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  • Prunella Scales CBE, Gillian Tindall, Roger Smith, Anthony Grey
    Matthew Bannister onThe actor Prunella Scales, best known for playing Sybil in the TV comedy Fawlty Towers. Her son Samuel West reflects on her long career and happy marriage to fellow actor Timothy West. Gillian Tindall, the writer who pioneered the technique of exploring history through the portal of a particular house or area. Roger Smith, who co-founded and ran the Great Outdoors Challenge, encouraging thousands to walk across Scotland.Anthony Grey, the novelist and journalist who was held in solitary confinement for over two years by Red Guards during China’s Cultural Revolution.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyARCHIVE USED: Great Canal Journeys Series 1 Episode 1, Channel 4, 10/03/2014; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 05/06/1992; Suppose I Lose It, BBC Radio 4, 16/05/2016; A Question of Attribution, BBC Two, 20/10/1991; Fawlty Towers: Series 1: The Hotel Inspectors, BBC Two, 10/10/1975; Fawlty Towers: Series 2: The Psychiatrist, BBC Two, 26/02/1979; Fawlty Towers: Series 2: Basil the Rat, BBC Two, 25/10/1979; Fawlty Towers: Series 1: The Builders, BBC Two, 26/09/1975; Fawlty Towers: Series 2: Communication Problems, BBC Two, 19/02/1979; BBC News, BBC Radio 4, 26/11/1968; Anthony Grey To Be Released: Mother Waits, BBC News, 03/10/1963; Anthony Grey Released: Mother Hears News, News, 04/10/1963; Radio Newsreel, BBC World Service, 12/10/1969; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 01/11/1969; Anthony Grey: One Man’s Freedom, One Pair of Eyes, BBC Two, 26/06/1971; Return to Peking, BBC Two, 12/12/1988; Voices from a French Village, BBC Radio 4, 29/05/1996; Robert Elms, BBC Radio London, 05/09/2016; Bricks and Mortals, BBC Radio 4, 18/05/2005; The Adventure Show, BBC Two Scotland, 03/08/2008; Scotland Outdoors - A Coast to Coast Backpack Challenge, Beekeeping in Kinross and the Capercaillie of Speyside, BBC Radio Scotland, 24/05/2025;
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  • SPECIAL EDITION: Prunella Scales
    In this special edition of Last Word, Matthew Bannister talks to the actor Samuel West about his mother Prunella Scales.Prunella died on the 27th October, aged 93.Known for her work on stage and screen over many decades – Prunella was particularly renowned for her role as Sybil on Fawlty Towers. In addition to countless other roles, she appeared as Queen Elizabeth II in Alan Bennett’s A Question of Attribution in the early 90s – earning a BAFTA nomination. In later life – as she began living with dementia – her hobby of canal boating alongside her husband – the actor Timothy West – was turned into a much loved series on Channel 4.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Editor: Glyn Tansley
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  • Raila Odinga, Bill Colley, Baroness Rosalind Howells, Sister Marion Irvine
    Matthew Bannister on The influential Kenyan politician Raila Odinga, who was detained for his pro-democracy campaigns, but went on to be the country’s Prime Minister. Bill Colley, who designed and built traditional wooden racing boats.Baroness Rosalind Howells of St Davids, who campaigned for racial equality and supported the family of Stephen Lawrence after his murder.And Sister Marion Irvine, the American nun who took up marathon running in middle age and went on to break many records.Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyARCHIVE USED: Raila Odinga interview about his struggles in Kamiti, NTV Kenya YouTube channel uploaded 26/01/2020; Raila Odinga state funeral, BBC World Service, 17/10/2025; Raila Odinga profile, Reuters, BBC News Channel, 19/10/2025; Raila Odinga on anti-government protests in Kenya, BBC Africa, 27/03/23; The interview: Leader of the National Super Alliance, Kenya - Raila Odinga, BBC World Service, 07/02/2018; Bill Colley: The Last wooden racing boat builder, Real Time series, BBC News, 05/12/2013; The Boys in the Boat, Official Trailer, Warners Bros. UK and Ireland, Director George Clooney, Warner Bros YouTube Channel, uploaded 18/10/2023; The Boys in the Boat | Bill Colley Featurette, Amazon MGM Studio, YouTube channel, 23/11/2023; Rasalind Howells interview from the New Cross Fire report, Newsnight, BBC News, 15/01/2001; The Powerlist Interviews - Rosalind Howells, Powerful Media, YouTube Upload, 23/05/2018; BBC News report, New Cross Fire, 18/01/1981; BBC Newsroom South East, 1993; BBC Newsroom South East, 08/10/1997; National Theatre War Horse Trailer, Music Comp Adrian Sutton, Production National Theatre, YouTube uploaded 14/01/2016; Sister Marion Irvine interview, Silver Into Gold, Writer and Dir: Lynn Mueller, Publisher: Barr Films, Irwindale, CA, 1986;
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  • Peter Gurney, Diane Keaton, Peter Hall, Angela Bond
    Matthew Bannister onPeter Gurney, the George Medal winning bomb disposal expert who regularly risked his life to defuse explosive devices, including the mortars that were fired at 10 Downing Street by the IRA in 1991.Diane Keaton, the actor best known for her collaboration with Woody Allen in Annie Hall and Manhattan.Peter Hall, the pioneering English winemaker from Sussex who turned his Breaky Bottom grapes into acclaimed sparkling wines.Angela Bond, who saved the much-loved Bush Theatre in West London from closure. The director Josie Rourke and the writer Jack Thorne pay tribute.Producer: Ed Prendeville Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive used: BBC News, BBC, 07/02/1991; Newsnight, BBC, 26/10/1981; It’s My Story: The Long Walk, BBC Radio 4, 26/03/2012; The Food Programme: A Vintage Year for Homegrown Wine, BBC Radio 4, 22/11/2018; Food and Drink, BBC, 10/08/1982; Annie Hall, MGM, 1977; Cast: Diane Keaton; Director: Woody Allen; Producers: Fred T. Gallo, Robert Greenhut, Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe; Screenwriters: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 15/11/2011; Front Row, BBC Radio 4, 19/06/2017; Diane Keaton – Seems Like Old Times, Columbia Pictures, 1980
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  • Patrick Bradley, Dame Jilly Cooper, Sara Jane Moore, Dame Patricia Routledge
    Matthew Bannister onPatrick Bradley, the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles.Dame Jilly Cooper, the best-selling author of the racy “Rutshire Chronicles”.Sara Jane Moore, the political extremist who tried to assassinate US President Gerald Ford.Dame Patricia Routledge, the actor best known for her portrayal of Hyacinth Bucket in the TV comedy Keeping Up Appearances.Producer: Ed PrendevilleArchive: With Bennett: Patricia Routledge, BBC Radio Ulster FM, 01/05/2004; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 13/08/1999; Rivals, Walt Disney Studios, Disney Plus UK / Happy Prince, 25/09/2024; Mark Lawson Talks to Jilly Cooper, BBC4, 19/09/2006; In My Own Words: Jilly Cooper, BBC One, 30/09/2024; Hay Festival, BBC Arts, 31/08/2018; Riders, Anglia Films, ITV, 1993 (writer: Jilly Cooper, Charlotte Bingham, Terence Brady; dir: Gabrielle Beaumont), LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTRE, BBC One Scotland, 19/05/1989; Gerald Ford assassination attempt, YouTube; New Voices (RU) 2015/16: Time of Our Lives (Ep. 38), BBC Radio Ulster FM, 31/01/2016
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