Gillian Reynolds
03 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Gillian Reynolds spent 42 years as the radio critic of the Daily Telegraph before she was headhunted...
David Baddiel
27 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
David Baddiel is a comedian and writer. Known both for his solo work and for his comedic collaborati...
Dr Sue Black
20 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Sue Black is a computer scientist, academic and social entrepreneur. She was instrumental in sav...
Sir Peter Lampl
13 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Peter Lampl is a philanthropist who has given over £50 million and worked for 20 years to comba...
Abi Morgan
06 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Abi Morgan is a screenwriter and playwright best known for TV dramas The Hour, River and The Split a...
Anne-Marie Duff
25 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Anne-Marie Duff is a stage and screen actor.Born in 1970 to Irish parents, she grew up in a working ...
David Byrne
18 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
David Byrne was a founding member of the band Talking Heads. Born in Dumbarton, Scotland, he emigrat...
John Gray
11 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
John Gray is a philosopher. His academic career included professorships at Oxford University and the...
Matt Smith
04 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Smith is best known as the eleventh Timelord in the BBC One series, Doctor Who. At 26, he becam...
Dame Minouche Shafik
25 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dame Minouche Shafik is the director of the London School of Economics and a former Deputy Governor ...
Christopher Nolan
18 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Nolan is best known for reviving the Batman film franchise and for directing the blockbu...
Chi-chi Nwanoku
11 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Chi-chi Nwanoku is a double bass player and founder of Europe's first professional majority black an...
Jack Whitehall
04 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jack Whitehall, stand-up comedian, actor, sit-com writer and producer is Kirsty Young's castaway.He ...
Garry Kasparov
28 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Garry Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, who became the youngest ever world champion at the ag...
Christina Lamb
22 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Christina Lamb is chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times and travels the world reporting f...
Angela Hartnett
14 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Angela Hartnett is a chef, TV presenter and cookery writer. She holds a Michelin star and runs her o...
Charlie Brooker
07 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie Brooker is a satirist, broadcaster and writer. He created the Emmy-award winning series, Bla...
75 Years of Desert Island Discs
31 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
75 Years of Desert Island Discs - Kirsty Young ends the programme's anniversary year with some gems ...
Bruno Tonioli
24 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Bruno Tonioli, dancer, choreographer and a judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, is Kirsty's gue...
Christine McVie
17 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Christine McVie enjoyed huge success with Fleetwood Mac, penning many of their signature songs inclu...
Kelsey Grammer
10 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kelsey Grammer is best known for his two-decade-long portrayal of psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane whic...
Tim Martin
03 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Martin is the chairman and founder of the pub company JD Wetherspoon. He opened his first pub, M...
Naomi Klein
26 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The writer and activist Naomi Klein reached an international audience with her first book, the best-...
Micky Flanagan
19 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Micky Flanagan found mainstream success as a comedian in 2007 with his autobiographical 'What Chance...
Anna Pavord
12 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Pavord, writer & gardener, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island DiscsProducer: ...
Professor Phil Scraton
05 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Phil Scraton is Professor Emeritus at the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast. A c...
Kay Mellor
29 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kay Mellor, OBE, is an English screenwriter and director best known for TV drama series including Ba...
Edna Adan Ismail
22 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Edna Adan Ismail is a midwife and campaigner. As a 12 year old growing up in British Somaliland, her...
Jane Gardam
15 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jane Gardam is best known for her trilogy of novels about an ex-colonial QC nicknamed Old Filth. A w...
Sir James MacMillan
08 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sir James MacMillan is a Scottish composer and conductor. He's one of Britain's most successful livi...
Siddhartha Mukherjee
01 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Siddhartha Mukherjee is a cancer specialist. His biography of the disease, The Emperor of All Maladi...
Professor Dame Jane Francis
24 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Dame Jane Francis is the Director of the British Antarctic Survey. She is no stranger to s...
Paul Greengrass
17 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Greengrass has directed three Jason Bourne films, starring Matt Damon, Captain Phillips with To...
Dr Kevin Fong
06 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Dr. Kevin Fong. He is a consultant anaesthetist at University College Hos...
Sheryl Sandberg
30 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, is Kirsty Young's castaway. She worked for Goo...
Jayne-Anne Gadhia
23 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive of Virgin Money. She is currently the ...
John McEnroe
16 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the tennis player and commentator, John McEnroe. He won three singles and...
Sue Perkins
09 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and TV presenter Sue Perkins. She and her friend Mel Giedroy...
Professor Carlo Rovelli
02 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the theoretical physicist, Professor Carlo Rovelli. His book 'Seven Brief...
Stella McCartney
25 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the fashion designer Stella McCartney.Born the middle child of ...
Jed Mercurio
18 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Jed Mercurio. Creator of Line of Duty, and an award-winning TV writer, pr...
Rick Wakeman
11 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Rick Wakeman, musician and composer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island DiscsProducer:...
Sonia Friedman
04 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the theatre producer, Sonia Friedman. Acclaimed as the most influential p...
Elif Shafak
28 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Turkish writer Elif Shafak. Elif Shafak has published ten n...
Demis Hassabis
21 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Dr Demis Hassabis. An artificial intelligence researcher and co-founder a...
Liz Lochhead
14 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer and poet Liz Lochhead. She was the Makar, the Scotti...
Ed Sheeran
07 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Ed Sheeran. His songs have brought him two Grammys, four Brit a...
Arundhati Roy
26 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, Arundhati Roy. She won the Booker Prize for her first novel, ...
Amanda Levete
19 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the architect Amanda Levete. She won the Stirling prize in 1998...
Marian Keyes
12 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Marian Keyes. Her twelve novels to date have sold 35 million c...
Jimmy Carr
05 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and television presenter Jimmy Carr. He is the son of Irish ...
Dame Katherine Grainger
26 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the Olympian and rower, Dame Katherine Grainger. A six-time rowing World ...
Sir Antony Beevor
19 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is military historian, Sir Antony Beevor. His books about some of the key ba...
Clive James
16 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster and writer Clive James.Favourite track: Baby Love by Diana Ros...
June Brown
12 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
June Brown is best known today for her role as the long-suffering chain-smoking Dot Cotton (now Dot ...
Nigel Owens
05 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the rugby union referee Nigel Owens.His steely authority and qu...
David Beckham
29 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
David Beckham is Kirsty Young's guest as Desert Island Discs celebrates its 75th Anniversary. As a p...
Desert Island Discs at 75
28 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young celebrates 75 years of Desert Island Discs with some of the wonderful voices in the arc...
Caitlin Moran
22 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Caitlin Moran.A columnist for The Times newspaper fo...
Wayne McGregor
15 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the choreographer Wayne McGregor. Despite his background in contemporary ...
Pinky Lilani
08 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Pinky Lilani, who was awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to women in business, is the founder of the...
Sir Kenneth Grange
01 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Kenneth Grange is a designer. He's been designing elements of our everyday lives for the past si...
Gareth Malone
25 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Gareth Malone is a choirmaster who has coaxed and cajoled people from nervous adults to reluctant te...
Bruce Springsteen
18 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Bruce Springsteen. His career has brought him 20 Grammys, two G...
Sir Philip Craven
14 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Philip Craven is the President of the International Paralympic Committee and a former wheelchair...
Davina McCall
11 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Davina McCall is an English television presenter. She began her career on MTV before moving to Chann...
Emma Bridgewater
27 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramic designer and businesswoman. She set up her pottery business in...
Nicola Adams
20 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Nicola Adams. She made history when she won the first ever Olympic gold m...
Yotam Ottolenghi
18 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the cookery writer and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi. His food mixes the ...
Ali Smith
06 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Ali Smith is a Scottish writer. Born in Inverness in 1962, the youngest of five children by seven ye...
Michael Bublé
01 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer, Michael Bublé. Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, as a young...
Jackie Kay
23 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the poet and writer Jackie Kay. Born in Edinburgh in 1961 to a Scottish m...
Dr Robert Langer
16 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the scientist Dr Robert Langer. Institute Professor at the Massachusetts ...
Stephen Hough
09 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the concert pianist and composer Stephen Hough. He discovered he liked pl...
Christiane Amanpour
02 Oct 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the journalist and broadcaster Christiane Amanpour. Her career as a repor...
Joyce DiDonato
25 Sep 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Winner of two Grammy Awards, she is bes...
Nadiya Hussain
14 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the baker and winner of The Great British Bake Off in 2015, Nadiya Hussai...
Michael Heath
07 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the cartoonist Michael Heath.He's been working for newspapers and magazin...
Jilly Cooper
31 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young’s castaway is the writer Jilly Cooper.Her long writing career spans newspaper columns...
Professor Dame Ann Dowling
24 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the engineer and international expert on aircraft noise reduction, Profes...
Levi Roots
17 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the entrepreneur, Levi Roots.His business success began following an appe...
Nicole Farhi
10 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the designer and sculptor Nicole Farhi.Born into a Turkish family in Fran...
Matthew Barzun
03 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Matthew Barzun.Born in New York ...
Sara Khan
26 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Sara Khan.A British Muslim human rights activist, she's the director of I...
Barrie Rutter
19 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor and theatre director Barrie Rutter.He is the founder and artist...
Warwick Davis
12 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor Warwick Davis.His career began thanks to his grandmother who he...
David Nott
05 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the surgeon, David Nott.He works across three London hospitals performing...
Professor Louise Richardson
31 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the political scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University Professo...
Berry Gordy
22 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the producer Berry Gordy.He founded the Motown record label and his music...
Inga Beale
15 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the business woman, Inga Beale.She has been the CEO of Lloyd's ...
Tom Hanks, actor
08 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Tom Hanks.From 'Big' to 'Sleepless in Seattle', 'Captain Phillips' to 'Ap...
John Timpson
27 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the businessman, John Timpson.He is chairman of his eponymous high street...
Gloria Steinem
20 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, feminist & activist, Gloria Steinem.At the forefront of t...
Yinka Shonibare
13 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the artist Yinka Shonibare MBE.His work has populated museums around the ...
Dr Dame Sue Ion
06 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the engineer and nuclear scientist Dr Dame Sue Ion.The first woman to be ...
Hugh Bonneville
28 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Hugh Bonneville.Known around the world for his portrayal of Lord Grantham...
Dame Zaha Hadid
21 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the architect, Dame Zaha Hadid.The first woman to be awarded architecture...
Ben Saunders
14 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is the polar adventurer Ben Saunders. In his own words he "specialises in dr...
Professor Dame Carol Black
07 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Professor Dame Carol Black.She is Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge...
Bill Gates
04 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Kirsty Young's castaway is Bill Gates.He sat at his first computer while still at school in Seattle,...