Desert Island Discs

Tony Robinson

03 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor and broadcaster Tony Robinson. His Baldrick to Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder turned idiocy into an art form and the...

Dame Harriet Walter

26 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actress Dame Harriet Walter. She has been a stalwart of the stage for more than three decades - winning great acclaim f...

Len Goodman

19 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the international dance judge, Len Goodman. He became a star of Strictly Come Dancing and the US show Dancing with the Star...

Andrea Levy

12 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Andrea Levy. Born in London to Jamaican parents, she has spent much of her career describing the experiences of ...

Alfie Boe

05 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Alfie Boe. He is one of our most popular tenors and, highly unusually, is a sell-out success in both opera house...

Roger Waters

29 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the musician Roger Waters. As one of the founding members of the band Pink Floyd, he has seen huge critical and commercial ...

Debbie Harry

22 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Debbie Harry. Her group Blondie started out in seedy New York bars and went on to achieve international success...

Kwame Kwei-Armah

15 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor, director and playwright, Kwame Kwei-Armah. His creative output spans both high art and popular culture. He becam...

Molly Parkin

08 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the doyenne of bohemian living, Molly Parkin. She left the Welsh valleys to train as a fine artist in London and was a succ...

Prof David Phillips

01 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Professor David Phillips. His love of science has taken him on an extraord...

Cath Kidston

24 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the designer Cath Kidston. Cheerful and practical, her products nod towards the 1950s. She began with ironing board covers ...

Felicity Green

17 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the pioneering fashion journalist Felicity Green. As hem-lines headed north in the early 60s she was hitting her stride in ...

Terry Gilliam

10 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the animator and director Terry Gilliam. He first planted his foot-print on our cultural landscape more than thirty years ...

Martin Sheen

03 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor Martin Sheen.In recent years he has won great acclaim and a Golden Globe for playing the leader of the free world...

Dame Anne Owers

27 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the former Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers. A long-time human rights campaigner, she's spent years immersing he...

Lawrence Dallaglio

20 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio. He was capped 85 times for England, played in three Lions tours and le...

Celia Imrie

13 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Immediately recognisable as one of Britain's most versatile actresses she's worked in television, theatre and films over the past four decades. While ...

Howard Jacobson

06 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Howard Jacobson. After many years of swiping at literary prizes, last October he walked off with the biggest one...

Jon Snow

30 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the journalist Jon Snow.For the past 21 years he's been the face of Channel Four's nightly bulletins where, along with his ...

Betty Driver

23 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the veteran Coronation Street actress Betty Driver. For more than forty years she's been pulling pints and dishing up her h...

Rt Hon Alex Salmond

16 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond.He has spent his political life campaigning for Scottish independence. As a sc...

Gyles Brandreth

09 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Gyles Brandreth. A former Conservative MP, he is also a some-time actor, broadcaster and prolific writer who has authored b...

Tony Iveson

02 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the veteran RAF pilot Tony Iveson.Aged 21, he survived being shot down in his Spitfire over the North Sea during his first ...

Sandie Shaw

26 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Sandie Shaw. With her melodic, velvety voice, bare feet and Sassoon bob she was the epitome of everything that w...

Nick Park

19 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Oscar-winning animator Nick Park.His most famous creations are Wallace and Gromit: Gromit the silent but wise dog; Wall...

Sir Torquil Norman

12 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway week is the aviator, inventor and arts patron, Sir Torquil Norman. He comes from a family where derring-do is in the DNA - his...

Frances Wood

05 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer and historian Frances Wood. As head of the Chinese collection at the British Library she is the gatekeeper to so...

Robert Harris

28 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the best-selling writer Robert Harris. He was, apparently, a political junkie from a young age; he was just six when he wro...

Alice Cooper

21 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the rock musician Alice Cooper.As a teenager he says it was British music that he tuned in to - listening to The Beatles, T...

Anna Del Conte

19 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the cookery writer Anna Del Conte. Born to a wealthy Milanese family, she arrived in Britain in 1949 where her Italian inge...

Ian McMillan

07 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan. Thirty years ago he was working in a factory gluing together tennis ball halves. The...

Lang Lang

31 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Chinese pianist Lang Lang. He was five years old when he gave his first public recital in front of an audience of 800 p...

Nick Clegg

24 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. Of his career, he says: "Joining the Liberal Party was a ...

Michael Mansfield

17 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the barrister Michael Mansfield.He is one of Britain's leading QCs - the Birmingham six, the Marchioness disaster, the Step...

Sarah Doukas

10 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the founder of Storm model agency, Sarah Doukas. She has never, she says, had a normal career - after running away from sch...

Johnny Vegas

03 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the entertainer Johnny Vegas. As a stand-up comic he made his name as one of the most brilliant and unpredictable acts on t...

Sir Tom Jones

26 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Sir Tom Jones. In a career spanning fifty years he's sold 150 million albums and his hits have included It's Not...

Kathy Burke

15 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

From Lady Gaga to The Specials. Actor and director Kathy Burke shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young.She became a household name for her comed...

Lord David Cobbold

08 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway on Desert Island Discs is Lord David Cobbold. He was just 32 years old when he took over the ancestral pile Knebworth House an...

Jimmy Mulville

01 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Jimmy Mulville.He began his life in comedy as a performer and writer but success in front of the camera clearly wasn't enou...

Lynn Barber

25 Jul 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the interviewer Lynn Barber. A master of the profile interview, her razor-sharp observations have earned her the nickname t...

Tim Robbins

18 Jul 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Oscar-winning actor, writer and director Tim Robbins. His film credits include The Shawshank Redemption, Dead Man Walki...

Dr Gwen Adshead

11 Jul 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the forensic psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead. A consultant at Broadmoor Hospital, it is her job to try to understand the be...

Dame Fanny Waterman

04 Jul 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Dame Fanny Waterman.It was during a sleepless night, more than forty years ago, that she came up with the idea of launching...

Tony Adams

27 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the footballer Tony Adams. He's one of the few people who know at first hand the pressures and joys of captaining the Engla...

Lewis Gilbert

20 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the film director Lewis Gilbert. His career started in the 1920s when he was a child actor in silent movies. Over the next ...

Frank Skinner

13 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian Frank Skinner. As a football-obsessed comic whose stand-up routines were peppered with details of his personal...

Gyorgy Pauk

30 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the violinist Gyorgy Pauk. In a career spanning fifty years, he has played with all the best orchestras and continues to te...

Dame Stephanie Shirley

23 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Entrepreneur Dame Stephanie Shirley joins Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs. As a child, she escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport - travellin...

Rob Brydon

16 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

The comedian and actor Rob Brydon joins Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs. Growing up in Port Talbot, South Wales, he discovered performing when he ...

Fay Weldon

09 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

The writer Fay Weldon joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs. The author of dozens of novels, essays and radio and TV dramas, she says s...

Emma Thompson

28 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Emma Thompson.Sense and Sensibility, The Remains of the Day, Much Ado About Nothing and Howards End are just a handful of h...

Frank Cottrell-Boyce

21 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Frank Cottrell Boyce.His film credits include Hilary and Jackie, Welcome to Sarajevo and 24 Hour Party People. H...

Duncan Bannatyne

14 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne.He made his name appearing on the TV show Dragons' Den as a no-nonsense investor with an eye ...

Maggie Aderin-Pocock

07 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock.She has, she says, a special relationship with the moon, one that started when she fir...

Sir Clive Woodward

21 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward.He took England to World Cup glory in 2003, becoming the first ever north...

Professor Jim Al-Khalili

14 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the physicist Professor Jim Al-Khalili.He's spent his adult life studying sub-atomic particles - and trying to explain them...

Gok Wan

07 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the stylist Gok Wan.Dispensing fashion advice and hugs in equal measure, he aims, he says, to 'make women feel like women, ...

Mary Beard

31 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the classicist Mary Beard. A professor at Cambridge, she's that rare thing: a university academic who writes for the masses...

Frank Warren

24 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the boxing promoter Frank Warren.He has managed and promoted some of the biggest names in the sport, including Joe Calzaghe...

James Ellroy

17 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is American crime writer James Ellroy.His books have been translated into 30 languages and, according to the New York Times, h...

Mary Portas

10 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Mary Portas. She's made an art-form out of turning heads, and her galleries have been the enormous plate-glass windows of H...

John Copley

03 Jan 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the opera director John Copley. Throughout his sixty year career he's worked with all the greats at the major opera houses ...

David Tennant

27 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor David Tennant.He has been voted the best Dr Who ever and has redefined the Time Lord for a generation of parents ...

Sir Michael Caine

20 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this Christmas is Sir Michael Caine.In a film career that has spanned more than four decades he has won two Oscars; his credit...

Lord Coe

13 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sebastian Coe.It is more than a quarter of a century since his rivalry with fellow middle-distance runner Steve Ovett enrap...

Baroness Scotland

06 Dec 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland. She is the government's chief law officer, a position as significant as it is isol...

Morrissey

29 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Morrissey.As the lead singer of The Smiths he captivated a generation of angst-ridden teenagers and, a quarter of a century...

Sir Stuart Rose

22 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sir Stuart Rose. As the boss of Marks and Spencer, he has held a national institution - and the nation's knickers - in his ...

Julia Donaldson

15 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the children's author Julia Donaldson. The Gruffalo is her best known creation. Published 10 years ago, it's become a moder...

Anthony Julius

13 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the lawyer and writer Anthony Julius. He was already renowned in legal circles when, in 1996, he moved into the public aren...

Jerry Springer

01 Nov 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the talk show host Jerry Springer. His life has been split between serving the public and outraging them. His first career ...

Professor Colin Pillinger

25 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the scientist Professor Colin Pillinger. A world-class planetary scientist, his first job was for NASA, analysing the lunar...

Jan Pienkowski

18 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the illustrator Jan Pienkowski. He was born in Warsaw before the Second World War and lived through the uprising of 1944. H...

Steve Coogan

11 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and actor Steve Coogan. As a child he found he had a knack for impressions, a talent which led him to work on ...

Dame Ellen MacArthur

04 Oct 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the solo yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur. She was 28 when she became the fastest person to sail solo around the world, and...

Barry Manilow

27 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Barry Manilow. He has been a hugely successful performer for more than 30 years but, in this intimate interview, Manilow de...

Roberto Alagna

16 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer Roberto Alagna. He is one of the most celebrated tenors in the world and one half of opera's golden couple; his ...

Dame Joan Bakewell

09 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell. Born in Stockport in 1933, it was in the 1960s that she first started to shape the cult...

Nicky Haslam

02 Aug 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the interior designer, socialite and one-time cowboy, Nicky Haslam. His life defies easy description. In America in the 196...

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

26 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the food writer and cook Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Famous for making paté out of placenta and dining on such delicacies...

David Mitchell

19 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is comedian David Mitchell. Mitchell has won two Bafta awards and, as a sitcom actor, sketch show writer and humorous columnis...

Prof Hugh Pennington

12 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Professor Hugh Pennington. Professor Pennington has spent his life trying to understand diseases and how they spread. He ha...

Harvey Goldsmith

05 Jul 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the impresario and promoter Harvey Goldsmith. From the Rolling Stones to Pavarotti, and with pretty well every other name i...

Arlene Phillips

28 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the choreographer, Arlene Phillips. In a career spanning 40 years, she set up the dance group Hot Gossip and has mastermind...

Martin Shaw

21 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor Martin Shaw. He has been one of Britain's most popular stage and television actors of the past 40 years and has t...

Lord Healey

14 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Labour peer and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey. As a politician, he was known for his sharp intellect...

Piers Morgan

07 Jun 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan. He spent more than a decade as a Fleet Street editor and pioneered a style of ...

Caroline, Countess of Cranbrook

31 May 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is Caroline, Countess of Cranbrook. Caroline has travelled the world to see how different zoos worked, spent years living in t...

Barry Humphries

24 May 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and performer Barry Humphries. For decades he has enjoyed global fame with his grotesque comic creations, the ...

Peter Sallis

17 May 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young invites actor Peter Sallis to choose eight records to take to Radio 4's mythical desert island. As the unassuming Clegg in Last of the Su...

Whoopi Goldberg

10 May 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the comic and actress Whoopi Goldberg. As a child she used to practise the acceptance speeches she was sure she w...

Sebastian Faulks

29 Mar 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Sebastian Faulks. He is best known for his novel Birdsong, which told in shocking detail the misery of...

Athene Donald

22 Mar 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the scientist Athene Donald. A Cambridge professor and fellow of the Royal Society, she has dedicated much of her...

Baaba Maal

15 Mar 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the musician Baaba Maal. He's among the best known African artists in the West, performing at events as diverse a...

Richard Madeley

08 Mar 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Richard Madeley. It's 20 years since he opened the first edition of ITV's This Morning programme with his wife Ju...

Lord Rix

01 Mar 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Brian Rix. For many years he brought farce to a large and appreciative audience - dropping...

David Walliams

22 Feb 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is David Walliams. He has seen extraordinary success - as one half of the comedy duo behind L...

Professor Dame Kay Davies

15 Feb 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the scientist Professor Kay Davies. She has dedicated much of her life to finding a cure for the severest form of...

David Suchet

08 Feb 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor David Suchet. He has won armfuls of awards for his work - most recently an Emmy for his portrayal of Ro...