Last Word

Matthew Bannister onThe actor Tony Booth, best known for playing Alf Garnett's left wing son-in-law in the TV comedy Till Death Us Do Part - and notorious for his womanising and heavy drinking. His daughter Cherie Blair shares her memories. Lillian Bettencourt who was the richest woman in the world - as heiress to the L'Oreal cosmetics group. She was also embroiled in a bitter court battle over how her fortune should be divided.William G. Stewart, best known as the host of the long running TV quiz "Fifteen to One", He was also a respected producer and director.And the rock star Tom Petty - best known for hits like "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down".

Matthew Bannister on Hugh Hefner who built the Playboy empire on a best selling magazine. Was he a libertarian who changed attitudes to sex or a sleazy pornographer?Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov who is credited with averting a nuclear disaster during the Cold War.The right wing Conservative M.P. Teddy Taylor best known for his outspoken opposition to the European Union.And actress Liz Dawn who played Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street for nearly thirty years.

Matthew Bannister onDavid Shepherd, the artist who painted trains, aeroplanes and elephants and worked tirelessly to conserve wild animals. Nancy Hatch Dupree, the American born adventurer and writer who devoted her life to creating an archive of Afghan culture and history.Gordon Williams, the Booker prize shortlisted author whose novel The Siege of Trencher's farm became the controversial film Straw Dogs.Pat Albeck the designer known as "the queen of the tea towel" who produced popular fabric designs for John Lewis and the National Trust.Harry Dean Stanton, the gaunt, hollow-eyed actor best known for films like "Paris, Texas" and "Repo Man". Image of David Shepherd courtesy of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

Matthew Bannister onSir Peter Hall, the director who founded the Royal Shakespeare Company, ran the National Theatre and created many acclaimed theatrical and operatic productions.Kate Millett, the radical feminist whose 1970 book Sexual Politics suggested that men's institutionalised power over women is a social construct, rather than innate or biological. Sir Edward Du Cann, the Tory MP and businessman who chaired the 1922 backbench committee, fell out with Edward Heath, and went bankrupt in the 1990s.J.P. Donleavy, the US-born Irish writer whose bawdy tale of Dublin Life - The Ginger Man - sold fifty million copies.

Matthew Bannister on:The flamboyant businessman Sir David Tang who founded the fashion label Shanghai Tang and collected celebrity friends. Tracey Emin pays tribute. Professor Dame Margaret Turner-Warwick who became one of the world's leading authorities on thoracic medicine after suffering from tuberculosis as a child.Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the genial head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.And Walter Becker - who teamed up with Donald Fagen to create the sophisticated music and lyrics of Steely Dan.

Matthew Bannister onDick Gregory, the African American comedian and civil rights activist who was also a dietician to stars like John Lennon and Mohammed Ali.Jeannie Rousseau who spied on the Nazis' secret weapons programme.Wayne Lotter, the South African elephant conservationist who has been shot dead in Tanzania.Sean O'Callaghan, the leading IRA member who turned informer. He helped to stop a bomb attack which would have killed the Prince and Princess of Wales.And the jazz guitarist John Abercrombie.

Brian Aldiss - the gifted science fiction author who inspired the Hollywood movie AI artificial intelligence. Jerry Lewis the American comic who - with Dean Martin found fame as one of the most successful double acts of all time. Blanche Blackwell - the Jamaican society hostess who became Ian Fleming's lover and some believe - the inspiration for the Bond movie character Pussy Galore. Abu Kifah, the Syrian rescue worker who made headlines around the world after pulling a baby alive from the wreckage of a bombed out building - and Sir Bruce Forsyth whose death a week ago today has seen him fondly remembered for his contribution to British entertainment in a career spanning more than seven decades.

Kate Silverton on the "Broadway Diva" Barbara Cook, the American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals Plain and Fancy and Candide; Sister Ruth Pfau 'Mother Teresa' of Pakistan for her work in combating the spread of leprosy; Richard Gordon the anesthetist,whose medical work inspired him to write Dr in The House novels which were made into films and a TV series; Prof. U.R. Rao, Pioneer of India's Space Programme, who brought knowledge to millions of people through digital communications via the many satellites he launched into space.

Matthew Bannister onGlen Campbell - the singer and guitarist best known for hits like Galveston and Witchita Lineman. We talk to the man who wrote them - Jimmy Webb.Dame Helen Alexander, former Chief Executive of the Economist Group and the first woman to head the C.B.I. Clancy Sigal the American writer and activist who was blacklisted during the Communist witch hunts of the 1950s. Prunella Briance who founded the National Childbirth Trust after two traumatic experiences of giving birth.

Matthew Bannister on The actor Robert Hardy, best known for his roles in All Creatures Great and Small and the Harry Potter films and for playing Winston Churchill.David Jones who wrote the Daedalus column in New Scientist magazine and came up with an endless stream of inventive and challenging experiments.Jeanne Moreau the iconic French actress who was actually half English.Mark Wilkinson - the furniture designer once described as 'the Mozart of the kitchen cabinet'And Sam Shepard, the actor and playwright whose work redefined the landscape of the American West.

Matthew Bannister onMary Turner the President of the GMB Union who started her campaigning life by organising her fellow dinner ladies at a North London school.Chester Bennington, lead singer of the band Linkin Park who sold more than seventy million copies of their nu-metal albums.Scharlette Holdman who cajoled lawyers into representing people on death row in American prisons and developed techniques for persuading the courts to mitigate their sentences. Orri Vigfusson the businessman and angler who saved North Atlantic salmon stocks by paying commercial fishermen to stop taking them from the sea.And the film director George A Romero who pioneered the zombie horror movie genre with Night of the Living Dead. Presenter: Matthew Bannister Producer: Paul Waters.

Matthew Bannister on Chuck Blazer who embezzled millions of dollars from the international football organisation FIFA, then turned whistle blower to incriminate his former colleagues. Maryam Mirzakhani, the Iranian mathematician who became the first woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal. The architect Bryan Avery who designed the drama school RADA and the London Imax cinema.Peter McHugh, the former Fleet Street journalist who helped to turn round the fortunes of TV-am and then became director of programmes at GMTV. And Martin Landau the versatile Hollywood actor who won an Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's film Ed Wood. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onSimone Veil, the Holocaust survivor who became a leading French politician and President of the European Parliament.Graham Rose who directed some of the best loved TV commercials, including the award winning Photo Booth for Hamlet Cigars. Tom Isaacs who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at the age of 27 and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for research by walking right round the coastline of Britain. The Chinese literary critic and dissident Liu Xiaobo who was one of the "four gentlemen" of the Tiananmen Square protests. He died while serving an eleven year sentence for advocating democracy. Ken Hirst, secretary of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band for 42 years. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onBarry Norman - best known for presenting the BBC television's Film programme,on radio he also fronted the Today Programme and the News Quiz.Gordon Wilson, the leader who re-built the Scottish National Party after electoral defeat and internal division.Jazz pianist and composer Geri Allen who played in a wide range of styles and was committed to the advancement of women in jazz. John Thompson, the regulator who presided over the introduction of independent local radio in the UK.And Jack O'Neill who made a successful business out of his obsession with surfing. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onLord Joffe, the lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela at the infamous Rivonia trial. He went on to co-found the Allied Dunbar insurance company and sat as a Labour peer in the House of Lords. Michael Bond who created Paddington Bear, the Herbs and the guinea pig Olga Da Polga.Ann Louise Gilligan the former nun who campaigned for her same sex marriage to be recognised in Irish law.Carla Fendi, one of five sisters who turned their family business in Rome into a global fashion brand.And John Avildsen who directed two Rocky films and the Karate Kid.Producer: Neil George.

Julian Worricker on:Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of Germany at the time of the country's re-unification.Anita Pallenberg, artiste and muse to three of the Rolling Stones.Scientist, Brian Bellhouse, who invented the needle-free injection.Naseem Khan, a pioneering figure within the minority ethnic arts scene in Britain.Brian Cant, children's TV presenter, most famous for his twenty years on Play School.

Matthew Bannister onArms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, known for his lavish life style, he acted as a middle man between governments and arms suppliers.Countess Mountbatten, godmother to Prince Charles, she was badly wounded in the IRA bomb attack which killed her father, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and her son Nicholas. Adam West, the actor best known for playing Batman on TV.Kailash Puri, the Indian born writer who became an agony aunt to thousands of Punjabi readers.And Vin Garbutt, the folk singer known as "The Teesside Troubadour."Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onMiriam Rodríguez Martínez- the Mexican woman whose daughter was killed by drug cartels - and who led a campaign for justice for thousands of missing people.Lord Soulsby - the first vet to be made a peer. He was an expert on parasites nicknamed "Lord of the Worms."Peter Sallis the actor best known for his role as Norman Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine - and for being the voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit. Lady Anne Piper, the novelist who campaigned for nuclear disarmament.Jiří Bělohlávek, the Czech-born chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the first non-native English speaker to preside at the Last Night of the Proms.

Julian Worricker on:The broadcaster, John Noakes, who was famous for his daredevil exploits on Blue Peter for thirteen years....Manuel Noriega, who flirted with the Americans as leader of Panama, and ended up being jailed by them....The dancer for whom one photograph of her on railings on Blackpool promenade shot her to fame, Pat Stewart....Wing Commander Rex Sanders, lead navigator on a series of top secret missions over the Soviet Union...And the American rock musician, Gregg Allman, whose band created the sound known as Southern Rock.Producer: Neil George.

Andrea Catherwood onBrendan Duddy, the businessman from Derry who played a key but unsung role in the Northern Ireland peace process hosting secret talks between MI6 and the IRA.Nina Lowry, the first woman to become an Old Bailey judge, who helped toughen up sentencing on sex crimes.Roger Ailes, the controversial figure who conceived and ran Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Network for two decades before being ousted over sexual harassment claims.Osmund Reynolds, a founder of neo-natal medicine who's pioneering work changed the outcome for a generation of premature babies.And Sir Roger Moore, the actor and film star best know for his portrayal of British secret agent 007, James BondProduced by Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onRhodri Morgan the former Welsh First Minister, known as the Labour Party's "Father of Welsh devolution". Michael Wearing the TV producer behind award winning series like "Boys From The Blackstuff" and "Edge of Darkness".Helen Szamuely who helped to start the Anti Federalist League - which became the UK Independence Party.The Moors murderer Ian Brady.And the DJ Robert Miles - best known for his international hit "Children". Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe Swiss climber Ueli Steck, famous for his daring high speed ascents of the world's most challenging mountains without the use of oxygen.Lord Williams the human rights expert who advised three Labour Foreign secretaries.Sylvia Moy who co-wrote many of Stevie Wonder's best known songs, including "I Was Made To Love Her" and "My Cherie Amour."Captain James Dickson, the experienced seaman who was winched down onto the deck of the oil tanker Braer when it ran aground in high seas on the coast of Shetland.And Jon Prinz, the food scientist and custard expert described by Heston Blumenthal as "brilliant and barking mad in equal measure". Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onRobert Pirsig, author of the best selling book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.Shobha Nehru, the Hungarian woman who married into India's most powerful political dynasty - and used her position to confront Prime Minister Indira Ghandi about human rights abuses. Michael Ballhaus, the cinematographer who worked closely with Martin Scorsese.Leo Baxendale, the cartoonist and publisher who created the Bash Street Kids and Minnie the Minx.And Bruce Langhorne, the guitarist on some of Bob Dylan's best known songs. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe film director Jonathan Demme - best known for the multi Oscar winning films Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia.Robert Taylor who helped to develop the first networked computers - a forerunner of the internet - and inspired the creation of modern personal computers.Cathy Hopkins who campaigned for the residents of St Helena to get back their British citizenship.Peter Farrer, the Liverpool tax inspector who enjoyed cross dressing and became an expert on the history of women's costume. And Dorothy Torry, secretary to six BBC Directors General, including Lord Reith. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe theatre director Michael Bogdanov, who co-founded the English Shakespeare Company. His National Theatre production of the Romans In Britain led to an obscenity trial. The ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno who fell in love with the music of an obscure tribe of pygmies in the Central African Republic and went to live with them.Sheila Abdus Salaam, who became the first African American woman to serve as a judge on New York's highest court.Dick Potts, the ecologist who worked to save Britain's grey partridge population.Don Rickles, the American comedian who made his name by insulting Frank Sinatra and was the voice of Mr Potato Head in the Toy Story films.

Julian Worricker on:The society columnist and Holocaust survivor, Masha Leon....Actor Tim Pigott-Smith and director Christopher Morahan, who worked together on ITV's The Jewel in the Crown....Playwright Parv Bancil whose work tackled issues affecting young British Asians....Marthe Gosteli, who was at the forefront of the campaign to get women the vote in Switzerland....And the broadcaster, host of 'Sounds of the Sixties', Brian Matthew.

Matthew Bannister on the Black Power activist and journalist Darcus Howe. He was a leading campaigner for equal rights in the 1970s and 80s.Athletics coach Andy Coogan who spent three and a half years as a prisoner of the Japanese during the second world war.Dr Sylvia Moody, the clinical psychologist who pioneered greater understanding of dyslexia in adults.The Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko who became a star in the West during the 1960s.Peter Shotton - who was at school with John Lennon, played the washboard in the Quarrymen and made his fortune from a chain of American-style diners.

Matthew Bannister onPlaywright and novelist David Storey who drew on his experiences as a professional rugby league player in some of his work. The South African anti apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada who spent twenty six years in prison with Nelson Mandela and then became his parliamentary adviser.Barbara Buss who edited Woman Magazine in its 1970s heyday.And Lucky Gordon, the drug dealer, jazz singer and cook whose brief relationship with Christine Keeler led to the uncovering of the Profumo Affair in the 1960s. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onMartin McGuinness, who went from being a violent IRA commander to a peace making politician.Chuck Berry, hailed as the father of rock n roll by musicians from Keith Richards to John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.The Nobel prize winning poet Sir Derek Walcott, who brought the Caribbean experience to the wider world. Salome Karwah, who survived Ebola in her native Liberia, went back to help other sufferers and then died from complications after childbirth.And Colin Dexter, creator of the immortal detective Inspector Morse. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe racing driver John Surtees who won world championships on two wheels and four.Gordon Thomas who wrote best selling books about espionage and religion.Sir Howard Hodgkin - one of the UK's most admired modern painters.H. Boyd Woodruff, the microbiologist who isolated life saving antibiotics in soil.Joni Sledge one of four singing sisters in the disco group Sister Sledge.Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister on The human rights lawyer Sir Nigel Rodley. He helped to draft the United Nations Convention Against Torture and became its special rapporteur on the issue. Pete Overend Watts, the bass player from Mott the Hoople. His platform soled boots were so high that if he fell over on stage he needed a roadie to put him back on his feet again. Louise Hulton the maternal health expert who worked tirelessly to improve conditions for childbirth around the world.And Sir Cosmo Haskard, the colourful Governor of the Falkland Islands, who helped to stop the Labour government from handing them to Argentina in the 1960s. Producer: Neil George.

Julian Worricker on:The long-serving Labour MP and former minister, Gerald KaufmanThe prolific Dutch illustrator and author Dick BrunaCardinal Desmond Connell, who as Archbishop of Dublin presided over the Church's handling of the child abuse scandalControversial city mayor Rita Barbera, who ran Valencia in Spain for twenty yearsWriter and broadcaster, Frank Delaney, best known for Radio 4 programmes Bookshelf and Word of Mouth.Producer: Neil George.

Kate Silverton on Stanley Bard, the enigmatic proprietor of New York's Chelsea Hotel who created a haven for artists, writers and rock stars and presided over one of the greatest experiments in bohemian living in the history of New York Norma McCorvey, known as Jane Roe, the anonymous plaintiff in the Roe v Wade case by which the US supreme court legalised abortion, who became an unlikely icon for feminismMichael Ember, the Hungarian émigré who fled his country's uprising to become one of the BBC's most respected radio producers - creating programmes In the Psychiatrist's chair and Stop the Week And Peter Skellern - the singer, songwriter and pianist who found fame with 'you're a lady' and forged an enduring musical partnership with his colleague and friend Sir Richard Stilgoe.Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onBetty Tebbs who devoted her life to fighting for women's rights and nuclear disarmament.Sir Peter Mansfield, the Nobel Prize winning physicist who led the development of MRI scanning.Dame Jennifer Jenkins, chairwoman of the Consumers Association and the National Trust.Hans Rosling the statistician known for his skill as a communicator who worked to end poverty.Al Jarreau the versatile singer who won Grammy awards for jazz, pop and R&B.

Matthew Bannister onThe comedy writer Alan Simpson. With his partner Ray Galton, he created classic sitcoms including Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son.Brunhilde Pomsel who was the secretary to the Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels.Sir Ken Morrison, the Yorkshireman who built up the family grocery firm to become Britain's fourth largest supermarket chain.And the Nigerian born novelist Buchi Emecheta who overcame prejudice to follow her passion for writing.

Matthew Bannister on Sir John Hurt, the actor whose outstanding roles included Quentin Crisp, the Elephant Man and Caligula.Margaret Pereira, the pioneering forensic scientist who was known as "Miss Murder" by the press.Sir Christopher Bland who chaired LWT, the BBC and BT.Emma Tennant, the author from an aristocratic background whose work included sequels to classic novels.And Mary Tyler Moore, the American TV star whose sitcom made her a role model for independent career women. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe Labour MP Tam Dalyell who asked the West Lothian Question and pursued Margaret Thatcher over the sinking of the Belgrano. Victor Lownes who ran Playboy's clubs in the UK - and lived up to the magazine's lifestyle and values. Children's author Babette Cole, best known for writing and illustrating Princess Smartypants and The Trouble with Mum.The Chinese economist and linguistics expert Zhou Youguang who came up with the Pinyin system of turning Chinese characters into Roman letters.And the actor Gorden Kaye, best known for playing the cafe owner Rene in the comedy series 'Allo 'Allo. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onBaroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint who captained the England women's cricket team to victory in the World Cup.Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the key players in the country's revolution.Dr. Una Kroll, a tireless campaigner for the ordination of women.William Peter Blatty who wrote the book and the film "The Exorcist"And Sir James Mancham, the first President of the Seychelles Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onLord Snowdon - renowned photographer and Princess Margaret's former husband.Graham Taylor - the football manager who had success with Watford and Aston Villa, but was lampooned for his performance with England. Jill Saward, the rape survivor who campaigned for the rights of those who suffer sexual violence. The singer and songwriter Peter Sarsdedt, best known for the song "Where Do You Go To My Lovely?"And Clare Hollingworth, the war reporter who broke the story of the Nazi invasion of Poland. Producer: Neil George.

Julian Worricker on:The writer and art critic John BergerMother and daughter actresses, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie FisherThe surgeon who came up with the life-saving heimlich manoeuvre, Henry HeimlichThe linguist Patsy Crampton, who worked at the Nuremberg trials before going on to translate more than 200 children's booksBroadcaster Brian Widlake, well known for the Money Programme and the World at OneAnd one of the biggest names in popular music, George Michael.Producer: Neil George.

Julian Worricker on:The journalist and TV correspondent, Michael Nicholson, who covered numerous conflicts for ITNThe actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor, famous for her one-liners and nine husbandsJames Prior, who served in government under Margaret Thatcher despite her regarding him as a 'wet'Rabbi Lionel Blue, a regular presenter on Thought for the Day on Radio 4and the composer Pauline Oliveros. an electronic music pioneer best known for her philosophy of 'deep listening'.Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onPeter Gibson the master glazier who devoted his life to the care of the stained glass windows in York Minster.AA Gill, who overcame alcoholism and dyslexia to become one of the UK's best known critics.Coral Atkins who gave up a career as an actress to run homes for disadvantaged children.William Chaloner, an authority on fossil plants who used pollen from the past to reconstruct ancient environments.Ian McCaskill, the BBC weather man much imitated by impressionists.

Matthew Bannister on John Glenn, the astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth and later the oldest man ever to be sent into space.The actor Peter Vaughan, best known for his roles in Porridge, Our Friends In the North and latterly Game of Thrones.Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the autocratic chief minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu who was imprisoned for corruption, but re-elected afterwards. And Greg Lake - the guitarist and singer who was part of the supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer and recorded a classic Christmas single. Producer: Dianne McGregor.

Matthew Bannister onAndrew Sachs, the actor who was so much more than Manuel in Fawlty Towers. We hear about his acclaimed radio career.Also the Cuban leader Fidel Castro - brutal dictator or benevolent champion of his people?The jazz and blues singer Mose Allison, whose songs were covered by the Who, the Clash, Bonnie Raitt and Van Morrison.And The Honourable Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin, who became a celebrity after writing her memoirs of life in the royal household. Producer: Neil George.

Kate Silverton on:Martin Aitchison who worked with Barnes Wallis on the bouncing bomb but made his name illustrating the Peter and Jane ladybird books.Sir Mota Singh, the Kenyan born Barrister who became Britain's first ethnic minority judge making headlines worldwide as the first judge in 300 years not to wear the horse hair wigWilliam Trevor - one of Ireland's greatest writers - a novelist, playwright and short story writer, his work was compared with ChekhovRuth Gruber, journalist, author, humanitarian and spy. She documented Stalin's gulags, life in Nazi Germany and the plight of Jewish refugeesand David Mancuso, dance music legend and music host who founded the Loft in New York.Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onRobert Vaughn - the actor who made his name as Napoleon Solo in "The Man From Uncle" TV series and also appeared in films like "The Magnificent Seven", "Bullitt" and "The Towering Inferno".Ewen Whitaker, the self taught astronomer who became an expert on the geography of the moon and helped direct Apollo 12 to its landing site. Carolyn Hardy, who turned the National Gardens Scheme into a stand alone charity and was vice chairman of the Royal Horticultural Society.Sir Sigmund Sternberg, the businessman who founded the Three Faiths Forum to encourage dialogue between Jews, Muslims and Christians.Claude "Curly" Putman - the country singer who wrote "D.I.V.O.R.C.E" and "The Green Green Grass of Home". Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onThe singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen. He was accused of depressing a generation, but many found his songs inspiring.Lieutenant Colonel Bob Montgomery - the explosives expert who played a leading role in a daring Commando raid on the port of Saint Nazaire during the second world war.Janet Reno - the US Attorney General General under President Bill Clinton - she dealt with many controversial issues, including the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky scandals. Sir Jimmy Young. For thirty years his mixture of news and music entertained and informed millions on Radio 2. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onAmerican political activist Tom Hayden. He once said that people only knew four words about him: "Sixties, Radical, Jane and Fonda". He led anti Vietnam war protests and was married to the Hollywood star. Valerie Hunter Gordon who invented the disposable nappy. Her prototypes were made from old wartime parachutes. Literary agent Carole Blake who wrote a best selling guide for aspiring novelists.And Anne Pashley, who won a silver medal at the 1956 Olympics, then became a leading opera singer.

Matthew Bannister on Raine Countess Spencer. The daughter of Barbara Cartland and step mother of Princess Diana who nicknamed her "Acid Raine".Jimmy Perry who drew on his own life to co-write classic TV comedies including Dad's Army and Hi De Hi.General Stylianos Pattakos, a leading figure in the military junta that took power in Greece in 1967. The theatre director Howard Davies, acclaimed for his productions of twentieth century American classics and for the premiere of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.And Bobby Vee - the sixties pop idol whose many chart hits included Rubber Ball and Take Good Care of My Baby. Producer: Neil George.

Matthew Bannister onJean Alexander - the actress best known for playing Hilda Ogden in Coronation Street.Trinh Thi Ngo. Nicknamed Hanoi Hannah, she broadcast propaganda to American GIs during the Vietnam war.Ian Mercer the naturalist who became the first Dartmoor National Park officer and the first Chief Executive of the Countryside Council for Wales.Joseph Harmatz, part of a group of Jewish vigilantes who set out to murder millions of Germans just after the second world war.And Joan Marie Johnson - one of the three women singers in the Dixie Cups who scored a major hit with The Chapel of Love.Producer: Neil George.