Desert Island Discs

Clare Balding

01 Dec 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the broadcaster Clare Balding.The BBC TV coverage of London's 2012 Olympics was her triumph and much like Team GB...

Rt Hon Ed Miliband

24 Nov 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Labour Party, joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.He's been in charge of his party for three yea...

Malorie Blackman

17 Nov 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Malorie Blackman.A prolific and multi-award winning author she has powered her way to success not just...

Alfred Brendel

15 Nov 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the classical pianist, Alfred Brendel.A performer of world renown, his career spans seven decades, and he is particularly f...

Sir Ken Robinson

03 Nov 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the educationalist Sir Ken Robinson.Creativity - how to nurture it, develop it and marshal its power - is his preoccupation...

Professor Tanya Byron

27 Oct 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Tanya Byron, clinical psychologist and TV presenter, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.Tanya has spent the last twenty ...

Jeremy Hutchinson

20 Oct 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the former barrister and member of The House of Lords, Jeremy Hutchinson.His life spans eleven decades of British...

Chris Packham

13 Oct 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the naturalist, Chris Packham.TV presenter, filmmaker, writer, photographer, every bit of his work revolves around wildlife...

Carolyn McCall

06 Oct 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is businesswoman Carolyn McCall.Currently Chief Executive of easyJet, she's one of only three women in Britain in ch...

Lee Mack

29 Sep 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young interviews the comedian Lee Mack.He writes and stars in the BBC One hit show "Not Going Out". His stand-up tours do great business and hi...

Zadie Smith

22 Sep 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the novelist and critic, Zadie Smith.First published at just twenty four her debut novel "White Teeth" garnered h...

Daniel Kahneman

11 Aug 2013

Contributed by Lukas

The psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who won the 2002 Nobel Prize for Economics, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.Widely acknowledg...

Eve Stewart

04 Aug 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is BAFTA award-winning production designer, Eve Stewart.Her big screen credits include Les Miserables, The King's Speech and V...

Mary Robinson

28 Jul 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and ex-UN Commissioner for Human Rights.Her professional life has been defined b...

Russell Brand

21 Jul 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Russell Brand, comedian & actor, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.Actor, comic, writer, Russell Brand is a compelling cultur...

Val McDermid

14 Jul 2013

Contributed by Lukas

The writer, Val McDermid, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.Crime fiction is Val's chosen genre and the millions of novels she se...

Jane Somerville

07 Jul 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the cardiologist Jane Somerville.Now an Emeritus Professor in her discipline at Imperial College London she's gai...

Steven Pinker

30 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker.An author and Harvard professor he's been named by Time Magazine as one of t...

Hugh Laurie

23 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor, Hugh Laurie.If life were straightforward he'd be marooned on the island because of his achievements as an Olympi...

Alexandra Shulman

16 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman.In spite of being in charge of one of our leading 'style bibles' f...

Conrad Anker

09 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the mountaineer Conrad Anker.Some of us choose a life in I.T. or event planning - Conrad Anker has opted to swing...

Sir Mervyn King

02 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the out-going Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King. He has been in charge during a period of unpreced...

Deborah Bull

26 May 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's guest this week is the ballerina, writer and broadcaster Deborah Bull.The Royal Ballet, where she was a principal dancer for almost two...

Alice Walker

19 May 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Pulitzer Prize winning writer Alice Walker.Author, poet, feminist and activist, it was her novel The Color Pu...

Damien Hirst

12 May 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's guest this week is the artist Damien Hirst.Life, death, desire, fear, beauty, horror - his creative preoccupations are standard fair; h...

Sir Sydney Kentridge

31 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Sir Sydney Kentridge QC.Widely regarded as a leading advocate of the 20th century, he continues to make his mark ...

Jasvinder Sanghera

24 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer and campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera.She has counselled government and travelled widely advising on how t...

Julie Goodyear

17 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actress Julie Goodyear.For a quarter of a century her Coronation Street character Bet Lynch set the gold plat...

David Almond

10 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer David Almond.Most of his work is for children but the adults who populate the juries of heavyweight li...

Rankin

03 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the photographer Rankin.He started out doing fashion shoots and is very good at making pretty young things look e...

Uta Frith

24 Feb 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Uta Frith, developmental psychologist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.Uta Frith's groundbreaking work on autism has ...

Jonathan Agnew

17 Feb 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew.Known simply as "Aggers" to the army of fans devoted to Test Match Special...

Julie Burchill

10 Feb 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's guest is the writer Julie Burchill.As a columnist and author she is a committed non-conformist - daring the world to take issue with he...

Sir Terry Leahy

03 Feb 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sir Terry Leahy, the businessman and former CEO of Tesco. His first job with the company was as a teenager when he worked a...

Aung San Suu Kyi

27 Jan 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Aung San Suu Kyi. The programme was recorded on location in Naypyitaw, Burma in December 2012.Now Leader of Burma...

Beryl Vertue

20 Jan 2013

Contributed by Lukas

TV producer Beryl Vertue is Kirsty Young's castaway on Desert Island Discs.In the famously fickle world of telly where last year's hero is this year's...

Martin Carthy

13 Jan 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Martin Carthy.A highly influential figure in the world of traditional music, about fifty years ago he was at the ...

Sir Howard Stringer

06 Jan 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Sir Howard Stringer. Now Chairman of the Board and formerly CEO of Sony, he was surely the only Chief Executive w...

Anya Hindmarch

30 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the designer and businesswoman, Anya Hindmarch.Given her first handbag by her mother at 16, she knew that her fut...

Dawn French

23 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Dawn French. Her career started back when dungarees were considered a legitimate fashion choice and she's built h...

Sister Wendy Beckett

16 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the nun, writer and broadcaster Sister Wendy Beckett.For over 40 years she's lived the life of a hermit, rising e...

Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP

09 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles. After flirting with Communism in his te...

Dustin Hoffman

02 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Dustin Hoffman.In spite of his Aunt Pearl telling him he wasn't good looking enough to be an actor for the past f...

Edmund de Waal

25 Nov 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the artist and author, Edmund de Waal. His ceramics are on display in many of the world's major museums. They're delicate p...

John Lloyd

18 Nov 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the director, producer and writer, John Lloyd.His work has been making us laugh for over thirty years: Spitting I...

Blanche Marvin

16 Nov 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the critic, actress, and producer Blanche Marvin. Blanche has been immersed in the theatre for seven decades. She worked wi...

Tidjane Thiam

04 Nov 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is businessman Tidjane Thiam.He's chief executive of the Prudential, but he's about as far from the archetypal "man ...

Hilary Devey

28 Oct 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Hilary Devey, businesswoman and TV star is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs. The very incarnation of entrepreneurial spirit, Hilary...

Mona Siddiqui

21 Oct 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the academic & commentator, Mona Siddiqui. Born in Karachi and brought up in Huddersfield, she's a rarity - a...

Noah Stewart

14 Oct 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the American opera singer, Noah Stewart. He's a hit in opera houses around the world and his solo CD has topped the classic...

Celia Birtwell

07 Oct 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the designer Celia Birtwell.In the ephemeral world of fashion she has endured; Marian Faithfull wore her creation...

Ade Adepitan

30 Sep 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Paralympian & broadcaster Ade Adepitan. Wheelchair basketball's his sport and this year he partnered Claire Balding...

Goldie Hawn

23 Sep 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Hollywood's prototype dizzy blond, Goldie Hawn.Like most things in Tinseltown the image is somewhat at odds with the realit...

Craig Brown

12 Aug 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the critic and satirist Craig Brown. A prolific writer, he's lampooned everyone from DH Lawrence to Victoria Beckham and, e...

Baroness Campbell

05 Aug 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the campaigner Baroness Jane Campbell. She was born with a degenerative condition and her parents were told she would not s...

Mary Berry

29 Jul 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Berry is one of the UK's best-known and respected cookery writers. More than six million copies of her books have now been sold - not bad for a g...

Akram Khan

22 Jul 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.A child of Bengali immigrants, he started learning Indian dance almost as soon as h...

Simon McBurney

15 Jul 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor, writer and director Simon McBurney. It's 30 years since he set up the ground-breaking theatre company Complicite...

Martina Navratilova

08 Jul 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the legendary tennis player, Martina Navratilova. In an extraordinary career she's won 59 Grand Slam titles - her last just...

Charles Jencks

01 Jul 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the architectural critic and writer Charles Jencks.Born in America, for the past four decades he has lived and worked in Br...

John Bishop

24 Jun 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian John Bishop.Growing up on a Merseyside council estate, his early ambition was to play football for Liverpool -...

Ahdaf Soueif

17 Jun 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Egyptian writer and commentator Ahdaf Soueif.She was the first Muslim woman to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize and,...

Doreen Lawrence

10 Jun 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the campaigner Doreen Lawrence. The life she thought was hers ended when her son Stephen was murdered by a group of young w...

Margaret Rhodes

03 Jun 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Margaret Rhodes. As the first cousin to the Queen, she has a unique insight into the life of the royal family. She used to ...

Denise Robertson

27 May 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the agony aunt and writer Denise Robertson. She is, she says, one of life's survivors -- yet she seems to have had more tha...

Peter Ackroyd

20 May 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the novelist, historian and biographer, Peter Ackroyd. As a child he used to walk the streets of London with his grandmothe...

Baroness Hollins

13 May 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Baroness Sheila Hollins.An Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, she has specialised in the health and welfare of people with l...

Tim Minchin

06 May 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the composer and performer Tim Minchin. As a comic and musician he has sold out London's O2 Arena and won legions of fans. ...

Jamie Cullum

25 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the jazz pianist and singer Jamie Cullum. His interview was recorded in front of an audience at St George's in Bristol and ...

Anna Ford

18 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster Anna Ford.One of the first high profile women in news, she worked for Granada, ITV and the BBC before retir...

Jackie Mason

11 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the American comedian Jackie Mason.His one-man shows have been pulling in audiences for more than fifty years. Like his fat...

Patsy Rodenburg

04 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the renowned voice coach Patsy Rodenburg. Her work at the National Theatre and the RSC has spanned decades and her students...

Brian Moore

26 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the former rugby player and commentator Brian Moore. As a player he was ferociously competitive, he says his approach to th...

Lord Prescott

19 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. In this frank interview, he describes life in the highly political home whe...

James Corden

12 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

James Corden, actor and writer of Gavin & Stacey, is Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor and writer . As a child he longed to act - he found earl...

Denise Lewis

05 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Denise Lewis, Olympic gold medallist, is Kirsty Young's castaway.Her discipline was the heptathlon and it was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics that she lea...

Sir David Attenborough

29 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway for the 70th anniversary edition of Desert Island Discs is Sir David Attenborough. He has seen more of the world than anyone e...

Vikram Seth

22 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the author Vikram Seth. His novel A Suitable Boy was nearly a decade in the writing, but it was a huge and immediate hit an...

Paul Johnson

15 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer and historian Paul Johnson. He writes, he says, out of a desire to 'put things right' and more than fifty books ...

Dame Monica Mason

08 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the director of the Royal Ballet, Dame Monica Mason. Her working life has been dedicated to dance. When she joined the Roya...

Sir Terry Wogan

01 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan. His career has spanned more than five decades and includes the chat show Wogan, the Eurovi...

Professor Brian Cox

30 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the scientist Professor Brian Cox. In the press he's been called 'the pin-up professor' and his enormously popular TV serie...

Julian Fellowes

18 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes. He won an Oscar for his screenplay for Gosford Park and went on to write oth...

Eve Pollard

11 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the journalist and former editor Eve Pollard. She was groomed for success by Rupert Murdoch, but made an editor by Robert M...

Sir Martin Sorrell

04 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the businessman Sir Martin Sorrell. He's been called "the world's most influential ad man," and is the founder and chief ex...

Bear Grylls

27 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the adventurer Bear Grylls. His first career was with the SAS, but he was forced to leave after a parachute jump went wrong...

Robert Hardy

20 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor Robert Hardy.He became a household name as the vet Siegfried Farnon in the hit TV series All Creatures Great and ...

Anna Scher

18 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the drama teacher Anna Scher. It's more than forty years since she set up her theatre school and it has launched the caree...

Francesca Simon

06 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the children's author Francesca Simon. Educated at Yale and Oxford she initially thought she'd pursue an academic life - bu...

Lord Victor Adebowale

30 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the crossbench peer and social entrepreneur Lord Victor Adebowale. For the past decade, when not in the House of Lords, he ...

Mark Gatiss

23 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer and actor Mark Gatiss.His childhood passions have fuelled his adult creative life. As a boy he says he was drawn...

Michael Johnson

16 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the athlete Michael Johnson.He is the only person ever to hold world records in the 200 and 400 metres at the same time and...

Vidal Sassoon

09 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the veteran hairdresser Vidal Sassoon. He developed the architecturally precise bobs and cropped styles that were a definin...

Anne Wood

02 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the children's TV producer Anne Wood. Her creations - which include Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim and In the Night Garden - ha...

Arthur Edwards

25 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the royal photographer Arthur Edwards. He is a Fleet Street legend and, for more than thirty years, has captured the most m...

Martin Clunes

18 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor Martin Clunes. He became a household name in the 1990s in the comedy "Men Behaving Badly" and, in the years since...

Danny Baker

31 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster and writer Danny Baker. He is a Sony Gold award winning broadcaster with one of the most recognisable voice...

Heather Rabbatts

24 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the businesswoman Heather Rabbatts. Born in Jamaica and raised in Britain, her early years were unpromising and she left sc...

Michael McIntyre

17 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Michael McIntyre interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs. In less than five years he's gone from being an unknown stand-up with debts of m...

John Graham

10 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the crossword compiler John Graham. Now aged 90, he works under the name Araucaria and, for more than fifty years, has infu...