Alistair Cooke, who has died aged 95, was best known as the writer of the BBC's Letter from America, which will surely go down in broadcasting history as the longest uninterrupted radio series. It was also one of the most influential for it helped shape the attitude of Britons and Americans to each other.

The sequence, which began a 13-week run on March 24 1946, only ended this month after 58 years.