Michael Pennington, Cynthia Shange, Scott Hastings, Beverley Martyn

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

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Michael Pennington, Cynthia Shange, Scott Hastings, Beverley Martyn is an episode from Last Word by BBC.

This episode is 27:48 long.

This episode was published on May 22, 2026.

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