Desert Island Discs

Jane Horrocks

08 Oct 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actress Jane Horrocks. She specialises in unconventional, complex roles - from the eccentric secretary Bubble...

Quentin Blake

01 Oct 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Kirsty Young's first castaway is one of our most popular illustrators, Quentin Blake. His work is immediately recognisable and is full of energy, anar...

Dame Joan Plowright

27 Aug 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actress Joan Plowright.Dame Joan Plowright is an actress who has been at the forefront of her profession since ...

A A Gill

20 Aug 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the critic and columnist A A Gill. His witty, first-person articles have earned him a whole host of awards and a lo...

Simon Cowell

13 Aug 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the television star Simon Cowell. Simon Cowell is one of our most successful pop music moguls. He is the mastermind...

Michael Rosen

06 Aug 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the author and children's poet Michael Rosen. Since his first book, Mind Your Own Business, was published more than...

David Edgar

30 Jul 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is a playwright whose work has chronicled Britain's changing political landscape over the past 30 years. David Edgar w...

Dr Hanna Segal

23 Jul 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the psychoanalyst Dr Hanna Segal. Hanna Segal is one of the most distinguished psychoanalysts of our time. She was ...

Ian Rankin

16 Jul 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the writer Ian Rankin. Ian Rankin is an award-winning writer of crime fiction and the creator of the Scottish detec...

Monty Don

09 Jul 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the gardener and broadcaster, Monty Don. Three years ago Monty Don became the nation's most high-profile gardener w...

Lord Browne

02 Jul 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the chief executive of BP, John Browne. His father had also worked for the company and through visits to Iran as a ...

Peter Mansfield

18 Jun 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Nobel prize-winning physicist Sir Peter Mansfield. His work in magnetic resonance imaging more than 30 years ag...

George Davies

11 Jun 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the retail legend George Davies. In the 1980s he changed the shape of our high streets with his chain Next. In the ...

Armando Iannucci

04 Jun 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the satirist Armando Iannucci. He has lampooned news journalism with his creations On the Hour and The Day Today an...

Rt Hon David Cameron MP

28 May 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition. He was elected last Decembe...

Sir Digby Jones

21 May 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Director General of the CBI, Sir Digby Jones. He was born and grew up in the West Midlands at a time where 'the...

Darcey Bussell

14 May 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the ballerina Darcey Bussell OBE. At the age of twenty, she became the Royal Ballet's youngest Principal and went o...

Daniel Barenboim

07 May 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. As this year's Reith Lecturer on Radio 4 he described how he interprets...

Terence Stamp

12 Mar 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway is the actor Terence Stamp.Terence Stamp was one of the new group of confident, beautiful, working class young people who came t...

Jack Higgins

05 Mar 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the thriller writer Harry Patterson - otherwise known as Jack Higgins. Harry Patterson grew up in the midst of the ...

Rachel Whiteread

26 Feb 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the artist Rachel Whiteread.She came to public prominence in 1993 with the life-size concrete cast of a Victorian h...

Frederic Raphael

19 Feb 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the screen writer Frederic Raphael. For 50 years Frederic Raphael has written witty scripts for television and the ...

Karen Armstrong

12 Feb 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the author Karen Armstrong. She writes books about the world's religions, trying to explain that their strength lie...

Jeremy Irons

05 Feb 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor Jeremy Irons.He made his name playing Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited in 1981 and became known for ...

Rt Hon Shirley Williams

29 Jan 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the politician Baroness Williams of Crosby. Shirley Williams has spent her life immersed in politics. Her father wa...

John Sutherland

22 Jan 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the writer and academic John Sutherland. He is the recently retired Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Li...

Frankie Dettori

15 Jan 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the jockey Frankie Dettori. Over the past two decades he's won more than 2,000 races including most of the classics...

Richard Griffiths

08 Jan 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is one of this country's leading character actors - Richard Griffiths. Most recently, he won three Best Actor awards f...

Kelly Holmes

01 Jan 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway is the athlete Dame Kelly Holmes. Kelly Holmes was the heroine of the Athens Olympics. She achieved her lifetime's ambition when...

John Rutter

25 Dec 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the composer John Rutter. He is the most celebrated and successful composer of carols alive today and this Christma...

Maggi Hambling

18 Dec 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the artist Maggi Hambling. Above all else, she is known as a painter of people. Over the past 30 years she has pai...

David Hope

11 Dec 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the former Archbishop of York, David Hope. For a decade he was the second most important prelate in the Church of E...

Colin Firth

04 Dec 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor Colin Firth. He created an iconic moment in British television history when, as Jane Austen's hero Mr Da...

Sir David Frost

27 Nov 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's guest this week is the veteran broadcaster Sir David Frost - the only British television presenter to have interviewed seven American pre...

Mary Midgley

20 Nov 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the philosopher Mary Midgley. For the last 30 years Mary Midgley has been one of Britain's leading moral philosophe...

Renee Fleming

18 Nov 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the soprano Renée Fleming. Renée Fleming is one of the greatest sopranos on the world's stages today. She has wo...

Chris Evans

06 Nov 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the broadcaster Chris Evans. He is one of the most creative and influential broadcasters of his generation. He has ...

Boris Johnson MP

30 Oct 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the politician and journalist Boris Johnson. He is one of the most popular and unpredictable MPs on the Conservativ...

Mario Testino

23 Oct 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway is one of the world's most successful fashion photographers, Mario Testino. Kate Moss, Catherine Zeta Jones and Madonna are amon...

Jacqueline Wilson

16 Oct 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Children's Laureate Jacqueline Wilson. She's won just about every award going for children's fiction and, in a ...

Michael Winner

09 Oct 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the film director Michael Winner. Michael Winner is a film-maker, restaurant critic and columnist who has been call...

Frank Gardner

02 Oct 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the BBC's Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner. For 10 years, he has been the BBC's expert on the Middle East - al...

Julian Clary

25 Sep 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the comedian Julian Clary. Julian Clary brought camp out of the closet and into the TV mainstream. In the late 1980...

Brenda Blethyn

18 Sep 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actress Brenda Blethyn. Brenda Blethyn is one of our most versatile and talented actresses with film credits th...

Ronald Searle

10 Jul 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley travels to Provence in the south of France to meet the illustrator and satirist Ronald Searle in his first recorded interview in more than ...

Paulo Coelho

03 Jul 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the author Paulo Coelho. Paulo Coelho is a publishing phenomenon - his books have sold more than 65 million copies ...

Ruby Wax

26 Jun 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the broadcaster and comedian Ruby Wax. Her brass neck and immunity to embarrassment led to her pioneering a new bra...

Alexander McCall Smith

19 Jun 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the author Alexander McCall Smith. Alexander McCall Smith was an established professor of law, an expert on ethics ...

Betsy Blair

12 Jun 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Betsy Blair. She was an actress in Hollywood during its heyday and is best known for her role in Marty, the Oscar-w...

Nigel Slater

05 Jun 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the cookery writer Nigel Slater. The British public have taken Slater and his recipes to their hearts and - crucial...

Satish Kumar

29 May 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the peace campaigner Satish Kumar. He has dedicated his life to promoting a peaceful, measured way of living; walki...

David King

22 May 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Sir David King. He's had a testing four and a half years in the job ...

Imelda Staunton

15 May 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actress Imelda Staunton. Imelda Staunton is one of the UK's most versatile and popular actresses. Through a car...

Josephine Cox

08 May 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the novelist Josephine Cox. Josephine Cox is one of Britain's most popular authors. She became an overnight publish...

Katharine Whitehorn

01 May 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the journalist Katharine Whitehorn. Katharine Whitehorn was the first journalist to write a column about her person...

Jarvis Cocker

24 Apr 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Pulp's singer and musician, Jarvis Cocker is castaway by Sue Lawley.Jarvis formed the band Pulp in the late 1970s and says that as a gawky, self-consc...

Patrick Stewart

17 Apr 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor Patrick StewartPatrick Stewart had to wait a long time for fame. The Shakespearean actor was nearly 50 wh...

Philippe Petit

10 Apr 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the high wire walker Philippe Petit. Since the age of 17 Petit had been, in his own words, a 'wandering troubadour'...

Lorin Maazel

03 Apr 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the musical director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra Lorin Maazel. He was a child prodigy whose career as a ...

Yvonne Brewster

27 Mar 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the theatre director Yvonne Brewster. She has been a major force in black British theatre for the last 20 years. Bo...

Raymond Briggs

20 Mar 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the writer and illustrator Raymond Briggs. For millions of children, Christmas would be incomplete without Briggs's...

Stephen Poliakoff

13 Mar 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the playwright and director Stephen Poliakoff. Stephen Poliakoff is probably best known for his explorations of the...

Alison Richard

06 Mar 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the academic Professor Alison Richard. Professor Alison Richard is Cambridge University's first full-time female Vi...

Geoffrey Palmer

27 Feb 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor Geoffrey Palmer. Best known for his roles in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Butterflies and As Tim...

David Starkey

06 Feb 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Dr David Starkey. Dr David Starkey forsook the ivory towers of academia to popularise history as a constitutional c...

Peter Maxwell Davies

30 Jan 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Peter Maxwell Davies. He is one of Britain's greatest living composers. His career has seen him go from enfant terr...

Dr Jonathan Miller

23 Jan 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Dr Jonathan Miller. Jonathan Miller has been an influential and prolific force in British intellectual life since t...

Sam Taylor-Wood

16 Jan 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the artist Sam Taylor-Wood. She is known for her photography and short films, including 'David' - a film of the foo...

Andy McNab

09 Jan 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the former SAS soldier turned author Andy McNab. After being abandoned as a baby, he was adopted and was brought up...

Carlos Acosta

02 Jan 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway is the dancer Carlos Acosta. Carlos Acosta is one of the greatest ballet dancers of his generation. He is the first black princi...

Kim Cattrall

26 Dec 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway is the actress Kim Cattrall. Kim Cattrall became a household name in her forties as a result of playing man-eater, defiant singl...

Engelbert Humperdinck

19 Dec 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway is the singer Engelbert Humperdinck. Engelbert Humperdinck is one of Britain's most successful entertainers. He is known as the ...

John Fortune

12 Dec 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is John Fortune.John Fortune is one of Britain's most respected and enduring satirists. For the past 12 years he has b...

Sir Bobby Robson

05 Dec 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Sir Bobby Robson. Sir Bobby Robson is one of the most enduring and popular faces in football. For more than five de...

Tracey Emin

28 Nov 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the artist Tracey Emin. Tracey Emin is one of the most successful and controversial artists to emerge during the 19...

Clive Stafford Smith

21 Nov 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the death row lawyer Clive Stafford Smith. Clive Stafford Smith spent more than 25 years representing people on dea...

Matthew Bourne

19 Nov 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's guest this week is the internationally acclaimed choreographer Matthew Bourne. He was born in the East End of London in 1960. As a child,...

Ann Leslie

07 Nov 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the distinguished foreign correspondent Ann Leslie. She has witnessed and reported on some of the most significant ...

Matthew Pinsent

31 Oct 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent. Matthew Pinsent won his fourth Olympic gold medal at this summer's game...

Jack Mapanje

24 Oct 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the poet Dr Jack Mapanje who is one of the most important living African poets. He was born into a poor household i...

Rt Hon Sir Menzies Campbell MP

17 Oct 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Liberal Democrat politician Sir Menzies Campbell. Born in Glasgow, he excelled at both academia and sports maki...

Anne Scott James

10 Oct 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the journalist and writer Anne Scott-James. Now in her 92nd year, Anne Scott-James came from a line of critics and ...

Desmond Morris

03 Oct 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue's Lawley's castaway this week is the zoologist turned author and broadcaster Desmond Morris. He made his name with The Naked Ape first published i...

Virginia McKenna

26 Sep 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actress and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna. She was born in London and, after spending five years of her ...

Joe Simpson

19 Sep 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the mountaineer Joe Simpson. He was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1960 where his father was stationed with the British Ar...

Hugh Masekela

11 Jul 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the world famous musician Hugh Masekela. As a boy growing up in the impoverished townships of South Africa, he was ...

Rt Hon Michael Howard MP

04 Jul 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the leader of the Conservative Party, Michael Howard. He was raised in an orthodox Jewish family in Llanelli, Sout...

Tim Rice

27 Jun 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the world famous lyricist Sir Tim Rice. Sir Tim is best known for his collaborative work with Andrew Lloyd Webber c...

Diana Athill

20 Jun 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the writer and book editor Diana Athill. For nearly 50 years Diana Athill was involved in every aspect of publishi...

Karan Bilimoria

13 Jun 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the businessman Karan Bilimoria - who set up production of a beer designed to be drunk with Indian food, imported i...

Geraldine James

30 May 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is one of Britain's best known actresses - Geraldine James. Geraldine James became a household name 20 years ago for...

Sir Ken Adam

23 May 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the man who's designed some of the most famous film sets ever made. Sir Ken Adam was the production designer on s...

Pen Hadow

16 May 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the explorer Pen Hadow. Pen Hadow made polar history in 2003 by becoming the first man to walk solo and unsupport...

U A Fanthorpe

09 May 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is one of Britain's best loved poets - U A Fanthorpe. She was the first woman ever to be nominated for the post of Ox...

Graham Norton

02 May 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the larger than life TV presenter Graham Norton. He was recently voted the most powerful man in comedy with four Ba...

Antonio Pappano

25 Apr 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the conductor Antonio Pappano. He took over as music director of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden two years a...

Bernard Cornwell

18 Apr 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is Britain's most popular writer of historical fiction Bernard Cornwell. His work has sold more than five million copi...

Michael Morpurgo

11 Apr 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the widely respected children's author and the current Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo. He styles himself as a...

Angela Gheorghiu

04 Apr 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Angela Gheorghiu is one of the world's foremost sopranos, beautiful, a good actress and with a voice that critics say is close to perfect, she has bee...

Jack Vettriano

28 Mar 2004

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the artist Jack Vettriano. Jack Vettriano is the painter of Britain's most popular work of art. More than a million...