early 1990s TV sketch show Harry Enfield's Television Programme. They were played by the comedians Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield respectively.

The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Vance</span> British radio presenter (1940–2005)

Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston, known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal, along with London-based disc jockey Neal Kay, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Vance was one of the first radio hosts in the United Kingdom to broadcast hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans. The Friday Rock Show that he hosted gave new bands airtime for their music and fans an opportunity to hear it. He used a personal tag-line of "TV on the radio". His voice was heard by millions around the world announcing the Wembley Stadium acts at Live Aid in 1985.

Johnnie Walker, MBE is an English radio disc jockey and broadcaster. He began his career on pirate radio, most notably on Radio Caroline. He joined BBC Radio 1 in 1969. He joined BBC Radio 2 in 1998 and currently presents Sounds of the 70s on Sunday afternoons and The Radio 2 Rock Show on Friday nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Peacock</span>

Ian Peacock is a radio presenter and writer. He has appeared regularly on BBC Radio 4 since the late 1980s. Described as "a natural broadcaster" by The Observer, he has a Gold Sony Award for feature-making. He was named by The Independent as a 'Media Star 2006' – one of the media people who would "have the most impact" over the year.

Elaine Paige on Sunday is a British radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday afternoons from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, that is hosted by the actress and singer Elaine Paige. The show launched on 5 September 2004, replacing All Time Greats hosted by Desmond Carrington. The launch producer was Malcolm Prince. It features music and news from stage and screen productions, as well as listener requests, on-stage mishap stories, and the occasional interview from a celebrity guest. Paige has presented a special Tony Awards show, featuring interviews and music from nominees since 2015. Elaine Paige on Sunday attracts around two million listeners a week. Since 2012, the producer has been Jessica Rickson.

<i>Last Tango in Halifax</i> British comedy-drama television series

Last Tango in Halifax is a British comedy-drama series that began broadcasting on BBC One on 20 November 2012 until its final episode which was broadcast on 15 March 2020. The series stars Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid as Alan and Celia.

The twenty−ninth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2014, and concluded on 23 August 2015. The series consisted of 46 episodes. Erika Hossington continued her role as series producer, while Oliver Kent continued his role as the show's executive producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidhu Moose Wala</span> Indian rapper and singer (1993–2022)

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known professionally as Sidhu Moose Wala, was an Indian rapper, singer, songwriter and politician. He worked predominantly in Punjabi-language music and cinema. Moose Wala is generally regarded to have been one of the greatest Punjabi artists of his generation and to many, amongst the greatest and most controversial Punjabi artists of all time. Moreover, he was considered a key figure in opening the door to mainstream music for Punjabi artists.

This is a timeline of BBC Radio London, a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to London.

This is a timeline of the history of chart shows on UK radio.

Sandeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sunny Malton, is a Punjabi Canadian rapper and singer. He rose to mainstream with his track 'Issa Jatt' with Sidhu Moose Wala. His song Levels with Sidhu charted at 32 on Canadian Hot 100.

References

  1. Reynolds, Gillian (10 February 2006). "Today's TV & radio choices". The Daily Telegraph. London. Radio choices by Gillian Reynolds. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  2. "BBC Radio 4 – Last Word, Amanda Claridge, Sidhu Moose Wala (Pictured), Mark Sykes, Paul Vance".
  3. Information from Last Word, BBC Radio 4 on 10 June 2022: Matthew Bannister on Amanda Claridge, Sidhu Moose Wala, Mark Sykes and Paul Vance