Desert Island Discs
Episodes
Gene Wilder
02 Feb 1997
Contributed by Lukas
When this week's castaway was a child his mother had a heart attack. Her doctor gave him two pieces of advice. "Never", he said, "get angry with her. ...
Irene Thomas
26 Jan 1997
Contributed by Lukas
She's an expert on sauce bottles, remembers the small print on British Rail timetables, and for 30 years she was a regular contestant on Radio 4's Rou...
John Cleese
05 Jan 1997
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian and actor John Cleese.Favourite track: Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni Book: Stand By Your Man by ...
Martin Amis
29 Dec 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's guest on Desert Island Discs today is the writer Martin Amis. He describes his books as comedies, but, like London Fields and Other Peopl...
Jennifer Saunders
22 Dec 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Absolutely Fabulous! Jennifer Saunders began "doing funny things with props" in the early 1980s. With...
Ian Dury
15 Dec 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Today's castaway on Desert Island Discs confused the rock critics in the late 1970s with songs like Sweet Gene Vincent, Reasons to be Cheerful and out...
Robert Winston
08 Dec 1996
Contributed by Lukas
On Desert Island Discs today the castaway is Robert Winston.As Professor of Fertility Studies at Hammersmith Hospital in London, he has been at the fo...
Bruce Forsyth
01 Dec 1996
Contributed by Lukas
This week's castaway on Desert Island Discs may be nearing 70, but he knows how to play The Generation Game. Bruce Forsyth is one of the great all-rou...
Rt Hon Tony Blair MP
24 Nov 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Leader of the Opposition, the Right Honourable Tony Blair. He will be describing his beliefs, both political an...
Tessa Sanderson
17 Nov 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Atlanta was her sixth Olympic Games. The first was 20 years before. On Desert Island Discs, Tessa Sanderson reveals the competitive drive that brought...
Sir Laurens Van Der Post
10 Nov 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a writer, a traveller and an advisor to a Prince and Prime Minister.Now nearly 90, he'll be talking t...
Chris Patten
03 Nov 1996
Contributed by Lukas
He's called "His Excellency" by some; to others he's "Fatty Patten". Next year he will hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese.Chris Patten, this week's ca...
Jancis Robinson
27 Oct 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the wine writer Jancis Robinson.One of only 200 Masters of Wine in the world, she recalls how her passion was first...
Jackie Charlton
20 Oct 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The ball rolled past the gap between him and Gordon Banks and into the back of the net. The Germans were one goal up. This week's castaway, Jackie Cha...
Rumer Godden
13 Oct 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Always an outsider, she seems to have gone against all the mores of her time; from opening a dancing school in Calcutta to living alone with her child...
Lewis Wolpert
06 Oct 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Professor Lewis Wolpert. As Chairman of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science, he is a...
Ben Elton
29 Sep 1996
Contributed by Lukas
His fourth novel, Popcorn, has been widely-acclaimed by the critics. He's about to begin a nationwide tour with his stand-up comedy routine. And, afte...
Fran Landesman
22 Sep 1996
Contributed by Lukas
She has written songs for her friends Barbra Streisand and Bette Davis, and admires Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn. This week, the poet and lyricist F...
Kevin Whately
15 Sep 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the actor Kevin Whately. Having appeared increasingly prominently in three of the most successful ser...
Professor Colin Blakemore
08 Sep 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the scientist Colin Blakemore. A brilliant student, he became an Oxford professor at the age of 35 an...
Sir Terence Conran
01 Sep 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the designer and entrepreneur Terence Conran. He first came to fame with the Habitat store which intr...
Anita Lasker-Wallfisch
25 Aug 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. One of the most distinguished members of the English Chamber Orch...
André Previn
18 Aug 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer and conductor André Previn. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he and his family ...
Quentin Crewe
16 Jun 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the journalist and author Quentin Crewe. Since the age of 29, muscular dystrophy has left him in a wh...
Peggy Mount
09 Jun 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Peggy Mount. Now 80 years old, and about to play the nanny in Uncle Vanya at Chichester t...
Gerry Robinson
02 Jun 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a businessman who started life as one of 10 children in a poor family in Donegal, moved with his fami...
Michael White
26 May 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the producer Michael White. Renowned for his theatrical flair - with a string of successes such as Sl...
Janet Holmes à Court
19 May 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Janet Holmes à Court. Recently named Businesswoman of the Year, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley abou...
Hugh Laurie
12 May 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's castaway is actor and comedian Hugh Laurie.Favourite track: Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison Book: A self-learn Italian book (slowly) Luxu...
Pauline Quirke
05 May 1996
Contributed by Lukas
BBC TV's Birds Of A Feather is one of the country's favourite comedy programmes, attracting audiences of 14 or 15 million on a Sunday evening. This we...
Mitsuko Uchida
28 Apr 1996
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sue Lawley's desert island castaway is the pianist Mitsuko Uchida. She was born in Japan, but, when she was 12, her family moved to Vienna,...
Hanif Kureishi
21 Apr 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the novelist and playwright Hanif Kureishi. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his enormously succe...
Viscount Rothermere
14 Apr 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Viscount Rothermere. As proprietor of the Daily Mail, the Mail On Sunday, London's Evening Standard a...
Dickie Bird
07 Apr 1996
Contributed by Lukas
This summer will see what will be a sad day in Test cricket history: Dickie Bird, who has umpired 65 Test matches, 92 one-day internationals and three...
Simon Weston
31 Mar 1996
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly 14 years ago, the young Simon Weston set off to serve with his regiment in the Falklands War. On 8th June 1982 in Bluff Cove, his ship was bomb...
Kyra Vayne
24 Mar 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is someone who has unexpectedly encountered professional acclaim late in her life. Singer Kyra Vayne cou...
Lord Alexander
17 Mar 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Chairman of the National Westminster Bank Lord Alexander. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about ho...
Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
03 Mar 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he was an early 'fast-tr...
Sir Roy Calne
25 Feb 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a surgeon and a painter. Sir Roy Calne - Professor of Surgery at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge ...
Professor George Steiner
18 Feb 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Professor George Steiner. One of the most prominent intellectuals of our time, he'll be talking to Su...
Susan Hill
11 Feb 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the country's best-known novelists. Author of I'm the King of the Castle, Strange Meeting and ...
Eve Arnold
04 Feb 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the world's outstanding photojournalists, Eve Arnold. The first American woman member of the f...
Julian Barnes
28 Jan 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Julian Barnes. Since his first novel - Metroland - was published when he was 34, he has wr...
Chili Bouchier
21 Jan 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the only surviving British star of the silent screen. Chili Bouchier will be talking to Sue Lawley ab...
Jimmy McGovern
14 Jan 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the playwright Jimmy McGovern. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the TV series Cracker - one of th...
Christopher Hampton
07 Jan 1996
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Christopher Hampton. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his multiplicity of talents - af...
Lady Margaret Tebbit
31 Dec 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Margaret Tebbit. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the night 11 years ago when the IRA detonated ...
Petula Clark
24 Dec 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is an entertainer who has managed to captivate a generation. Petula Clark will be talking to Sue Lawley ...
Barbara Dickson
17 Dec 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway this week in Desert Island Discs is the singer and actress Barbara Dickson. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how she progressed from...
Alison Steadman
03 Dec 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Alison Steadman. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her role as the monstrous Beverly ...
George Martin
19 Nov 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a musician who became famous for producing other people's music. George Martin will be talking to Sue...
Umberto Eco
12 Nov 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Umberto Eco. His best-selling novel The Name of the Rose propelled him from the relative o...
Rt Hon Gillian Shephard MP
05 Nov 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, Gillian Shephard. She'll be talking to Sue Lawle...
Elizabeth Jane Howard
29 Oct 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard. In 1950, her first novel The Beautiful Visit was published. Now, ...
Don Black
22 Oct 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the country's most successful lyricists, Don Black.Songs like Born Free and Diamonds are Forev...
Richard Hoggart
15 Oct 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the academic and author Richard Hoggart. Nearly 40 years ago, he wrote the hugely influential Uses of...
Alan Yentob
08 Oct 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Controller of BBC1, Alan Yentob. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his upbringing in Mancheste...
Jenny Pitman
01 Oct 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the racehorse trainer Jenny Pitman. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the empathy she feels for t...
Maurice Saatchi
24 Sep 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the advertising man, Maurice Saatchi. He and his brother Charles created what became the biggest adve...
Max Nicholson
17 Sep 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a man who spans our century. Aged 91, Max Nicholson has enjoyed careers in conservation, politics, jo...
John Updike
10 Sep 1995
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the celebrated American writer John Updike. His novels include Rabbit Run (and three Rabbit ...
Wendy Richard
09 Jul 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Wendy Richard, one of the best-known faces on British television. She'll be talking to Su...
Duke Of Westminster
02 Jul 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the sixth Duke of Westminster. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the r...
Jasper Conran
25 Jun 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is clothes designer Jasper Conran. Son of Sir Terence Conran and Shirley Conran, he has art, design and ...
Sir Magdi Yacoub
18 Jun 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the great pioneers of heart transplant surgery - Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.He'll be talking t...
John Lee Hooker
11 Jun 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the oldest and deepest voices in rock music - the legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker. The son ...
Brian Blessed
04 Jun 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actor Brian Blessed.He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about Z Cars - the series which first brought ...
Marianne Faithfull
28 May 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Marianne Faithfull. Singer and actress, she was the original 1960s wild child.At the age of 17, when ...
Sir Bernard Ingham
21 May 1995
Contributed by Lukas
Sue Lawley's castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Sir Bernard Ingham. For 11 years, one month and five days, almost from when she came to powe...
Neil Simon
14 May 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of America's most successful playwrights. Since he opened Come Blow Your Horn on Broadway in 1961...
Dr George Carey
07 May 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey. The son of a hospital porter, he'll be talking to Sue ...
Pete Waterman
30 Apr 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week has a classic rags-to-riches story to relate. Born into a poor family in Coventry, record producer Pete ...
George Lloyd
23 Apr 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway choosing his eight desert island discs this week will also be relating a story of early triumph, 25 years of obscurity and a revival of f...
Hugh Grant
16 Apr 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actor Hugh Grant. The star of the enormously successful Four Weddings and a Funeral, he'll be tal...
James Bowman
09 Apr 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the country's most distinguished counter-tenor James Bowman. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how...
Nina Bawden
02 Apr 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the novelist Nina Bawden. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the autobiographical aspects of both ...
Felix Aprahamian
19 Mar 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the music writer and critic Felix Aprahamian. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how, as a music cr...
Nigel Nicolson
12 Mar 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer and publisher Nigel Nicolson. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his parents Harold Nico...
Professor Eric Hobsbawm
05 Mar 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the historian Professor Eric Hobsbawm. A life-long Communist and author of a series of books on the h...
Christopher Lee
26 Feb 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is British cinema's king of horror - Christopher Lee. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his disappoin...
Jimmy Knapp
19 Feb 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Jimmy Knapp, General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union. He'll be talking to Sue Law...
Sir Adrian Cadbury
29 Jan 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Sir Adrian Cadbury, for nearly 20 years chairman of the famous chocolate factory that bears his famil...
Dr Richard Dawkins
22 Jan 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the biologist Dr Richard Dawkins. Author of popular science books such as The Selfish Gene and The Bl...
Phil Redmond
15 Jan 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the creator, writer and producer of two of British television's most enduring and influential series ...
Patricia Hodge
08 Jan 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Patricia Hodge. Currently in her prime as Miss Jean Brodie in the West End, she'll be tal...
Alan Clark
01 Jan 1995
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the politician, historian and diarist Alan Clark. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the impact his...
David Jason OBE
25 Dec 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is one of Britain's best-loved actors, David Jason. He will be talking to Sue Lawley about the rocky rou...
Penelope Hobhouse
18 Dec 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the country's famous experts on gardens and garden design, Penelope Hobhouse. She will be talk...
Margaret Forster
04 Dec 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Margaret Forster. Her second novel - Georgy Girl - was published in the 1960s and made int...
Sir Howard Hodgkin
27 Nov 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the painter Sir Howard Hodgkin. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the hard road to recognition in ...
Glenys Kinnock
20 Nov 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Glenys Kinnock. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her upbringing in Wales, her role during the ye...
Berthold Goldschmidt
13 Nov 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer and conductor Berthold Goldschmidt. Born in Hamburg 91 years ago, he enjoyed a brilliant...
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
06 Nov 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Reverend Desmond Tutu. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley ...
Kathleen Hale
30 Oct 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway this week in Desert Island Discs is the writer and illustrator Kathleen Hale. Mainly renowned for that hero of children's literature - Or...
Lynda La Plante
23 Oct 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Lynda La Plante - the creator of much-admired television series like Prime Suspect, Widows and Civvie...
Sir George Christie
16 Oct 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Chairman of Glyndebourne, Sir George Christie. As Master of one of Europe's most distinguished op...
Jeanette Winterson
09 Oct 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Jeanette Winterson. Her first book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was based on her Lancash...
Professor James Fenton
02 Oct 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the poet and writer James Fenton. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early life as a boy choris...
Mary Stott
25 Sep 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a journalist and feminist. Mary Stott became Women's Editor of the Guardian newspaper in 1957 and und...
John Tavener
18 Sep 1994
Contributed by Lukas
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer John Tavener. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the varied inspirations for his music...