Desert Island Discs

Kirsty also chooses some of her favourite moments with Dame Judi Dench, Sir David Attenborough, comedian Sarah Millican, the surgeon David Nott and rugby referee Nigel Owens.

Kirsty Young introduces some gems from the archive.

He abandoned his early hopes of becoming an artist, for a while he ran cookery courses in his own home and, at the same time, he started writing. Despite suffering from dyslexia so severe that he has to dictate all his columns to copytakers he found his voice immediately - as soon as he began writing his articles, he says, he felt he had come home.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Love Song from Sanders of the River by Paul Robeson

Book: Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor by Mervyn Peake

Luxury: My children's pillows

Sue Lawley's castaway is columnist A A Gill

Born into a theatrical family - her father was a theatre director, her mother is an actress - she only began to write during her university days at Exeter. After graduating, she kept herself afloat by waitressing while continuing to write and had her first play performed professionally in 1998 when she was 30.

She's become known for her gritty storylines in the dramas Murder, Sex Traffic, and Tsunami, but has also adapted several books for both the small and the big screen including Brick Lane, The Invisible Woman, and Birdsong.

Abi lives in London with her long-term partner, the actor Jacob Krichefski, and their two teenage children.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Abi Morgan, stage and screenwriter, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

He lives in London with his wife and young daughter and teaches at Birkbeck College, but he remains evangelical about taking philosophy out of the ivory towers and into people's homes - so that it is a practical tool to help people live lives that are engaging and fulfilling. He is motivated, he says, by the knowledge that the human life-span is fewer than a thousand months - and with our time so limited, it is incumbent upon us all to use it thoughtfully and well.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The adagio from the Violin Concerto in D Major by Johannes Brahms

Book: The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil

Luxury: A good piano.

Kirsty Young's castaway is academic and philosopher A C Grayling.

Adam was born in Brighton in 1980 and studied medicine at Imperial College London. In 2004 he started working as a junior doctor, specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology. In 2010 he left medicine following a catastrophic incident in surgery.

He had kept a diary throughout his medical career, partly to help cope with the long shifts and stressful environment that came with life as a hospital doctor. In 2016 Adam read from his diaries for a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the positive reception he received from audiences encouraged him to use them as the basis for a memoir. The book became a publishing sensation, and Adam has published further books and enjoyed considerable success with his live performances.

Adam lives in Oxfordshire with his husband James.

DISC ONE: Chopsticks - Liberace

DISC TWO: Mis-shapes - Pulp

DISC THREE: Chopin: Waltz No. 14 in E Minor, Op. posth. (no intro) Composed by Fr退d退ric Chopin and performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy

DISC FOUR: Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat - Stubby Kaye, Original Cast Chorus (from Guys and Dolls)

DISC FIVE: Forgot About Dre - Dr Dre & Eminem

DISC SIX: Poisoning Pigeons - Tom Lehrer

DISC SEVEN: A Lady of a Certain Age - The Divine Comedy

DISC EIGHT: San Diego Serenade - Tom Waits

BOOK CHOICE: York Notes for the Complete Works of Shakespeare

LUXURY ITEM: A diary and pen

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: San Diego Serenade - Tom Waits

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Adam Kay, writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

When he's not stuck in a studio explaining the intricacies of Goalball he's reporting from the rainforests of Nicaragua or the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Adversity seems to suit him - he even survived turning up for his first day at school aged 7 in a pink checked suit and bow tie. Inspired by his boyhood heroes Seb Coe and Daley Thompson, who he first saw on TV competing in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, sport became his passion.

He says 'I think I've done more things with my disability than most able-bodied people would ever dream of doing'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Paralympian and broadcaster Ade Adepitan explains his castaway picks to Kirsty Young.

She was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in London in 1988. In 2002 she won a place at the BRIT School for Performing Arts where she studied music and developed her performing and song writing skills. In her final year a friend posted her three-song demo online which attracted the attention of several record companies.

In 2006 Adele signed to XL Recordings and the following year she released her first single, Hometown Glory. In 2008 she released her debut album, 19, and the following year she won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Her next two albums 21 and 25 consolidated her superstar status. In 2013 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to music. Adele's fourth album, 30, was released in 2021. The songs addressed how she was adjusting to life post-divorce and her feelings about her new role as a co-parent.

Adele lives in Los Angeles with her son.

DISC ONE: Roam by The B-52's

DISC TWO: Dreams by Gabrielle

DISC THREE: Need Somebody by Shola Ama

DISC FOUR: He Needs Me by Nina Simone

DISC FIVE: Bills Bills Bills by Destiny's Child

DISC SIX: I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James

DISC SEVEN: Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

DISC EIGHT: For All We Know by Donny Hathaway

BOOK CHOICE: The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

LUXURY ITEM: A self-inflating mattress

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Dreams by Gabrielle

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Adele, singer and songwriter, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Adrian was born in Bradford in 1957. He spent time as a child in Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda, following his father who worked as a teacher for the armed forces. He attended a boarding school in Yorkshire from the age of 11, where he often rebelled against its rules and restrictions, but enjoyed performing in school plays.

He headed to Manchester University to study drama, where he soon met Rik Mayall. They bonded over their shared interests in comedy, double acts, violent slapstick and the plays of Samuel Beckett. It was the start of a long performing partnership and friendship, which included the anarchic TV comedy and long-running touring show Bottom and a production of Beckett's Waiting for Godot on the West End stage.

Adrian has also worked widely as an actor and musician, including an acclaimed appearance as Scrooge for the RSC, and performances with the reunited Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

Adrian married Jennifer Saunders in 1985, and they have three daughters.

DISC ONE: Downtown - Petula Clark

DISC TWO: A Song of the Weather - Flanders & Swann

DISC THREE: Sugar, Sugar - The Archies

DISC FOUR: On My Radio - The Selecter

DISC FIVE: Jole Blon - Vin Bruce

DISC SIX: Saturday Gigs - Mott the Hoople

DISC SEVEN: I'm Bored - Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

DISC EIGHT: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks)

BOOK CHOICE: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

LUXURY ITEM: A tab of acid

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Adrian Edmondson, actor and writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

She was the first Muslim woman to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize and, from an early age, her life has been divided between Egypt and Britain. She was among the crowds in Tahrir Square last year, witnessing the uprising at first hand, and describing events for the world's media.

She says: 'Every once in a while there would be a surge of a few meters forward, as your friends, who were being killed at the front, gained you those three metres and your job, as the masses, was to move forward and hold the three metres.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Egyptian novelist and cultural commentator Ahdaf Soueif is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

A child of Bengali immigrants, he started learning Indian dance almost as soon as he could walk. Talent-spotted in his teens, he went on to spend two years touring the world with Peter Brook's Mahabharata. A keen collaborator, he's worked with everyone from prima ballerina Sylvie Guillem to disco queen Kylie Minogue.

He says he was a shy boy and dance allowed him to communicate properly for the first time: 'It was like being allowed to speak - and people taking notice of that and that's another problem because then you want people's attention all the time, so, every dinner party we went to, I said, Mum, are they going to ask me to dance? It became an addiction.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Choreographer and dancer Akram Khan is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Quartet No. 132 by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud

Luxury: Laptop computer with poker game software

Sue Lawley's castaway is poet and critic Al Alvarez

Alan was born into a footballing family - his dad, Graham, was a professional player and then a manager. Alan first tried his hand at comedy while reading Theatre Studies at Middlesex University. After he graduated, he took on a range of jobs before his ability to make friends laugh with his stories of working in a call centre in Manchester led him to try stand-up at a local venue. In 2001 he won the City Life Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards.

His break into TV came after a spell as the warm-up man for the Jonathan Ross chat show. He has won many awards including Best Entertainment Show for Alan Carr: Chatty Man at the 2010 TV Choice Awards, the 2013 BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance and 2013 British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. In 2015 he won the National Television Award for Best Chat Show Host.

He and his long term partner Paul were married in January 2018 by Adele - who also organised the wedding, and paid for it.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Alan Carr, comedian, is interviewed by Lauren Laverne

Alan was born in Perthshire in 1965. His father was a forester and the family moved to the Panmure estate on the east coast of Scotland. Encouraged by his English teacher, Alan grew up loving drama at school but his childhood was blighted by his violent and abusive father. He worked for the publisher DC Thomson as a sub-editor before going to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. There he launched his performing career with fellow student Forbes Masson: together they were Victor and Barry, a comedy and music double-act. They drew on these characters for their BBC TV sit-com The High Life, based around a fictional Scottish airline.

Alan has published a novel and three memoirs: his 2014 autobiography Not My Father's Son detailed his very difficult relationship with his father, both in his early years and later in his life.

In 2022 Alan is developing a solo dance-theatre work, focusing on the personal history of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, which he will perform in Scotland and New York. He's now also the co-owner of a bar, Club Cumming, in Manhattan.

DISC ONE: Dignity by Deacon Blue

DISC TWO: L'Amour Looks Something Like You by Kate Bush

DISC THREE: Barcelona by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caball退

DISC FOUR: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers

DISC FIVE: Whenever Wherever Whatever by Maxwell

DISC SIX: Give Me Back My Heart by Dollar

DISC SEVEN: Catalani: La Wally : Ebben? ne andr  lontana Act 1 by Maria Callas and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Tullio Serafin

DISC EIGHT: These Are My Mountains by Peter Morrison

BOOK CHOICE: Desert Gardening for Beginners: How to grow vegetables, flowers, and herbs in an Arid Climate by Cathy Cromell, Linda A. Guy, Lucy K. Bradley

LUXURY ITEM: Marijuana seeds

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Give Me Back My Heart by Dollar

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Alan Cumming, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Johnson says that unlike many politicians, he is not a keen strategist who has spent his life plotting his career, instead he has simply 'drifted along', taking whatever challenges fate offered. He has drifted on quite an incredible journey - raised among the deprivation and squalor of London in the 1950s, he was orphaned when he was 12 and brought up by his sister. He left school without an O-level but with ambitions to join the music industry. Instead, after a spell stacking supermarket shelves, he became a postman and by the time he was 20 he was married with three children. He rose through the trade union movement where his astute negotiating skills and political acumen brought him to Tony Blair's attention. According to those who know him best, however, his political ambitions are limited - his children say he would still rather be the lead singer in a band than Prime Minister.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: And Your Bird Can Sing by The Beatles

Book: Diaries by Samuel Pepys

Luxury: Digital radio.

Kirsty Young's castaway is health secretary Alan Johnson.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Nimrod by Edward Elgar

Book: A giant photo album of his four children and grandchildren that goes back over twenty years.

Luxury: Watercolour paint box (plus brush and pad)

Sue Lawley's castaway is film director Alan Parker

As a child, he read voraciously and knew he wanted to explore the world. During the war he was a navigator in Malaya but, when he returned to Britain, he was shocked to be told he had contracted tuberculosis. As he convalesced in hospital he started writing and, once he had been discharged, his disability pension gave him the security to sustain him while he pursued his career. When Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was published, critics said his was a more authentic voice than D H Lawrence's. But the extraordinary reviews made scant impact on Alan Sillitoe - he says he had developed a healthy scorn for the opinions of critics - but he remains grateful, he says, to the book that brought him security and which has allowed him the freedom to write throughout his life.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Le Ca Ira by Edith Piaf

Book: The Air Publication 1234 (RAF Manual)

Luxury: A communications receiver (receiving only).

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Alan Sillitoe.

Alan experienced his first taste of television when there was a plague of greenfly on the south coast and he was approached to report on it in Margate for Nationwide. He says, 'I suddenly tasted blood. It was wow!, I like this. I want to do more.' He became a presenter of Daytime Live, a Birmingham-based chat show, interviewing stars like Placido Domingo, Barry Manilow and Julia Roberts. He also presented Songs of Praise but never forgot his gardening, and took to the screens as a gardener with the amazingly successful garden make-over programme, Ground Force, in 1997. As well as presenting the more 'serious' gardening programme, Gardener's World, Alan recently took viewers back to basics with the series How to be a Gardener and, having written a grand total of thirty-seven gardening books, he remains the UK's premier gardener.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams

Book: One of the 'Blandings' novels by P G Wodehouse

Luxury: A box of watercolours

Sue Lawley's castaway is broadcaster and gardener Alan Titchmarsh

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Hammerklavier-Piano Sonata No.29 in B Flat by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: Charterhouse of Palma by Stendhal

Luxury: Little bottle of aftershave

As a boy he had always been fascinated by science - he'd made himself a miniature dissection kit so he could find out how a bumble-bee worked and later, spurred on by that success, he remembers bringing a dead cat home and dissecting it on the dining room table. He owes, he says, a debt of gratitude to his parents, who benignly tolerated him turning their family home into a science lab.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Opening of Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Complete books of Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser

Luxury: World's Biggest Church Organ.

Kirsty Young's castaway is geneticist Alec Jeffreys.

She's won the Royal Television Society's Journalist of the Year award an unprecedented four times - reporting from the world's worst war zones and hot spots.

Where most people would do anything to stay well away from trouble she seems drawn to danger , whether it's covering the Ebola crisis in Liberia, hunting for Rhino poachers in South Africa or being first on the scene as the drama of Libya's revolution unfolded.

She spent the first five years of her life in Nigeria, where her family survived two political coups. After childhood in Zambia and subsequently what was then Rhodesia, she came back to Britain as a teenager to go to boarding school and then got her first job as a trainee reporter on the Wokingham Times.

She's been shot at, arrested and interrogated. But it's a job she loves and is still passionate to do. For her, there should be no 'no-go' areas for journalists and journalism remains an essential pillar of freedom and democracy.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young interviews journalist Alex Crawford.

Alexander McCall Smith's fascination with, and devotion to, Africa is not surprising - he was born and brought up in Zimbabwe - then Southern Rhodesia - only moving to Britain when he began his legal studies. He visits Botswana every year. Even as a child he was a keen writer, and he was a published author for many years before he devised his most celebrated creation. His books are now printed in more than 30 languages and in 2004 he was named the Booksellers' Association Author of the Year.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Soave sia il Vento

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Collection by W H Auden

Luxury: A handmade pair of shoes

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Alexander McCall Smith

In spite of being in charge of one of our leading 'style bibles' for more than 20 years, her reputation is that of someone rather down to earth. She thinks designers cut clothes too small, refuses to let superstars have photo and copy approval and when she was first appointed editor, she'd never even been on a fashion shoot. During her tenure Vogue's circulation has increased.

Her first job as editor was with the men's magazine GQ and she's had spells at Tatler, the Sunday Telegraph and writing a weekly column for the Daily Mail.

She says, 'Vogue is not my personal taste, really. I think of it more as a kind of newspaper, reporting on what's out there.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Alexei was born in Liverpool, where his parents were loyal members of the Communist Party: their politics informed almost every aspect of the family's life, including holidays by train to eastern European countries that were then part of the Soviet bloc.

He won a place at Chelsea School of Art but didn't thrive as a painter. He began performing with a theatre troupe and - after answering an advertisement - became the compere on the opening night of the Comedy Store. He soon found himself at the centre of a new wave of British comedy. With his tight suits and often abrasive stage presence, he enjoyed successful stand-up tours, appearances on numerous TV shows including The Young Ones, and even a novelty pop hit.

He attempted to launch a career in America, but was fired from a TV series on his 40th birthday. He stepped back from stand-up and devoted himself to writing novels and short stories. More recently, he has returned to live performance, and has also created a number of comedy series for Radio 4.

He lives in London with his wife Linda: they have been married for almost 50 years.

DISC ONE: Volver by Carlos Gardel

DISC TWO: Joe Hill by Joan Baez

DISC THREE: Aviator's March by Yevgeny Kibkalo (baritone), conducted by Alexei Kovalev

DISC FOUR: Seer䀀uber Jenny (Pirate Jenny) by Lotte Lenya

DISC FIVE: Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin

DISC SIX: Shipbuilding by Robert Wyatt

DISC SEVEN: It Was a Good Day by Ice Cube

DISC EIGHT: Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal

BOOK CHOICE: The Sword of Honour Trilogy by Evelyn Waugh

LUXURY ITEM: A Chinese Broadsword

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Alexei Sayle, comedian and writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

He is one of our most popular tenors and, highly unusually, is a sell-out success in both opera houses and musical theatre. The youngest of nine children, he left school to work as a mechanic - before being plucked off the shop-floor for stardom. However, while he's at home on the stage, you won't necessarily find him in the stalls: 'I like good singers, I don't necessarily like one genre of music, I just like good singers, good voices and good songs,' he says, adding: 'I never go to the opera.... it's just not my world.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Opera singer Alfie Boe joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

A performer of world renown, his career spans seven decades, and he is particularly famous for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt. An Austrian who's lived in the UK for many years, he was born in 1931 in what is now the Czech Republic. Although not from a musical family, he began playing the piano aged six and gave his first recital aged 17. Largely self-taught, in addition to his live performances, he's enjoyed a long and successful recording career. Revered for his intellect and individual and original take on the world, he is also a published poet and essayist.

He says, 'I regard pessimism as a sign of intelligence. Optimism is a very welcome and life-enhancing feature, a gift, but not necessarily a realistic outlook. I am a pessimist who enjoys being pleasantly surprised.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to pianist Alfred Brendel.

After reading English at Aberdeen and nearly completing a PhD at Cambridge, she started down an academic path, winning a lectureship at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, but she soon decided that academia wasn't for her.

She gave herself three years in which to make it as a writer. By then she had moved from writing poems, for which she had discovered an aptitude aged eight, to short stories.

Her first collection, Free Love and Other Stories, was published in 1995.

Since then she has written novels, including How to Be Both, and The Accidental, as well as plays. Nominated three times for the Booker Prize, her fiction has won numerous literary awards including the Goldsmiths Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, and the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Ali Smith, writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

As a teenager he says it was British music that he tuned in to - listening to The Beatles, The Yardbirds and The Who. He realised that while rock music had many heroes, there were few villains - that was the territory he marked out for himself. He developed his trademark look - blackened eyes, straggly hair and glamorous clothes - and set about designing live shows that were gleefully gory and macabre.

While critics have described him as 'the world's most beloved heavy metal entertainer', it took him a while to untangle himself from his creation. 'For a long time I honestly didn't know where I began and Alice ended. My friends at the time were Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and I was trying to keep up with them. And I realised when they all died that you didn't have to be your character off stage.

Record: Work Song - The Butterfield Blues Band

Book: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Luxury: An indoor golf driving range

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

American rock singer and showman Alice Cooper joins Kirsty Young.

A devout and traditional Catholic, she didn't begin writing until she was 42. The Sin Eater, that first novel, was her reaction to the changes in the Catholic Church after Vatican Two and channelled her anger at what she saw as the excesses of the 1960s. She's a woman of apparent contradictions. She wanted to be a nun, but fell in love and became a mother of seven instead. She's deeply religious but believes in ghosts and the supernatural and although her books are often triggered by anger, they are frequently tender and full of humour.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Rorate Caeli Desuper by Monks & Choirboys or Downside Abbey

Book: Come Hither - An Anthology by Walter de la Mare

Luxury: A very comfortable sofa

Sue Lawley's castaway is novelist Alice Thomas Ellis

Author, poet, feminist and activist, it was her novel The Color Purple that brought her worldwide attention and acclaim. The story of a poor black girl surviving in the deep American south, between the wars, it is a landmark work, disturbing and exhilarating in equal measure.

If one subscribes to the idea that 'art is a wound turned to light', then Alice Walker's early life proved crucial to her future creations. Shot and blinded in one eye by her brother's BB gun it was through the isolation of her injury that she began to write. She once described poetry as 'medicine'.

She has also said, 'I know the world's a mess, but there's so much that's gorgeous in it. I wish everybody could have what I have.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Widely considered the finest classical trumpet player of her generation, she's performed in all the great concert halls of the world, winning a huge amount of fans and a string of awards for her ability to exquisitely convey the many voices of her chosen instrument.

As a child she had dreams of being a part-time trumpet player, astronaut and jockey - she's only 36 so there's time yet for the other two; but whilst she is solely devoting her energies to her instrument her belief in the power of music seems endless. In between gigs, rehearsals, recordings and motherhood, she's found time to travel to Uganda and Liberia as patron of Brass for Africa, with the heartfelt conviction that she can transform the lives of street children by teaching them to play.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to trumpeter Alison Balsom.

She's won three Brit awards, sold tens of millions in record sales and her career has spanned over 30 years. It all kicked off in 1981; just three months after forming her first band 'Yazoo' she was on Top of The Pops performing her first hit.

Given that remarkably smooth start it might be tempting to think her achievements have come easy - they haven't. She found growing up tough, had prolonged agoraphobia and depression and weight problems cast their shadow.

Now in her early fifties she says, 'I was always an odd girl, I managed to alienate a lot of people. I felt like a square peg in a round hole in the music industry and created a lot of neurosis for myself.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Alison Moyet is interviewed by Kirsty Young and chooses her Desert Island Discs.

She has been in post for just over a year and, for her, it is a return to the university where she studied as an undergraduate. She accepted the post after spending 30 years in America at Yale University - the last eight there as Provost. But much of her professional life has been based not in the ivory towers of academe, but in remote jungles and foothills working as an anthropologist studying the Madagascan lemur.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The end of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier

by Richard Strauss

Book: Journals by Captain Cook

Luxury: Solar-powered shower

Sue Lawley's castaway is academic Professor Alison Richard

In this moving programme, Allan describes the impact of Janet's diagnosis, how she faced up to the knowledge that she was dying and how, after her death, he worked through his grief by compiling another book - a very personal collection about her life and work.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Closing Time by Leonard Cohen

Book: Selected Stories by Alice Munro

Luxury: A wall to kick a football against.

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Allan Ahlberg.

Amanda was born in Treherbert, a former mining village in the Rhondda Valley. Both her grandfathers worked down the mines and she says the miners' strike of 1984 left a lasting impression on her and taught her the value of community. After studying modern history at Liverpool University, Amanda joined a graduate training scheme at Commercial Union. By the age of 29 she was the company's youngest and first female branch manager when she took up the post in Leicester.

She joined Aviva in 2020 and the following year she was appointed Women in Finance Charter Champion by HM Treasury. She was named the Sunday Times Business Person of the Year for 2022.

Amanda is married to Ken Blanc, who also worked in insurance but gave up his job to support her career. They have two daughters and live in Hampshire.

DISC ONE: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

DISC TWO: Town Called Malice - The Jam

DISC THREE: Thank You for the Music - Abba

DISC FOUR: Tainted Love - Soft Cell

DISC FIVE: This is Me - Keala Settle

DISC SIX: Dignity - Deacon Blue

DISC SEVEN: The Man - Taylor Swift

DISC EIGHT: Land of My Fathers - Welsh rugby fans at Six Nations Championship, 2013

BOOK CHOICE: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

LUXURY ITEM: A photo album

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Tainted Love - Soft Cell

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Amanda Blanc, businesswoman, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Amanda was born in Twickenham and grew up in Zambia and Rome where her stepfather worked in the diplomatic service. She studied international trade and investment law at the University of Zambia in Lusaka and during this time she began to develop her political outlook and commitment to the issue of social justice.

She moved to the UK in 1996 where she took a master's degree at the University of Warwick. But even with two degrees and considerable work experience she was unable to find a job and retrained as a care worker. She says her time working in nursing homes `reshaped` and `humbled` her.

Later she worked for the VSO and served with the United Nations Volunteer programme in Germany before landing what she calls her `dream job` at Christian Aid in 2018.

DISC ONE: Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba

DISC TWO: Ave Maria (after Arcadelt) Composed by Jacques Arcadelt, performed by Choeur de Chambre de Namur, conducted by Leonardo Garc퀀a Alarc　n

DISC THREE: My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen

DISC FOUR: Jerusalema by Master Kg Featuring Nomcebo Zikode

DISC FIVE: You Know My Name by Tasha Cobbs Leonard Featuring Jimi Cravity

DISC SIX: (Red)emption Song by John Legend

DISC SEVEN: I Believe by Fantasia

DISC EIGHT: It Is Well With My Soul by Wintley Phipps

BOOK CHOICE: Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson

LUXURY ITEM: Quality Street chocolates

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: It Is Well With My Soul by Wintley Phipps

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, Christian Aid CEO, shares her soundtrack with Lauren Laverne.

Brought up in Richmond, the oldest of three children, she showed her independent spirit early on, and left school at 16. She discovered architecture while on a Foundation year at art school and was offered a place at the Architectural Association, even though her portfolio didn't feature a single drawing of a building.

Since setting up her own practice in 2009, her creative endeavours have included the Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon, a retail and hotel complex in Bangkok, and the MPavilion Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne. In 2016 her practice won competitions to transform the Galleries Lafayette building in Paris and create a new mosque in Abu Dhabi. She has also designed furniture, stackable football pitches and set up a pop-up restaurant serving nothing but tinned fish.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Amanda Levete, architect, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: String Quintet in C - Second Movement by Franz Schubert

Book: Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Luxury: Piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is classical pianist Andras Schiff

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 40 In G Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The collected works by Anton Chekhov

Luxury: Piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is composer and conductor Andre Previn

Born in London to Jamaican parents, she has spent much of her career describing the experiences of Caribbean immigrants and cementing the role they have played in British life. Her books have found both a large and appreciative audience as well as critical success - Small Island was named Whitbread Book of the Year, while Long Song, was shortlisted for the Man-Booker Prize. Her achievements are all the more extraordinary because she says she didn't read her first novel until she was 23 years old. She says: 'The reason I write is because I am exploring my heritage - and there's still a lot of that story untold.

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Novelist Andrea Levy joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

Until he was 50, he was an English lecturer and wrote in his spare time - it was a sort of mid-life crisis that sent his career soaring. Since then, his signature has been stripping down the classics, sexing them up and serving Austen, Eliot and Dickens to appreciative audiences. The trick is to make sure the stories remain relevant to viewers today - and that, he says, is straightforward because the main motivators remain the same - sex, love, money and power.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Hiawatha Rag by Chris Barber Band Box

Book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Luxury: Endless supply of Mojitos.

Kirsty Young's castaway is screenwriter Andrew Davies.

He describes his writing as a 'biological thing' - like developing a headache or the flu - but much, much more pleasurable. Also a biographer, his first, controversial work was about his friend and fellow poet Philip Larkin. While researching for it, he collected together his own personal writings and burnt them. Dominant in his work is the figure of his mother; injured in an accident which left her severely ill and from which she eventually died. His poems, he says, are his way of bringing her back to life.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cello Suite No. 6 in D by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Prelude - Penguin edition by William Wordsworth

Luxury: Pencils and paper

Sue Lawley's castaway is poet Andrew Motion

Much has been made of his rise to be a figure at the heart of the establishment. A grammar school boy who went on to study at Glasgow University, he threw himself into university life; he edited the student newspaper, was a keen young debater and chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students. It seemed as if he was destined for a life in politics - but he decided he wanted to live a little first and then found that while he revelled in the political debate, the life of an MP was not for him. He is now Editor in Chief at Press Holdings and an established and authoritative political broadcaster.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: First Movement of Violin Concerto in D Major by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Book: Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Luxury: Wind-up radio.

Kirsty Young's castaway is journalist and broadcaster Andrew Neil.

Andrew grew up in a remote village in Trinidad and sewed his first garment at the age of nine, creating a simple pair of trousers from a pillowcase. He left school at 13 and was apprenticed to a local tailor who told him tales about the pinnacle of sartorial excellence, Savile Row - the place where James Bond's suits were cut.

Inspired by this vision, Andrew saved up for a ticket to sail to the UK: he emigrated at the age of 17, only the second person to leave his village. He found work on Savile Row, went on to complete a degree at the London College of Fashion, and then gained a job at Maurice Sedwell, eventually taking over the business when Maurice retired.

In recent years, Andrew has been closely involved in training the next generation of tailors. He was awarded an OBE in 2009, for his work in tailoring and training, and was the UK's Black Business Person of the Year in 2017.

DISC ONE: Portrait of Trinidad by The Mighty Sniper

DISC TWO: Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2 by Pink Floyd

DISC THREE: Time Will Tell by Jimmy Cliff

DISC FOUR: The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel

DISC FIVE: It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown & The Famous Flames

DISC SIX: Desiderata by Les Crane

DISC SEVEN: Maria La O by Neil Latchman

DISC EIGHT: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

BOOK CHOICE: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

LUXURY ITEM: A tenor steel pan drum

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Andrew Ramroop, tailor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Rwanda, Burundi and Haiti are among the 81 countries he has visited; his front line dispatches vividly conveying the true horror of conflict. His reporting and his music broadcasts have won him many, many awards and both careers are, he says, the result of his insatiable nosiness.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Hupenyu Hwangu by Bhundu Boys

Book: The collected works by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Luxury: Lots of toilet roll.

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster Andy Kershaw.

After being abandoned as a baby, he was adopted and was brought up in the Peckham area of South London. A life of minor crime followed until he joined the infantry with the Royal Green Jackets in 1976 progressing to the SAS. In the Gulf War, McNab commanded the Bravo Two Zero patrol, given the task of destroying underground communication links in Iraq and mobile Scud launchers. Three of the eight-man patrol were killed, one escaped and four were taken prisoner by the Iraqis and tortured over a six-week period. He's been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal and was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he left the SAS in 1993. His book Bravo Two Zero became a bestseller and this was followed by his autobiography Immediate Action. Since then, he's published seven novels about a former soldier who then works for British Intelligence.

Elements of this programme may offend or upset some listeners.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Sweet Thing

by David Bowie

Book: Any book by Charles Dickens

Luxury: A gollock

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Andy McNab

Angela was born in 1968 to an Italian mother and Irish father, and her culinary career has been influenced by her Italian background and her grandmother's cooking. After studying for a history degree, Angela began work in the catering industry before joining Gordon Ramsay at his restaurant Aubergine. In 2002 she took over at the Connaught, London, as the first woman chef to run its restaurant. When it closed five years later, she moved on to open her own restaurant, Murano, in 2008. She achieved a Michelin star in both establishments and has expanded her restaurant business.

She has been a regular contributor on some of TV and radio's most popular cookery programmes. In 2007, she was awarded an MBE for Services to the Hospitality Industry.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.

Angela Hartnett, chef, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

However, as she will be telling Sue Lawley, up until the early 1980s, she always refused to visit one country - Germany. For it was from there that her Jewish parents were taken away by the Gestapo, never to be seen again. From the age of 18, she herself was taken away to Auschwitz. There, because she was able to play the cello, she survived, and played in the camp's orchestra. However, when she was later moved to Belsen, she nearly didn't. She'll be talking about playing in the orchestra at Auschwitz, about the importance of music in sustaining life both then and now, and about her feelings towards Germany and the Germans more than 50 years after the events of her early life.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Sonata Opus 111 by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The History of the World by J M Roberts

Luxury: Cello

Sue Lawley's castaway is cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch

Born in 1954, Ann grew up in Herefordshire and Devon. After secondary school she spent a year providing childcare for a family in London before reading English at the University of Sussex. She dropped out of her degree course, and by chance, was offered a job as assistant cook at the bird observatory in Fair Isle, despite not knowing how to cook, nor anything about birds. She met her husband Tim there, who came as a visiting bird watcher.

They spent four years on the tiny tidal island of Hilbre off the Wirral peninsula, where Ann started to write. Her debut novel was published in 1986 and she has published a book a year since then. Her first Shetland novel, Raven Black, appeared in 2006 and won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, at the time the richest crime-writing prize in the world. Her second breakthrough came when a TV producer picked up a second-hand copy of one her novels featuring her dishevelled detective Vera Stanhope and decided it would make perfect prime-time viewing. In October 2017, Ann received the Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association, the highest honour in British crime writing, awarded by fellow crime authors. In 2018, she published the final of eight Shetland novels, and this autumn will see the publication of the first of a new Vera series set in Devon.

Her husband Tim died in December 2017. Ann lives in Whitley Bay, with her two daughters and six grandchildren nearby.

BOOK CHOICE: The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning

LUXURY: Pen and paper

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Suzanne by Leonard Cohen

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Cathy Drysdale

Ann Cleeves, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

While she is on her expeditions, the life she leaves behind is also far from routine - she is a mother to four children including triplets. She has met some criticism for leaving her children for long periods, but she responds by saying that they are her inspiration - she wants to demonstrate to them how to live life to the full.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics

Book: The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Luxury: A bar of soap

Kirsty Young's castaway is explorer Ann Daniels

She grew up in India and Pakistan and loved India and its culture. When she was around 10 years old she was sent to a boarding school in England. From school she went to Oxford and from there she joined the Daily Express. She was brought to London and was given her own column at the age of twenty-two. But she resigned, saying she wanted to do proper reporting, and it was David English's support for her that saw her start writing foreign news stories and set the course for her distinguished career.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Improvisation - The Theme Music Pather Panchali by Ravi Shankar

Book: Completed Works by P G Wodehouse

Luxury: An enormous amount of garlic with a garlic press

Sue Lawley's castaway is foreign correspondent Ann Leslie

Born to a wealthy Milanese family, she arrived in Britain in 1949 where her Italian ingenuity with food was sorely needed in a nation still facing rationing and no olive oil. Her books, starting with Portrait of Pasta in 1976, helped to change all that, and established her as a food hero for younger cooks like Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith.

She has still more to teach however: whatever you do, she says, you shouldn't serve bolognese with spaghetti as it's just the wrong shape. Tagliatelle is much better.

Record: Part of the duet from the first act of Otello

Book: The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa

Luxury: Extra virgin olive oil.

Italian cookery writer Anna Del Conte joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs

One of the first high profile women in news, she worked for Granada, ITV and the BBC before retiring after more than thirty years on our screens. One of her professional pairings was presenting the News at 10 with Reginald Bosanquet, she remembers how he would try to unsettle her during broadcasts: 'I adored Reggie, he would land either obscene poems or love poems on my script just before I was to about to read it to camera and I would catch just a sight of this and it was almost impossible not to laugh.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Journalist Anna Ford is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

It's more than forty years since she set up her theatre school and it has launched the careers of Kathy Burke, Martin Kemp, Pauline Quirke and Patsy Palmer to name just a few. It started out as a lunchtime drama club - and very quickly grew. Anna Scher says: 'There were enormous classes - about seventy in a class - and a lot of those pupils were non-readers and so I fell into improvisation by chance. I found that it was a very effective way of character training.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Anna Scher is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Born in Dublin in 1962, Anne is the youngest of five children. She was a voracious reader from an early age, finishing every children's book at her local library. When she was 16, she won a scholarship to study at a school in Canada, and then returned to Ireland for a degree in English and Philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin. After taking an MA in Creative Writing at University of East Anglia, with teaching from Angela Carter and Malcolm Bradbury, she worked for six years as a TV producer for the Irish broadcaster RTE. When her TV work left her feeling burned out, she began her writing career in earnest. Her book of short stories, The Portable Virgin, won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1991, and she published her first novel, The Wig My Father Wore, in 1995. Her latest novel, The Actress, is published in February 2020.

She is also now a Professor at University College Dublin and teaches creative writing. She met her theatre director husband, Martin Murphy, at university and they have two children.

DISC ONE: Brahms Intermezzos: Op. 117, No.1 by Glenn Gould

DISC TWO: Jersey Girl by Tom Waits

DISC THREE: A Case Of You by Joni Mitchell

DISC FOUR: Then You'll Remember Me by D退 Danann

DISC FIVE: The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash

DISC SIX: Hiawatha by Laurie Anderson

DISC SEVEN: Tower of Song by Leonard Cohen

DISC EIGHT: Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan Tutte, composed by Mozart, conducted by Karl B怀hm, performed by Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Walter Berry, Christa Ludwig and Philharmonia Orchestra.

BOOK CHOICE: 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust

LUXURY ITEM: High thread-count cotton sheets

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Soave sia il vento from Cosi fan Tutte, composed by Mozart

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Anne Enright, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Domine Deus from B Minor Mass by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Collected Poems by Philip Larkin

Luxury: Pencil and paper

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and Children's Laureate Anne Fine

For a long time the bedrock of Anne Reid's successful career seemed to be her perfectly nuanced portrayal of a variety of northern mums - what she calls 'skirt and jumper roles'. Her first major role was playing Valerie Tatlock in Coronation Street - her character's funeral was watched by millions.

In 2003 the skirt and the jumper came off when she and Daniel Craig starred in the highly acclaimed movie The Mother, about a frumpy looking woman in her late 60s who passionately seduces her daughter's boyfriend.

Anne Reid has appeared in Victoria Wood's comedy series Dinnerladies and is currently playing Celia in BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax about two widowed septuagenarians finding love again.

She says, '...inner talent gives you that ease. It's not a remarkable thing - just a knack that gives you a very nice life.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young interviews actress Anne Reid.

After Oxford she joined Vogue - first as an assistant to a secretary and then went from writing the odd picture caption to proper articles. She became editor of Harper's Bazaar - and during her magazine career she commissioned work from such figures as Cecil Beaton, John Betjemen and Elizabeth David. Her marriage to Macdonald Hastings collapsed and in the early 60s she met the writer and illustrator Sir Osbert Lancaster and they married in 1967. At around the same time she embarked on a new stage in her career - gardening writing. Her first book, Down to Earth, and The Pleasure Garden, which she produced jointly with Sir Osbert, are now being republished as gardening classics.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Double Concerto for Two Violins in D by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Semi-attached Couple by Emily Eden

Luxury: Nightdress made of pure white cotton

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist and writer Anne Scott James

Anne was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1941, the oldest of four children. Her parents were Quakers and the family lived in a succession of Quaker communities in the South until they settled in a Quaker commune in Celo, in the mountains of North Carolina in 1948. When she was 11 the family moved to Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, where Anne attended a mainstream school.

Anne majored in Russian literature at Duke University in North Carolina where she enrolled in a creative writing class run by the author Reynolds Price. After completing her studies she worked as a librarian in the university library.

Anne's first novel, If Morning Ever Comes, was published in 1964 when she was just 22-years-old. Her writing is widely praised for the way it chronicles the lives of middle-class America and celebrates endurance and the complexities of family relationships.

Anne moved to Baltimore with her husband and children in 1967 and the city has been the setting for her books ever since.

DISC ONE: Darby's Castle by Kris Kristofferson

DISC TWO: This is My Father's World by Cedarmont Kids

DISC THREE: Hearts Of Stone by The Charms

DISC FOUR: Darling Dareyne by Shusha

DISC FIVE: Un Canadien Errant by Ian And Sylvia

DISC SIX: Heart of Glass by Blondie

DISC SEVEN: While Sheep May Safely Graze, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Richard Hayman

DISC EIGHT: Baltimore by Nina Simone

BOOK CHOICE: The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty

LUXURY ITEM: A supply of pet food

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: While Sheep May Safely Graze, composed by J.S Bach, performed by Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Richard Hayman

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Anne Tyler, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Her creations - which include Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim and In the Night Garden - have delighted millions of children around the world. She says she is driven by her fascination with children's creative development - and was horrified by the critical response when Teletubbies was first screened. 'I wanted to make a programme that had love in it,' she says, 'You'd have thought I'd started World War Three the response that happened - it's innocent fun, that's all it is.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Children's TV producer Anne Wood is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Born in 1970 to Irish parents, she grew up in a working class household in west London. A shy child and a voracious reader, she took acting classes from the age of 11, but failed to get into drama school on her first attempt. Her second application to the Drama Centre in London was successful and she's barely been out of work since.

She started off on stage, but gained more widespread recognition when she took the role of Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, the acclaimed Channel 4 comedy drama.

She has since played dozens of roles, both in the theatre and on screen, which range from Queen Elizabeth I to John Lennon's mother, from a penniless suffragette to a retired police officer with skeletons in the cupboard, and from Joan of Arc to Lady Macbeth on Broadway and at the National Theatre. Her performances have been described as having a 'multi-faceted, diamond-hard intensity'.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Anne-Marie Duff, actor, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

For much of the 1980s, all her creative energy went into making music. But when her children were born, she says, her priorities shifted. Now she devotes much of her time and energy to supporting different humanitarian causes. She says: 'I need to find meaning in my life to make me happy; and that's been an ongoing struggle.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Say A Little Prayer by Aretha Franklin

Book: Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Luxury: Suncream.

Kirsty Young's castaway is singer Annie Lennox.

Born and brought up in south west London, she fell in love with the romance and mystery of radio through her father's meticulous tuning of their home set to broadcasts from exotic places like Prague and Hilversum. On leaving school at 17, she spent a year on a journalism course in central London.

After relocating to Brighton, she worked her way up through local newspapers to the national press and magazines and eventually, by the mid-1960s, to TV. She interviewed the Beatles as a young journalist, and gave early support to artists including David Bowie, Ian Dury, Eminem and Primal Scream. In 1970, she was the first woman DJ to join Radio 1 with a Sunday evening show. From 1978 to 1982, Annie was the sole female presenter on the BBC TV music show The Old Grey Whistle Test, the only woman to have held the job. Her excitement for new music and musical genres from acid house to grime, hasn't wavered.

She currently hosts a weekly Radio 1 show called Annie Nightingale Present

Perhaps it is unsurprising that his books often deal with the fragility of childhood and the robustness of children. A father now himself, he says he envies his own children their confidence and happiness. He says that he doesn't consider his work great, or even important - but he does like to think it agreeable and surprising.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: She's Always A Woman by Billy Joel

Book: A large French dictionary

Luxury: Fountain pen, ink and paper

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Anthony Horowitz

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Toasting Song (from La Traviata - Act One) by Giuseppe Verdi

Book: Dictionary of National Biography

Luxury: Camp bed

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist and broadcaster Anthony Howard

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Promise of Living by Aaron Copland

Book: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Luxury: San Pellegrino water on tap.

Kirsty Young's castaway is lawyer and writer Anthony Julius.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mache Dich, Mein Herze, Rein by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Collected Piano Works by Bach

Luxury: Piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is director Anthony Minghella

An internationally regarded historian, her best-selling books are credited with bringing the past to life, full of painstakingly researched detail and strong narrative. Her first job was in publishing, working for George Weidenfeld and then marrying the Tory MP Hugh Fraser. She wrote the first of her best selling historical biographies, Mary Queen of Scots in 1969 while the mother of six young children - 'the little baby enjoyed the sound of the typewriter'.

Along with her husband, Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, she has been at the centre of London's literati for well over 30 years. Her writing is still 'place of solitude and a solace'.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 3rd Movement of Piano Concerto No. 23 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The complete works by Walter Scott

Luxury: Strings and strings of false pearls.

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Lady Antonia Fraser.

For him preparing and cooking food is a sensual act, so perhaps it's no surprise that in his spare time he whittles wood into intricately-patterned walking sticks and tries his hand at clay modelling too. It's all part of a life that, at its best, is a tactile, sensual experience.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Finale to The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Sa뀀ns

Book: His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

Luxury: White truffles.

Kirsty Young's castaway is chef Antonio Carluccio.

His Angel of the North towers over the A1 just outside Gateshead. Elsewhere, his figures stand buried in sand at the mouth of an estuary, or hang from the ceiling of an American jailhouse. In 1994 he won the Turner Prize for his works called Field - thousands of small clay creatures, crafted by people from around the world. Another sculpture, Bed, he created from a mattress made from thousands of slices of bread - and then ATE his own body shape over several weeks.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Raga Jaijaiwanti by Hariprasad Chaurasia and Dilshad Khan

Book: Principle of Hope by Ernst Bloch

Luxury: Snorkel and mask

Sue Lawley's castaway is sculptor Antony Gormley

Given her first handbag by her mother at 16, she knew that her future lay in fashion. At 18 she went to Florence to immerse herself in Italian style, and ended up deep in the world of Florentine leather, getting samples made up of a duffel bag she'd spotted. An initial run of 500 bags sold out. Fast forward 25 years and her eponymous fashion business is globally successful with her designs much sought after.

She's also known for her conscience and designed a canvas tote called 'I'm not a plastic bag' as part of an environmental campaign to highlight our over use of plastic bags.

She combines all this with a hectic family life. She met and subsequently married a widower 12 years her senior when she was 25. He had 3 children aged under 5 and they've added a further two to the clan.

She says her life is like 'juggling and dancing while having one arm and one eye at the same time'.

Producer: Alison Hughes.

Designer and businesswoman Anya Hindmarch is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

For the past year he has combined his surgical work with a position in government - he is a health minister and, on the eve of the NHS's 60th birthday, he is charged with reshaping the NHS in England. It is, he says, the greatest challenge he has yet faced.

Favourite track: Seven Seconds by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry

Book: Yes, Minister by Jonathan Lynn

Luxury: Pencil and paper

Kirsty Young invites pioneering surgeon Ara Darzi to choose eight records.

In the process, he's answered every one of the 40,000 suggestions from his staff - personally. And he's learnt how to keep his colleagues on their toes - he's removed their chairs from the meeting rooms. Now as a new MP and Vice Chairman of the party, can he do the same for the Conservatives?

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The Complete Angler by Isaac Walton

Luxury: Jar of Marmite

Sue Lawley's castaway is Executive Director of ASDA Archie Norman

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Dinah Washington

Book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Luxury: Tweezers.

Kirsty Young's castaway is dancer and choreographer Arlene Phillips.

A highly academic child at a Jesuit school, in his teens he harboured ambitions to become a Catholic priest. His parents thought he might become a doctor or lawyer, but after getting a first-class degree from Oxford, and spending three years writing a thesis about religious language with reference to Milton, he concentrated on comedy instead. He joined the BBC and ended up producing the radio comedy programmes he had listened to as a child.

He is currently involved in developing new comedy for the BBC and is this year's Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media at Oxford University.

This programme includes language which may offend some listeners.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Opening of Mahler's 9th Symphony by Gustav Mahler

Book: Complete Short Stories by H G Wells

Luxury: Virtual sherry trifle

Sue Lawley's castaway is satirist Armando Iannucci

His iconic status as a gay writer and political activist couldn't be further from his background, growing up in the genteel American South, with a 'neo-fascist, arch-conservative' father. Armistead tells Kirsty about his transition to the other end of the political spectrum, and how his life has become inseparable from his work.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The reprise of Wicked Little Town by Tommy Gnosis

Book: The Cole Porter Songbook by Cole Porter

Luxury: Vaporiser.

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Armistead Maupin.

He was the son of Jewish communists and was brought up in the East End of London in the 1930s. He remembers being taken on marches and demonstrations and says that memories of Cable Street, when Oswald Mosley was prevented from marching his blackshirts through predominantly Jewish areas of London, weighed heavily in his home. His background strongly informed his writing and his first five plays were all staged at the Royal Court Theatre. He says that even today, he must write something each day as a way of justifying his existence - even if it is only his daily diary entry.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The end of Gurrelieder by Arnold Schoenberg

Book: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust

Luxury: Supplies of pen and paper

Kirsty Young's castaway is playwright Arnold Wesker

He was born in Strasbourg in 1949 and grew up as the youngest of three children in the nearby village of Duttlenheim, where his parents ran a bistro. There he listened in to the daily conversations about football, which preoccupied the men of the village.

After playing for his local team and studying for a degree in economics, Ars耀ne made a career as a footballer in France for a decade, before moving into management. He coached in France, Monaco and Japan before joining Arsenal in 1996. At that point he was a complete unknown in English football, but soon proved his doubters wrong. He took a declining mid-table side to Premier League glory within two years, going on to win two further Premierships and a record number of FA Cups. In 2003-4 his so-called Invincibles achieved a record-breaking run of 49 matches without defeat.

He also won a reputation as an innovator, changing his players' diets and contributing to the globalisation of soccer by signing overseas players and scouting young talent from across the world. He was instrumental in building a new home for Arsenal, when the club moved from Highbury to the brand new Emirates Stadium

Ars耀ne retired from Arsenal in 2018 and took up a post as FIFA's head of Global Football Development the following year. He is separated from his partner Annie Brosterhous. They have one grown-up daughter, L退a.

DISC ONE: Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley And The Wailers

DISC TWO: Imagine by John Lennon

DISC THREE: Avec Le Temps by L退o Ferr退

DISC FOUR: Your Song by Elton John

DISC FIVE: ɀvidemment by France Gall

DISC SIX: The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley

DISC SEVEN: Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel

DISC EIGHT: My Way by Frank Sinatra

BOOK CHOICE: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

LUXURY ITEM: A ball

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Avec Le Temps by L退o Ferr退

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Ars\u00e8ne Wenger, Arsenal manager for 22 years, shares the soundtrack of his life.

He is a Fleet Street legend and, for more than thirty years, has captured the most memorable moments of the House of Windsor - from the first tentative pictures of a teenage Lady Diana Spencer to the balcony kiss at the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

He's travelled the world, met the Pope and seen inside the Oval Office and the Kremlin - it's a life far removed from his early life in the East End of London where money was very tight and his mother saved up her wages as a cleaner to buy him his first camera.

Record: Panis Angelicus

Book: A photographic album with pictures of his family

Luxury: An inexhaustible supply of tea and a kettle

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Brought up in Kerala, her Syrian Christian mother left her marriage when her children were young and set up a small school where Arundhati and her brother were educated. Raised to be independent, aged 16, Arundhati left home to study architecture in Delhi before being introduced to the film world by her second husband. Since the publication of The God of Small Things in 1997, she has continued to write non-fiction, using her influence her to focus on tackling injustice. She has campaigned against India's nuclear programme, dam-building, globalisation, religious intolerance and the inequality of Indian society.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Arundhati Roy, writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Born in 1972, Asif is the youngest of five children. His parents emigrated from Gujarat in the mid-1960s. His father's ambition to seek his fortune took the family to the US for a short time in the late 70s, but by 1980 they had returned to London. Asif grew up in Hackney, and describes his all-boys secondary school as tough. His mother was ill while he was taking his GCSEs, and he vowed never to sit exams again. At 17, he worked as a runner on a film and so enjoyed feeling part of a crew that he decided he wanted to make a career in the industry.

He studied film at the Newport Film School, going on to the Polytechnic of Central London where his graduation film, Indian Tales, was highly regarded. His 1997 Royal College of Art graduation film, The Sheep Thief, shot in Rajasthan in the Hindi language, won a prize at Cannes. He made two feature films, The Warrior which won two Baftas, and Far North, which was filmed close to the North Pole.

His first documentary was Senna, which was widely acclaimed and won two Baftas. Asif used the same collage technique - drawing on camcorder snippets, TV news, and entertainment specials - on Amy, his film about Amy Winehouse. It won an Oscar, a Bafta and a Grammy Award and surpassed Senna to become the highest grossing documentary of all time in the UK. His latest documentary is about the footballer Diego Maradona: he calls it `the third part of a trilogy about child geniuses and fame`.

Asif is married to Victoria Harwood with whom he has two sons.

DISC ONE: Tears Dry On Their Own by Amy Winehouse

DISC TWO: Good Times by Chic

DISC THREE: Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein by Lata Mangeshka And Mukesh

DISC FOUR: Rebel Without a Pause by Public Enemy

DISC FIVE: No Good (Start The Dance) by The Prodigy

DISC SIX: Man With A Harmonica by Orchestra Ennio Morricone

DISC SEVEN: A Morte by Ant䀀nio Pinto

DISC EIGHT: Just by Radiohead

BOOK CHOICE: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

LUXURY ITEM: A polaroid camera with film from the seventies

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Man With A Harmonica by Orchestra Ennio Morricone

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Asif Kapadia, film director, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne

By her own admission she is a workaholic - but she also champions the cause of women who want to become scientists and have families too. Her great triumph was to marry a supportive husband and after that, she says, the trick is learning how to cut corners: there are no 'dainty dinner parties' at her home, and she makes sure her clothes are machine washable and easy-iron.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Dies Irae (from Requiem) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The Lymond Novels by Dorothy Dunnett

Luxury: A bat.

Kirsty Young's castaway is scientist Athene Donald.

A general and endocrine surgeon in Boston, he is professor in both the Department of Health Policy & Management at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Born in Brooklyn, he is the son of two doctors who came to the US to study medicine. After graduating from Stanford and studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, he embarked on a brief political career, working for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign and on his health and social policy in the White House following his election. When Clinton's health policy reform floundered, Atul returned to Harvard to finish the medical degree he'd started after Oxford.

During his surgical residency he began writing for the online magazine Slate and he's been writing for the New Yorker since 1998. His 2009 article 'The Cost Conundrum' was cited by President Barack Obama during his attempt to get the healthcare reform legislation through Congress. Atul has published four books to date about the achievements, but also the limitations, of medicine.

In 2014 he presented the BBC's Reith Lectures, delivering a series of four talks titled The Future of Medicine.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Atul Gawande, surgeon and writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Now Leader of Burma's opposition party, she has dedicated her life to fighting for human rights and democracy in her homeland. A figure of world renown, she is known in Burma as simply 'The Lady' and her integrity, determination and grace have provided a beacon of hope to a nation oppressed and exploited by decades of brutal military dictatorship. President Obama says she is an 'icon of democracy' and Desmond Tutu calls her 'a remarkable woman ... ready to work for the healing of her motherland'.

Her renown has come at significant personal sacrifice: she endured nearly 20 years of house arrest and persecution, exiled from her children and apart from her British husband who died from cancer in 1999. She says 'It takes courage to feel the truth, to feel one's conscience because once you do, you must engage your fundamental purpose for being alive. You can't just expect to sit idly by and have freedom handed to you.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Both the on-demand and the download audio of this programme are an extended edition of the original broadcast.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's opposition leader, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: So What by Miles Davis

Book: Coups de Pilon by David Diop

Alternative to Bible: Koran

Luxury: Guitar.

Kirsty Young's castaway is musician Baaba Maal.

Today her creativity spans fashion, illustration, interior design and architecture but it was the success of the label Biba that first made her name; launching a high street revolution with its opulent-looking but entirely affordable high fashion. According to Twiggy, 'she changed fashion in England singlehandedly'.

A newspaper advert for a £3 pink gingham dress in 1963 kicked things off and by the seventies her London department store was a throbbing temple to all things skinny-fitted in plum, mulberry, green, brown and black. Romantic, mysterious, nostalgic and very profitable. But when it all turned sour with her business partners, she and her husband Fitz walked away, leaving behind the hugely popular creation that had made her name.

The fantasy and perfection of her creations were a far cry from the harsh reality of her childhood; born in Poland just before the Second World War, the air of privilege that surrounded her family was traumatically punctured when her father, a diplomat, was assassinated.

She says 'Now whenever I finish something I take some photographs and say 'goodbye'. When you lose everything, you realise that the only thing you have is what's in your head.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Barbara Hulanicki, fashion designer and creator of Biba.

In 1976, after a number of failed attempts, she sold her first novel to a publisher on the basis of a ten-page outline. That book A Woman of Substance, has gone on to sell in the region of 20 million copies. The heroine, Emma Harte, inspired such a following that she and her dynasty were the subjects of two further books and despite Emma being 'killed off' in the second, Taylor Bradford has resurrected her for a 'lost years' prequel this summer. Emma's Secret will be her 19th novel, with 10 of them made into TV films.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Vissi d'Arte by Giacomo Puccini

Book: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Luxury: Bag of eye make-up, especially mascara

Sue Lawley's castaway is novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford

Born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Arminka fled her home country as violence escalated in the former Yugoslavia and her family appeared on a Serbian death list. Following the intervention of Lady Miloska Nott, wife of the former secretary of state for defence Sir John Nott, she arrived in London as a refugee in October 1992.

She completed a master's degree in international history at the LSE which ignited her interest in politics. Her first Westminster job was filing press cuttings in the House of Commons Library where she was spotted and started working for MPs including Robert Key, Liam Fox and William Hague. When William Hague became foreign secretary in 2010, she joined him as a special adviser and made it her mission to bring compassion and humanity to foreign policy.

After watching Angelina Jolie's directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey, the story of an inter-ethnic love affair set against the backdrop of the war in Bosnia, Arminka persuaded the foreign secretary to join forces with the Hollywood star. The PSVI highlights how sexual violence in conflict zones is often a hidden crime in which the perpetrators go unpunished.

In 2014 the PSVI held a global summit in London which brought together activists and policy-makers with the aim of recognizing this crime and bringing about successful prosecutions. In the same year, Arminka Heli? entered the House of Lords as a Conservative Life Peer.

DISC ONE: Tereza Kesovija - Prijatelji Stari Gdje Ste

DISC TWO: Kim Wilde - Cambodia

DISC THREE: Zaim Imamovi? - Kraj Tanana Šadrvana

DISC FOUR: Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

DISC FIVE: Bijelo Dugme - Pljuni i zapjevaj moja Jugoslavijo

DISC SIX: Madonna - True Blue

DISC SEVEN: Vivaldi - Concerto in F minor, RV 297 `Winter`, 1st movement by performed by The English Concert

DISC EIGHT: Josipa Lisac - O jednoj mladosti

BOOK CHOICE: A DIY book

LUXURY ITEM: A pen and paper

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Kraj Tanana Šadrvana by Zaim Imamovi?

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Baroness Arminka Heli\u0107 shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She was born with a degenerative condition and her parents were told she would not survive infancy. Now in her mid-fifties and a cross-bench peer, she's spent her adult life campaigning for equality for disabled people and was one of the leading voices behind the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995.

She recalls: 'I found myself sitting in the middle of Westminster Bridge bringing the traffic to a standstill. The police didn't know what to do with us - whether to pat us on the head or, you know, put handcuffs on us. They were quite confused.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Disability campaigner Baroness Campbell is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

She was born in Trinidad in 1949, the second of six children. When her parents emigrated to the UK, she and her siblings were initially left behind with foster parents. After 16 months, the family was able to reunite, when the children travelled to England by sea. At first they all lived in one room in south London. Eventually her parents were able to buy a house in Beckenham, where they lived for 40 years - which is why Floella decided on the title Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham when she entered the House of Lords in 2010 as a Liberal Democrat peer.

There was no hint of her later high public profile when she left school at 16 to work in a bank, until she dared to audition for a West End musical during her lunch break. She was successful, going on to appear in numerous London shows, before her move into television. Along with her work in front of the camera, she set up her own TV production company, as well as publishing books and working closely with charities for children and young people. She has also campaigned for high standards in children's broadcasting and more diversity in the creative industries.

She was the Chancellor of Exeter University for a decade, starting in 2006, and earlier this year she received a Damehood for her services to charity.

DISC ONE: The Greatest Love of All by George Benson

DISC TWO: Waiting in Vain by Bob Marley and the Wailers

DISC THREE: Puttin' on the Ritz by Ella Fitzgerald

DISC FOUR: Once by Stan Getz

DISC FIVE: Begin the Beguine by Julio Iglesius

DISC SIX: The Prince of Denmark's March by Jeremiah Clarke, performed by the London Gabrieli Brass Ensemble

DISC SEVEN: Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz

DISC EIGHT: Smile by Nat King Cole

BOOK CHOICE: Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

LUXURY ITEM: A neck rest

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Greatest Love of All by George Benson

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Lady Hale was born in Yorkshire and read law at the University of Cambridge where she graduated top of her class. She spent almost 20 years in academia and also practised as a barrister. Later at the Law commission she led the work on what became the 1989 Children Act.

Lady Hale retired as a judge in January 2020.

DISC ONE: Messiah - Part 1: O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion, composed by Georg Friedrich H䀀ndel, performed by Kathleen Ferrier and The London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult

DISC TWO: Love Me Do by The Beatles

DISC THREE: Move Him Into The Sun. Composed and conducted by Benjamin Britten. Performed by Peter Pears (tenor) and Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano) with the Bach Choir and the London Symphony Orchestra

DISC FOUR: Part 1 Nos 4 & 5: Gloria in excelsis Deo - Et in terra pax. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists and conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

DISC FIVE: The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492 Sull'Aria. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by sopranos Charlotte Margiono and Barbara Bonney, Netherlands Opera Chorus and the Concertgebouw Orchestra

DISC SIX: Hand in Hand by Gl　ria (Ireland's Gay and Lesbian Choir)

DISC SEVEN: Parry: I Was Glad, composed by Hubert Parry, performed by Westminster Abbey Choir, Simon Preston (organ) and conducted by William McKinney

DISC EIGHT: Dies Irae. Composed by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Swedish Radio Choir and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado

BOOK CHOICE: A Desert Island survival manual

LUXURY ITEM: A solar-powered computer with sudoku puzzles and a writing application

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Part 1 Nos 4 & 5: Gloria in excelsis Deo - Et in terra pax, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Baroness Hale of Richmond shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime and, coming from a long line of independent-minded women, that's little surprise. Her mother campaigned for women to have the vote while her grandmother refused to wear the veil. Though in her grandmother's case, that was because she thought she was too pretty to be covered up.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Record: Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No.1

Book: Collected poems by Hafiz

Alternate to Bible: Koran

Luxury: A rose bush.

Kirsty Young's castaway is academic Baroness Haleh Afshar.

An Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, she has specialised in the health and welfare of people with learning disabilities; advising on policy and influencing attitudes. She started off as a GP, turning to psychiatry after finding a huge proportion of her patients were suffering from emotional and social problems. One of her four children has a learning disability and that has brought a focus to her professional ambitions. She says: 'In many ways, I've always thought that our children are going to be different to any expectation we had of them and really the joy of parenthood is discovering who your children really are.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Kirsty Young interviews professor of psychiatry Baroness Sheila Hollins.

The family lived in an area of Warrington which was experiencing an increase in anti-social behaviour. In August 2007, Garry went outside to investigate a disturbance and was viciously attacked by some youths in front of his three daughters. Three days later, the decision was taken to switch off his life support. Three youths were subsequently found guilty of Garry's murder and in the wake of the family's experience, Helen set up an initiative called Newlove Warrington to provide support to the young people in the area.

She was given a peerage in 2010 and sits on the Conservative benches. She took up various roles in support of victims in the House of Lords, culminating in her appointment as Victims' Commissioner, a post she took up in 2013. She is currently in her second term and will be serving in the post until 2019.

Helen remarried in 2012.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Baroness Newlove is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

She is the government's chief law officer, a position as significant as it is isolated. She was on course to be the first female High Court judge before a life in politics intervened and she joined the government. Before she took on her current role she thought she understood the pressures that came with it. In fact, she says, that only became evident once she was in office: 'It is a huge responsibility and it is, and it always will be, a fairly lonely one'.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Record: Pie Jesu with Sarah Brightman

Book: A bound version of her children's (and their cousin's) prose and poems.

Luxury: A luxurious bathroom.

He is the founder and artistic director of the touring theatre company Northern Broadsides.

There was nothing in his background to suggest he'd spend his life on stage. He was brought up by his father, who worked nights unloading fish in Hull. There were no books in his childhood home and he discovered his passion for theatre whilst at secondary school with the help of his English teacher who spotted his talent for performing. His first role was as the Mayor in Gogol's, 'The Government Inspector'.

He was a member of the National Youth Theatre where he appeared with Helen Mirren and went on to study at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. After a career in the National Theatre and the RSC, in 1992 he founded Northern Broadsides which stages Shakespeare plays, other classical works and new writing with the aim of presenting 'Northern voices, doing classical work in non-velvet spaces'.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young interviews actor and theatre director Barrie Rutter.

Barry was born in Dagenham in East London in 1948 and grew up in a council house. At school, he enjoyed playing cricket and football, but freely admits he wasn't good enough to become a professional player. Instead, he became an accountant and when one of the companies he worked for asked him to find some investment properties, he bought a chain of snooker halls.

Barry took advantage of the snooker boom of the 1970s - which started after the BBC began televising competitions - and signed a young Steve Davis. Steve went on to win the World Snooker Championship in 1981 and Barry formed his company Matchroom the following year. He consolidated his success by moving into boxing and then introduced darts to a mainstream audience.

In 2021 Barry was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sport Industry Awards, and also handed over the chairmanship of Matchroom to his son Eddie. His daughter Katie also works for the company. Barry is reluctant to retire just yet, and remains company president, where his new role has given him some more free time to enjoy one of his favourite activities - fishing.

DISC ONE: The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

DISC TWO: Sweet Home Chicago by The Blues Brothers

DISC THREE: Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver

DISC FOUR: The Lonesome Boatman by Finbar & Eddie Furey

DISC FIVE: Snooker Loopy by Chas 'n' Dave

DISC SIX: The Best by Tina Turner

DISC SEVEN: American Pie by Don McLean

DISC EIGHT: Forest Lawn by Tom Paxton

BOOK CHOICE: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

LUXURY ITEM: A fishing rod and rocking chair

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Barry Hearn, sports promoter, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Songs of Sunset: They are not long, the weeping & the laughter by Frederick Delius

Book: The Melbourne Street Directory

Luxury: My paints.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland

Book: Man vs Wild - Survival Techniques from the Most Dangerous Places on Earth by Bear Grylls

Luxury: A piano.

Kirsty Young's castaway is singer-songwriter Barry Manilow.

Baz was born Mark Andrew Luhrmann in 1962. His friends nicknamed him Baz after the puppet Basil Brush because of his unruly hair. When he was five the family moved to Herons Creek, a remote settlement in New South Wales. Several years later Baz started ballroom dancing after he picked up a leaflet advertising classes while travelling on a bus.

At drama school in Sydney he devised a play called Strictly Ballroom with his fellow students and later wrote a screenplay with his school friend Craig Pearce. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992 where it received a rapturous response and went on to win eight Australian Film Institute awards and three BAFTAs.

Baz's most recent film, Elvis, tells the life of Elvis Presley from the perspective of his infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. The film has been a commercial success - making almost $300 million around the world to date.

In addition to making feature films Baz has directed theatre and opera productions. He lives mainly in New York with his wife and frequent collaborator, the production designer Catherine Martin, and their two children.

DISC ONE: Changes by David Bowie

DISC TWO: One by John Farnham

DISC THREE: Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

DISC FOUR: Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley

DISC FIVE: Puccini: La Boheme / Act 1 - 'Che gelida manina' by Luciano Pavarotti

DISC SIX: Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

DISC SEVEN: Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, MYA, Pink

DISC EIGHT: No Church in the Wild by JAY Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, The-Dream

BOOK CHOICE: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

LUXURY ITEM: A silk eye mask

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Puccini: La Boheme / Act 1 - 'Che gelida manina' by Luciano Pavarotti

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Baz Luhrmann, director, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

His first career was with the SAS, but he was forced to leave after a parachute jump went wrong and he broke his back in three places. As he recuperated, he rekindled his childhood ambition of climbing Mount Everest - he went on to become the youngest Briton to reach its summit. His TV series, Born Survivor, has a global audience of more than a billion people who regularly watch him eating the apparently indigestible and risking his life by pitting himself against nature. Married with three young sons, he says: 'The unresolved struggle in my life is the fact that I have a job that has an element of danger to it and at the same time I have a gorgeous family - three young boys that are the pride of my life.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Kirsty Young talks to adventurer Bear Grylls.

He muses as to whether his scatter-gun delivery (so mocked by the tabloids) is the result of his fear of the audience, or of a self-righteous belief in his own opinion, and when stranded on a desert island, he will reveal himself as a serious satirist or just a maverick motormouth.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: And Your Bird Can Sing by The Beatles

Book: His wedding photo album

Luxury: The British Museum

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and comedian Ben Elton

He went on to become a successful businessman and a champion weightlifter - but his physical strength is matched by an extraordinary emotional fortitude. Not only has he made the most of every opportunity that came his way but he has spent his life campaigning to ensure those who died are properly commemorated.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Nessun Dorma by The Three Tenors

Book: The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

Luxury: A bar with two discs for weight training.

Kirsty Young's castaway is campaigner Ben Helfgott.

He's one of only three people to have skied solo to The North Pole and he holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey ever on foot.

After traversing Russia and the frozen crust of the Arctic Ocean, his most recent adventure was to triumph where, a century before, Captain Scott and his men failed. Ben successfully retraced that ill-fated Terra Nova route by making the eighteen hundred mile journey through Antarctica-and-back, entirely on foot.

When he's not wrapped up somewhere cold, he is a motivational speaker.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to polar explorer Ben Saunders.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Take Five by The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Book: Poetical Works of Shelley by Percy Shelley

Luxury: Law of the land (so he could break it)

Sue Lawley's castaway is dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah

Bernardine was born in May 1959, the fourth of eight children, to an English mother and a Nigerian father. She grew up in Woolwich in south London, and was educated at Eltham Hill Girls' Grammar School. She spent her teenage years at the Greenwich Young People's Theatre and, after deciding that she wanted to be a professional actor at the age of 14, did a Community Theatre Arts course at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama.

After graduation she founded the Theatre of Black Women with two fellow students in the early 1980s and they began to write roles for themselves. By the late 1980s, she had decided that it was the writing she enjoyed most.

Her first poetry collection was published in 1994, followed by a semi-autobiographical verse novel called Lara three years later. More books followed, experimenting with form and narrative perspective, often merging the past with the present, prose with poetry, the factual with the speculative, and reality with alternate realities. Girl, Woman, Other is her eighth book.

A longstanding activist and advocate, Bernardine has initiated several successful schemes to ensure increased representation of artists and writers of colour in the creative industries.

She is married to David, who she met in 2006, and lives in London.

DISC ONE: Malaika by Ang退lique Kidjo

DISC TWO: Zombie by Fela Kuti

DISC THREE: Breaths by Sweet Honey in the Rock

DISC FOUR: I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free by Nina Simone

DISC FIVE: Woyaya by Osibisa

DISC SIX: K怀ln, January 24, 1975, part I by Keith Jarrett

DISC SEVEN: Things Have Changed by Bob Dylan

DISC EIGHT: Fight The Power by Public Enemy

BOOK CHOICE: The Norton Anthology of Poetry by Margaret Ferguson), Tim Kendall and Mary Jo Salter

LUXURY ITEM: A hologram of Bernardine's husband

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: K怀ln, January 24, 1975, part I by Keith Jarrett

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Bernardine Evaristo, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

He founded the Motown record label and his musical empire made worldwide stars of Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Jackson 5 and Marvin Gaye.

The second youngest of eight children, he was brought up in Detroit. He left school at sixteen to become a Featherweight boxer, and served as a soldier in the Korean war before making music his career. His first foray into the music business was a jazz record store in Detroit but he was out of step with popular taste and he became bankrupt.

It was whilst working on a a car production line that he came up with the idea of setting up a record label. The combination of his song-writing skills and entrepreneurial spirit took Motown music to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and to the centre of American culture during a pivotal moment in America's civil rights history. He was friends with Dr Martin Luther King and recorded some of his speeches on the Motown label.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young interviews Berry Gordy, record producer and creator of the Motown label.

She grew up in Liverpool - in a home filled with acrimony and argument - and started writing when she was still a child. Her only ambition, she says, was to get married and have a 'proper' family, but when her first two children were still young, her marriage broke down and she turned to writing once again. She believes she finds inspiration from the trouble and friction of everyday life and that if her marriage hadn't failed, she would have been too happy to write another word. Now she is one of our most respected authors. She has written 17 novels and countless articles, screenplays and television plays. She's won armfuls of awards too - but, despite being shortlisted five times, she's never won the Booker prize. She doesn't mind not winning, she says, but she would like to be the writer who has had the most nominations.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Can I Forget You? by Richard Tauber

Book: The Case Books by John Hunter

Luxury: Pens and Paper.

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Beryl Bainbridge.

In the famously fickle world of telly where last year's hero is this year's zero she has stood the test of time. Indeed in TV circles the noun 'vertuosity' is defined as 'the ability to make enormously successful sitcoms for British television and then sell the formats to the American market'.

The cast list of her working life is a who's who of quality broadcasting and includes Jack Lemmon, Galton & Simpson, Frankie Howerd, Jack Nicholson and most recently Benedict Cumberbatch.

She started out typing Goon Show scripts in the mid 50s, accidentally became an agent, and as a producer she has risen to the very top of her industry, with hits including the rock musical Tommy, the sit-com Men Behaving Badly and the drama series Sherlock.

She says 'it's terribly important not to know too many rules. If you know rules and obstacles you spend a lot of time dealing with them. If you don't know there's a rule you just do it.

Producer: Alison Hughes.

Kirsty Young interviews veteran television producer Beryl Vertue.

After 16 years, the marriage broke up and Betsy moved first to France then England where she met and married Karel Reisz, director of The French Lieutenant's Woman. She embraced a career in European films, working with celebrated directors including Juan Antonio Bardem and Michelangelo Antonioni. Her 1955 film Marty was shown again as one of the classic films at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: There's a Boat dat's Leaving Soon for New York by George Gershwin

Book: Reading Lyrics - American Songs 1900-1975

Luxury: An ice cream maker

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Betsy Blair

For more than forty years she's been pulling pints and dishing up her hot-pot in the Rovers Return. But her career in showbusiness started decades before she took up residence on Britain's most famous street.

She was a child when her mother put her on the stage and she toured the country with an act that showcased her stunning singing voice - it brought success but not happiness. 'I did it for over twenty years,' she says, 'and hated every day of it.' Although she has been working now for an incredible 80 years, she says: 'I just love work and I will never retire. They'll have to shoot me to get rid of me!

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Veteran Corrie actress Betty Driver joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield

Book: Vision: 50 Years of Creativity by Melvyn Bragg

Luxury: Red lipstick

Sue Lawley's castaway is designer Betty Jackson

In charge of Blue Peter for 23 highly successful years, she was responsible for the coveted Blue Peter badges, the multi-million pound charity fundraising appeals and a nationwide lust for something called sticky-backed plastic. Her masterstroke was getting the young audience involved; although the programme's weekly postbag of around seven thousand letters must have given her a few headaches.

In spite of some early careers advice that, 'no one from Durham has ever got into the BBC', her determination to make a career in broadcasting won out and across the decades her steely reputation kept the show at the top of the ratings and steered it through quite a few mishaps and the odd spot of 'scandal'.

She says simply, 'It was an exercise in trying to make children feel as if they belonged.'.

Biddy Baxter, former Blue Peter editor, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

At school he was a gifted pupil who gave up on his education and a pitch-perfect piano student who flunked his music school entrance. He started drifting as a teenager and gave up on university within days of arrival - he says he was looking for the next challenge, and that turned out to be stand-up comedy. He loved having to think on his feet and found the laughter of strangers intoxicating.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads

Book: The collected works by W. Somerset Maugham

Luxury: A pack of cards.

Kirsty Young's castaway is comedian and musician Bill Bailey.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: (Sittin' On) The Dock of The Bay by Otis Redding

Book: The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Luxury: Basket ball and hoop, and a little hard standing

Sue Lawley's castaway is travel writer Bill Bryson

He eventually started working in a car dealership and went on to own Renault Ireland. He is now a millionaire many times over. He puts his success down to sheer hard work and the support and determination of a close knit family. He has written about his life and says his autobiography, It's A Long Way From Penny Apples, is a tribute to the strong women of Ireland - like his own mother - who held families together through thick and thin. Royalties from the book have been given to the charity of which he is a director, The Irish Youth Foundation. In the past 17 years he has raised £20 million through his charitable work. He is now working on his second book Streetwise, which will impart the business knowledge he has gained over the years.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: New York, New York by Frank Sinatra

Book: Glimpses by Brendan Kennelly

Luxury: An accordion

Sue Lawley's castaway is businessman Bill Cullen

He sat at his first computer while still at school in Seattle, wrote his first computer programme aged just 13 and went on to co-found the company Microsoft, becoming one of the key figures of the technological revolution. In 2000, he and his wife, Melinda, launched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has given to date over $34 billion to projects aimed at reducing health inequality around the world.

Born into a professional family - his father was a lawyer, his mother a former teacher who later became involved with volunteer work - he was introduced to the idea of 'giving back' at an early age. An avid reader as a child, he attended Harvard where in his sophomore year he and Paul Allen developed software for the first micro-computers. The company would go on to achieve huge success with its Windows operating system.

By 1987, Gates had become the world's youngest self-made billionaire, then worth $1.25 billion. Consistently listed as the Richest Man in the World, he stepped down as CEO of the company in 2000 although he remained as Chairman until 2014.

These days his primary focus is his philanthropy. In 2010, Gates and his friend Warren Buffett announced the Giving Pledge which aims to inspire the wealthy people of the world to give away the majority of their net worth to worthy causes.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Bill Gates, entrepreneur and philanthropist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Call To Arms (Everton FC and Z Cars Theme Tune) by Blueknowz

Book: Everton - The Complete Record by Steve Johnson

Luxury: Guitar

Sue Lawley's castaway is West End producer Bill Kenwright

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler

Book: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Luxury: Cricket bat signed by 'the three Ws' - Sir Frank Warrel, Everton Weeks and Clive Walcot

Sue Lawley's castaway is trade unionist Bill Morris

Born in California in 1943, she was the eldest daughter of Bill and Betty Moffitt. She discovered tennis at the age of ten: at 15 she won in her age bracket at the Southern California championships, and in 1961, she won the women's doubles at Wimbledon with Karen Hantze, the youngest pair to achieve such a victory.

In 1968, when professional competitors were admitted to Grand Slam tournaments, she won Wimbledon for the third time and was paid just £750 while Rod Laver, the Men's champion, took home £2,000. So began her campaign for gender equality, which involved boycotting tournaments and setting up their own professional women's circuit. In 1973, then aged 29, she beat the 55-year-old former tennis champion Bobby Riggs in a match which became known as 'The Battle of the Sexes': it remains the most-watched tennis match ever. That year the US Open awarded the same financial reward to men and women and in 2007 Wimbledon followed suit. Billie Jean also founded the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation in the 1970s.

She married her husband, Larry, in 1965 but by the late 1960s, she had realised that she was gay. She was outed by a former lover who sued her for palimony in 1981, and although she won the case, she lost almost all her commercial endorsements. She has been with her partner, Ilana Kloss, for nearly 40 years and retired from singles matches in 1983 and doubles in 1990. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2009 and has continued to be an ambassador for her sport and for gender equality.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Billie Jean King is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

She was born in Swindon in September 1982, and her parents nurtured her interests in dance and drama from a young age.

After a winning a scholarship to study at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, she moved to London as a young teenager, leaving the family home. By the age of 15, she was a full time pop star. She became the youngest female artist ever to go straight to number one in the UK charts when her debut single was a hit in 1998.

Just three years later, after releasing more successful singles and two albums and touring furiously to promote them, Billie left the music industry. She married the DJ Chris Evans, and found herself the frequent subject of newspaper stories.

She decided to turn to acting, her first love, and by 2005 she was back in the spotlight playing Rose Tyler in the BBC's revival of Doctor Who. Since then she has taken on a wide range of acclaimed screen and stage roles, most notably picking up all six available awards for Best Actress - including the Olivier Award - when she starred in a new version of Lorca's play Yerma. Her recent TV series I Hate Suzy, which she co-created, has been BAFTA nominated and she has also written and directed her first film, Rare Beasts.

DISC ONE: Pure Imagination by Gene Wilder

DISC TWO: This Must Be the Place (Nave Melody) by Talking Heads

DISC THREE: Sara by Fleetwood Mac

DISC FOUR: Out of Space by The Prodigy

DISC FIVE: Champagne Supernova by Oasis

DISC SIX: Turn The Page by The Streets

DISC SEVEN: Halo by Beyonc退

DISC EIGHT: Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G

BOOK CHOICE: The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy

LUXURY ITEM: Billie's children's art work

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Champagne Supernova by Oasis

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Billie Piper, actor, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Long Gone Lonesome Blues by Hank Williams

Book: Oxford English Dictionary

Luxury: Banjo

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian and actor Billy Connolly

In 1974 he managed to get a visa to leave Uganda and come to Britain where he studied theology with a view to returning to the Ugandan justice system at the end of his studies. However, when his friend the Ugandan Archbishop Janani Luwum was murdered he vowed 'You kill my friend, I take his place', and he was ordained in 1979. He served in parishes in Cambridge and London, and was vicar of Holy Trinity Church in South London for 13 years during which time he raised £1.6 million to restore his church and its organ as well as increasing his congregation tenfold. He is now the Bishop of Birmingham, and one of only two senior bishops from ethnic minorities. He was an advisor to the Stephen Lawrence Judicial Inquiry and the Chairman of the Damilola Taylor Review board.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Was Glad by Sir Hubert Parry

Book: The Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis

Luxury: A kitchen

Sue Lawley's castaway is Bishop of Birmingham Bishop John Sentamu

Blanche has been immersed in the theatre for seven decades. She worked with James Mason, Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov and calmed the nerves of Tennessee Williams. She brought Samuel Beckett to an American audience and persuaded Peter Brook to launch a series of awards to encourage artistic risk-takers.

A doyenne of the West End, she's at nearly every opening night and her reviews are read by producers on Broadway - looking for the next hit that could cross the Atlantic.

She says: 'people say, how can you go to the theatre for 50 years and still be enthusiastic? Every time I go, I think, Oh, I'm going to see something, I'm going to be surprised!

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Kirsty Young talks to theatre critic Blanche Marvin.

Known affectionately as Whispering Bob, he's rarely been off our air waves in the past 44 years.

His big break came standing in for John Peel and he was so good that not long after he was given his own show on Radio 1. Throughout the seventies he also hosted the true music-fans' must see show, The Old Grey Whistle Test. His beard and tank top were almost as legendary as some of the guests - The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and John Lennon were among the line up. However with the arrival of punk things got personal.

The closest his family ever got to showbiz was when his dad, a policeman, clambered on stage to arrest the singer PJ Proby when his trousers split. Young Bob did follow his dad into the force but music and above all else radio were his obsession.

Much like his recording heroes, his own life has something of the rock n' roll vibe - three wives, eight children, a spell of bankruptcy and coping with prostate cancer. Yet through it all his skill, knowledge and love of broadcasting has always endured.

He says, 'I'm a music anorak, a fan who got lucky ... from the moment I bought my first record aged 11, I couldn't wait to share music with others.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to broadcaster Bob Harris.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Adagio for Strings, Opus 11 by Samuel Barber

Book: The Adventures of Alice by Lewis Carroll

Luxury: Clarinet

Sue Lawley's castaway is presenter Bob Monkhouse

For 30 years, he and Vic have appeared in numerous TV series together, including Vic Reeves' Big Night Out, Shooting Stars and The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. Bob first saw Vic performing in a south London pub: Vic was wearing a Bryan Ferry mask while trying to tap dance with wooden planks strapped to his feet. Bob found this hugely entertaining, and began to take part in Vic's shows.

Bob was born in 1959 in Middlesbrough, the youngest of four boys. His father died in a car crash when he was seven and Bob says he became his mother's little helper - although he also set fire to their house after playing with fireworks. As a teenager he dreamed of a career as a footballer, but he ended up studying law at university, and worked as a solicitor in south London.

In 2015 Bob underwent triple heart bypass surgery. After this - in a rare diversion from working with Vic - he accepted an invitation from fellow comedian Paul Whitehouse to get out of the house and go fishing, which led to a successful TV series, Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

BOOK CHOICE: My Secret History by Paul Theroux

LUXURY ITEM: His own pillow

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Down to You by Joni Mitchell

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Comedian Bob Mortimer chooses the eight tracks he would take to a desert island.

Bono was born Paul Hewson in Dublin in 1960. A schoolfriend named him Bono after a hearing aid shop in Dublin called Bono Vox, and the name stuck. When he was 16, Bono saw a poster on his school noticeboard posted by Larry Mullen Jr asking for people to form a rock band. He responded with enthusiasm and before long was rehearsing with his future bandmates Larry, who played the drums, guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton.

The band's debut album Boy came out in 1980 and five years later they made an impact at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium when Bono disappeared from the stage for two minutes to get up close to the audience. One newspaper later described this incident as one of the 50 key events in rock history. U2's subsequent albums, including the Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby, cemented their status as global superstars, filling arenas around the world.

In 2004 Bono co-founded One, an international campaigning organisation which was set up with the aim of ending extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.

Bono met his future wife, Ali, at school when they were both teenagers. They married in 1982 and have four children.

DISC ONE: Show Me The Way by Peter Frampton

DISC TWO: Every Grain Of Sand by Bob Dylan

DISC THREE: Abide With Me by Emeli Sande and The Fron Choir

DISC FOUR: Dead In The Water (Live At RTɀ 2FM Studios, Dublin) by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

DISC FIVE: Ice Cream Sundae by Inhaler

DISC SIX: Agolo by Angelique Kidjo

DISC SEVEN: Verdi: La traviata Prelude to Act 1, composed by Giuseppe Verdi and performed by Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conducted by James Levine

DISC EIGHT: Someone Somewhere in Summertime by Simple Minds

BOOK CHOICE: Ulysses by James Joyce

LUXURY ITEM: A Spanish guitar

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Every Grain Of Sand by Bob Dylan

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Bono, singer and songwriter, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

After Eton and Oxford he made his name as a journalist working for the Daily Telegraph in Brussels. His incisive reports about the future of Europe caused a furore at home and abroad - he claims one of his articles changed the course of European history - and, on returning to London, he hoovered up a number of awards, including columnist of the year and political commentator of the year. But it has not always been plain sailing. His critics say he cannot answer to two masters - and he must choose between politics and journalism - Boris doesn't necessarily agree!

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Finale of Variations on a theme by Johannes Brahms

Book: Homer - an Indian paper edition (to translate)

Luxury: Large pot of French mustard

Sue Lawley's castaway is politician and journalist Boris Johnson

Bradley was born in Watford and after leaving school at 16 he was apprenticed to the local Rolls-Royce factory as a jet engineer. A keen footballer, he signed to Brentford FC when he was 19 but his career was cut short by injury after only two seasons with the club.

He dealt with this blow by turning his attention to the entertainment business. He worked as a Pontin's bluecoat and then tried his luck as a stand-up comedian - doing impressions and telling jokes at working men's clubs. In 1986 he turned professional, and his first booking was a stint at the Pavilion Theatre on Cromer Pier. Later he became the support act for performers including Dame Shirley Bassey, Leo Sayer and Sir Tom Jones.

In 1997 he hosted the quiz show Wheel of Fortune and three years later got his first acting role in the Channel 4 series Lock Stoc

She came to the nation's attention in 1996 playing the careworn Cynthia Purley in Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies. Brenda Blethyn won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Best Actress award at Cannes for her portrayal of a neglected woman coming to terms with the fact that the daughter she had adopted at birth had come to find her - and was black. This autumn, Brenda appears as Mrs Bennet in a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and in On a Clear Day, which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Brenda was awarded an OBE in 2003.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Lay Me Low by John Tams with the Albion Band

Book: A dictionary

Luxury: Karaoke machine

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Brenda Blethyn

The army finally offered a way out for him and it was on his return to England that he started writing seriously while also working in a bookshop. One of his early works was a short story describing the sadness felt by a boy who was never able to please his parents, which was turned into a film by Stanley Kubrick. While he remains best known for his science fiction writing - and has won every major award in the field - he has also written novels, poetry and biographies and short stories. Now, he says, he aims not for high sales but to become a better and better writer.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Old Rivers (with the Johnny Mann Singers) by Walter Brennan

Book: Biography of John Osborne by John Halpern

Luxury: A banjo

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Brian Aldiss

Brian Cox was born in 1946, the youngest of five children, and grew up in a working-class household in Dundee. His father died of cancer when he was eight and his mother, who was receiving regular psychiatric treatment, was unable to take care of him. He moved in with his sister Betty and her family.

He left school aged 14 with no qualifications, and started out as a stage hand and stage cleaner at Dundee Rep, before winning a place at drama school. Years of theatre work followed, alongside actors such as Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Albert Finney. His later stage roles include acclaimed performances as King Lear at the National Theatre, and Titus Andronicus for the Royal Shakespeare Company. On film, his work includes the first screen portrayal of Hannibal Lecter - renamed Lecktor - in Manhunter, and blockbusters such as The Bourne Identity, X-Men 2, Braveheart and Troy.

He received a CBE in 2002, and lives in New York City with his second wife Nicole Ansari.

DISC ONE: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Johnny Cash

DISC TWO: Saturday Night at the Movies by The Drifters

DISC THREE: The Air That I Breathe by KD Lang

DISC FOUR: Get Back by The Beatles

DISC FIVE: La quꀀte by Jacques Brel

DISC SIX: Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

DISC SEVEN: God Only Knows by The Beach Boys

DISC EIGHT: Don't Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders

BOOK CHOICE: In Search of the Miraculous by P.D. Ouspensky

LUXURY ITEM: A sewing kit

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: God Only Knows by The Beach Boys

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Brian Cox, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life. With Lauren Laverne.

Born in New York City, his father taught him the basics of arithmetic when he was a toddler and by the time he was five Brian was multiplying 30-digit numbers by 30-digit numbers - just for the pure joy of working things out by himself. At 11 Brian had exhausted everything his maths teacher could teach him but, thanks to his teacher's resourcefulness, he managed to get extra tuition from a graduate student at Columbia University.

After graduating from Harvard in 1984, Brian won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University to study gravity and quantum mechanics. At Oxford he became captivated by the idea of string theory which was causing much excitement among the physics community at the time. String theory was seen as having the potential to answer life's big questions about space, time and the universe.

Over the years Brian has been at the forefront of scientific discoveries including mirror symmetry and later proving that tears could happen in the fabric of space.

Brian is currently professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University.

DISC ONE: An extract from Icarus At the Edge of Time. Composed by Philip Glass, performed by the Orchestra of St Lukes, conducted by Brad Lubman, narrated by John Lithgow

DISC TWO: Rockin' in the Rockies by The Cappy Barra Boys Harmonica Quartet

DISC THREE: Turn Around by Harry Belafonte

DISC FOUR: An extract from Light Falls, composed by Jeff Beal, performed by Hollywood Chamber Orchestra

DISC FIVE: Brahms Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79 no 2, performed by Martha Argerich

DISC SIX: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland with the Victor Young Orchestra

DISC SEVEN: A Million Dreams by Ziv Zaifman, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams

DISC EIGHT: The Sound of Silence by Disturbed

BOOK CHOICE: Philosophical Explanations by Robert Nozick

LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered particle collider

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Turn Around by Harry Belafonte

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Brian Greene, physicist and writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Thirty-one years after Queen began, the band is still popular: Bohemian Rhapsody was voted most popular British song in a BBC Radio 2 poll this year, 24 years after its first release. Brian has also written and toured with his own band and in June this year he kicked off the Queen's Jubilee concert with an amazing guitar solo of The National Anthem from the roof of Buckingham Palace. This month he came fifth in a poll to find the World's Greatest Guitarists.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Saturn - the Bringer of Old Age by Gustav Holst

Book: Out of the Silent Planet by C S Lewis

Luxury: His own guitar: the Red Special

Sue Lawley's castaway is lead guitarist of Queen Brian May

As a player he was ferociously competitive, he says his approach to the game was almost pathological and it earned him the nickname 'the pitbull'.

By the time he retired, he'd earned dozens of England caps and played in three grand slams. But he discovered the obsessive determination he'd shown as a player was not so useful off the pitch.

'In sport, the 'I won't give up', 'carry on training' and 'going again and again and again', that's rewarded because people say isn't that fantastic - but when it comes to normal life, you can't solve everything like that.'

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Brian Moore, former rugby international and commentator, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: It's Me Oh Lord by Hank Jones

Book: Canoe Craft

Luxury: Molecular engineering laboratory - to construct a 'dog

Sue Lawley's castaway is vet and author Bruce Fogle

He began performing as a child, tap-dancing on the roof of his father's lock-up garages. But, as he tells Sue Lawley, his big night came when he was asked to compere Sunday Night at the Palladium. He has spent more than five decades in showbiz, progressing from Boy Bruce the Mighty Atom, to probably the most successful game show host on television. To quote one of his own famous catchphrases, 'Didn't he do well?

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I'll Never Love This Way Again by Dionne Warwick

Book: The collected works by Omar Khayyam

Luxury: Sand iron (golf club)

Sue Lawley's castaway is game-show host Bruce Forsyth

His career has brought him 20 Grammys, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award and his albums sell in their millions around the world. He grew up in New Jersey where the Catholic church played a central role in his early life. The family teetered on the brink of poverty, and his first guitar was rented, rather than bought. He spent his apprentice years as a musician and singer with local bands before landing a record deal in 1972. When 'Born to Run' was released in 1975 it turned him into a household name. His first Top Ten single was 'Hungry Heart', ahead of his most successful album 'Born in the USA' which was released in 1984.

In spite of having long transcended the environment he grew up in, Springsteen has remained a chronicler of blue-collar lives. His records are frequently a political commentary on the struggles of ordinary Americans. In the Nineties he settled into family life with his wife Patti Scialfa who sings with his E Street Band.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Bruce Springsteen is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

He was brought up in Ferrara, Northern Italy, and was the only child of hard-working parents who hoped he would be an accountant. Bruno wanted to pursue a creative career and joined a raunchy cabaret dance troupe when he was a teenager, and performed across Europe. He went on to train in other areas of dance and choreography and spent the 1980s working on pop videos with The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Bananarama, Boy George, George Michael, Duran Duran and many more.

Since 2004, Bruno has been a judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and is a judge on the American version of the programme, Dancing with the Stars.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Bruno Tonioli, Strictly judge, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

An American lawyer, he is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a private, not-for-profit organisation working on death penalty cases, cases of children sentenced as adults, prison and sentencing reform, and issues of race and poverty.

His great grandparents were slaves and he himself went to a segregated school in southern Delaware. Although from a poor African American background he made it to Harvard Law School. Since then he has secured relief for over a hundred prisoners sentenced to death. He has argued in front of the Supreme Court six times and won landmark rulings about the sentencing of children for both homicide and non-homicide offences. His TED talk from March 2012 has been viewed over two million times.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to US lawyer Bryan Stevenson.

His first language was Welsh and as a young child he had to communicate with English children camping on his parents land in the summer holidays with sign language. It was from those children he eventually learnt the language and by watching television. As a teenager, he considered being a fireman or a policeman, but he won a scholarship to the Guildhall in London and the rest is history. Since then, he's performed and recorded all the great operatic works as well as a number of 'cross-over' CDs of hits from musicals and also an album in Welsh.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Return to Sender by Elvis Presley

Book: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Luxury: Millenium Centre in Cardiff

Sue Lawley's castaway is bass-baritone singer Bryn Terfel

A columnist for The Times newspaper for 25 years, she's published five books and co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Raised by Wolves. The eldest of eight children, and raised on benefits on a council estate in Wolverhampton, she was taken out of school by her parents aged eleven and educated herself at the library and by watching television, reading all the classics and learning from popular culture.

She started writing early and after winning several writing competitions, her first novel, The Chronicles of Narmo, was published when she was just sixteen. She became a music journalist for Melody Maker and, not long after that, started writing regular columns for The Times covering everything from politics and feminism to musings on her own background. She is currently finishing her sixth book and writing several film scripts.

She has been married to the music journalist Peter Paphides since 1999 and they have two daughters.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to columnist and author Caitlin Moran.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Pie Jesu (from Requiem) (1985) by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Book: Complete Cookery Course by Delia Smith

Luxury: Solar-powered Magimix

Sue Lawley's castaway is producer of musicals Cameron Mackintosh

The product of a wealthy Iranian family herself, she decided early on that her vocation lay in working with children and that this was a task she could not combine with motherhood. Last week she was named Woman of the Year in recognition of her ground-breaking work.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Redemption Song by Bob Marley

Book: Being and Nothingness by Jean Paul Sartre

Luxury: A yoyo

Kirsty Young's castaway is campaigner Camila Batmanghelidjh

The Fleet Air Arm's most decorated pilot, his life reads like a handbook in beating the odds.

Landing on a flight deck is acknowledged as one of the most difficult things a pilot can do. Eric Brown has held the world record for the most flight deck landings - 2,407 - for over 65 years. He was one of only two men on his ship, HMS Audacity, to survive a German U-boat bombing.

In a long and remarkable life he has witnessed first-hand momentous events in world history, from the Berlin Olympics in 1936 to the liberation of the Belsen concentration camp.

Flying, he believes, is in his blood. He originally climbed into the open cockpit of a Gloster Gauntlet as a child to sit on his father's knee. Thirty years later he would pilot Britain's first ever supersonic flight.

He says: 'It's an exhilarating world to live in. There's always that aura of risk - you come to value life in a slightly different way.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Former test pilot Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Whilst working at a pharmaceutical company he was involved in two important discoveries. The synthesis of cortisone from plant material was, at that time, the most competitive and difficult project amongst chemists. Cortisone was considered a wonder drug in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation and eczema. The other discovery was the creation of a progesterone that could be orally active - aimed at treating menstrual disorders and infertility. It was realised that it could be used as a contraceptive but, as Carl says: 'in the 1950s contraception was not high on the priority list. Pharmaceutical companies, with one exception, were not interested in that field. The population explosion and these concepts did not come about until 10 years later'. It wasn't until 1960 that it was approved by the FDA as a contraceptive and became the Pill.

Carl spent the next few years working in research and universities. He has also published five novels, three plays, a book of short stories, an autobiography and a memoir and is still writing. He describes a lot of his work as science in fiction - not science fiction - which explores aspects of scientific behaviour and of scientific facts. As he says, 'Disguising them in the cloak of fiction, it is possible to illustrate ethical dilemmas that frequently are not raised for reasons of discretion, embarrassment, or fear of retribution'.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Songs on the Death of Children by Gustav Mahler

Book: Collected poetry and prose by Wallace Stevens

Luxury: A solar powered computer with a secret compartment containing a white powder

Sue Lawley's castaway is the inventor of the contraceptive pill - Carl Djerassi

Carl grew up on Sark in the Channel Islands, where cars are banned and horses are part of the island's daily life. He learned to ride on a donkey before progressing to horses. After leaving school, his first job was at an equine therapy centre in Hampshire.

A key moment in his early career was an invitation from Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer, a leading figure in dressage, to join his yard. In 1992 Carl became the youngest ever British rider to compete at an Olympic Games. As well as a gold in London in 2012, he and the team won silver in Rio in 2016, and earlier this year a bronze medal in Tokyo, where he was the oldest member of Team GB.

Carl has also enjoyed great success as a trainer of horses, including Valegro, once described as the ‘Lionel Messi of the dressage world.' He has also mentored the rider Charlotte Dujardin, currently Britain's most successful female Olympian along with the cyclist Laura Kenny.

He lives near Newent in Gloucestershire and says he hopes to compete at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

DISC ONE: Castles by Freya Ridings

DISC TWO: Fleurs Du Mal by Sarah Brightman

DISC THREE: Brand New Key by Melanie

DISC FOUR: Some Girls by Racey

DISC FIVE: Slave to Love by Bryan Ferry

DISC SIX: Barcelona by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caball退

DISC SEVEN: The Windmills of Your Mind by Noel Harrison

DISC EIGHT: Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes

BOOK CHOICE: The Centenary Book of Sark: a history and description of the artist William A Toplis by Chris Andrews, Fiona Kelly and Amy McKee

LUXURY ITEM: Carl's own pillow

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Carl Hester, equestrian rider, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne

But his extraordinary success has followed an even more remarkable journey from the impoverished back streets of Havana. He was the youngest of 11 children and, as a boy, his only ambition was to be a footballer. At the age of nine, his father sent him to ballet school - inspired not by art, but by the promise of free school meals and the hope that his increasingly delinquent son would be brought into line by the strict regime. Carlos hated it, was bullied by his friends and was twice expelled.

The first time, his father persuaded the school to take him back, the second, his father found another ballet school and secured Carlos a place there as a boarder. It was only there, at the age of 13, that he had an epiphany. Seeing the Cuban National Ballet perform he decided he did want to follow that path. At the age of 16 he travelled for the first time to Europe, he won four major dance competitions in one year and his career as an international ballet dancer was launched.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Bacalao Con Pan by Irakere

Book: Dirty Trilogy of Havana by Pedro Juan Guti退rrez

Luxury: Case of Havana rum

Sue Lawley's castaway is dancer Carlos Acosta

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: No. 54 Chorale: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Food in England by Dorothy Hartley

Luxury: Ink and a pen.

Kirsty Young's castaway is campaigner Caroline, Countess Of Cranbrook.

Currently Chief Executive of easyJet, she's one of only three women in Britain in charge of a FTSE 100 company. Prior to that she ran the Guardian Media Group.

An only child, she was brought up in Bangalore and Singapore. She spent a short time as a teacher in a comprehensive school and has also brought her wisdom to the boardroom table at Lloyds Bank, Tesco and New Look.

In amongst the corporate strategizing she also managed to have three children in three years.

She says, 'I think it's mad not to have self-doubt ... but I think it's really dangerous when that self-doubt becomes total insecurity or lack of confidence or lack of momentum, or lack of belief in yourself.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Carolyn McCall, businesswoman and CEO of easyJet, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

She grew up in Melbourne, and although she enjoyed music and drama at school, she initially had no plans to pursue a career as an actor. She started a degree course in economics and fine art, but dropped out after a year, and later won a place at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney.

She found international fame before she was 30, playing Elizabeth I in the highly-acclaimed film Elizabeth, winning an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA. Since then, she has appeared in more than 70 films and 20 stage productions. She won an Oscar and a BAFTA for playing Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, directed by Martin Scorsese, and other notable roles include the elf leader Galadriel in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series and a version of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There. She won her second Oscar in 2014 for her performance in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. Her TV work includes the acclaimed series Mrs America, where she played the conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, and she has recently taken on the role of an internationally famous composer and conductor in the film Tကr, written and directed by Todd Field.

Cate has received the Australian Centenary medal and is a Companion of the Order of Australia. She is married to the director and playwright Andrew Upton.

DISC ONE: Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor - II composed by Gustav Mahler, performed by Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Claudio Abbado

DISC TWO: B退same Mucho by Trio Los Panchos

DISC THREE: Tannh䀀user: Pilgrims' Chorus composed by Richard Wagner and performed by Norman Luboff Choir, New Symphony Orchestra of London, conducted by Leopold Stokowski

DISC FOUR: Go Tell the Women by Grinderman

DISC FIVE: Proof by I am Kloot

DISC SIX: Blow the Wind Southerly by Kathleen Ferrier

DISC SEVEN: The Little Weaver Bird by Molly Drake

DISC EIGHT: Lil' Darlin' by Count Basie And His Orchestra

BOOK CHOICE: Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit

LUXURY ITEM: Time

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Tannh䀀user: Pilgrims' Chorus composed by Richard Wagner and performed by Norman Luboff Choir, New Symphony Orchestra of London, conducted by Leopold Stokowski

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Cate Blanchett, actor, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Cheerful and practical, her products nod towards the 1950s. She began with ironing board covers but these days you can listen to a radio decorated with one of her designs, pitch one of her tents or decorate the children's bedroom with her cowboy wallpaper.

In her own room as a child she used to play at keeping shop. These days her business has a turnover of more than £50 million. 'I really felt, from very, very early on, I was onto something with the notion of what I was doing,' she says. 'I remember feeling I'd really overstepped the mark when I opened my second shop - thinking, that's probably going a stage too far.

Record: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Book: The Larousse French/English dictionary

Luxury: A hot water bottle

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Designer Cath Kidston joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

In the ephemeral world of fashion she has endured; Marian Faithfull wore her creations in the 60s, Kate Moss is a fan today. Whimsical prints and flattering forms are her signature style and the vintage creations that she designed with her then husband Ossie Clarke now change hands for a small fortune. Her new ranges are highly collectable and fly off the high street rails too.

Never one of the fashion world's flamboyant self promoters she has, none the less, a face known to millions - as a long time friend and muse to David Hockney she is the woman at the centre of his famous painting 'Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy'.

She wants her work to be relevant because and says 'there's nothing worse than being out-dated. If that happens and I feel I'm past it, I'll stop'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Fashion designer Celia Birtwell is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Audiences loved the spoof soap opera Acorn Antiques and she won an Olivier Award for her role in the stage production. In the early days, though, she remembers the camera crews were unsure what was going on. 'I do remember the cameramen watching what had been a very slick show up until Acorn Antiques and then just thinking, 'Why is this bit so bad? Why is the scenery swaying in the background?

Record: Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Book: The Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

Luxury: A cut glass crystal chandelier with candles

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Actress Celia Imrie joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

Once described as the Heston Blumenthal of orchestral music, Charles has spent his career challenging Britain's musical palate, exploding boundaries and expanding our ideas about what an orchestra can be - and do.

His repertoire encompasses Beethoven, Bruckner and Barry White, and his critically-acclaimed projects include more than 100 world premieres and the first orchestral headline performance at Glastonbury. Paraorchestra, the ensemble he established in 2011, reached a global audience at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympics. He also co-founded an opera company in South Africa, and its production of Carmen, with a mainly black cast, won international acclaim.

He studied music at Keble College, Oxford and was the Organ Scholar there. He won the EBU conductor's competition in 1995 and has had an international career as a conductor.

DISC ONE: Somebody's Gonna Off The Man by Barry White & The Love Unlimited Orchestra

DISC TWO: A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley

DISC THREE: Ach, ich fühls, composed by Mozart, conducted by Otto Klemperer and performed by Gundula Janowitz and Philharmonia Orchestra

DISC FOUR: R. Strauss: 4 Lieder, Op. 27 - 4. Morgen! by Richard Strauss, conducted by Kurt Masur, performed by Jessye Norman and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

DISC FIVE: Improvisation by Olivier Latry

DISC SIX: Kraftwerk-Rewerk, composed by Charlotte Harding and Lloyd Coleman, conducted by Charles Hazlewood

DISC SEVEN: Ndisakuthanda Mna, composed by Georges Bizet, performed by Pauline Malefane, Andile Tshoni and Dimpho Di Kopane, conducted by Charles Hazlewood

DISC EIGHT: The Last Time/Ultima Vez by Pauline Oliveros

BOOK CHOICE: A book of poetry by Ivor Cutler

LUXURY ITEM: An espresso machine

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Ach, ich fühls, composed by Mozart, conducted by Otto Klemperer and performed by Gundula Janowitz and Philharmonia Orchestra

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Charles Hazlewood, conductor, shares the soundtrack of his life. With Lauren Laverne.

Born in America, for the past four decades he has lived and worked in Britain - where his designs are as likely to be found in sculptural landscapes as buildings. Perhaps his most significant legacy, though, is the work he did with his late wife, Maggie Keswick. They worked together to design Maggie's Centres - a series of practical and beautifully-designed buildings to give information and support to people with cancer.

He says: 'When you have cancer, there's many things which you have to do aside from the struggle - it's not just a medical problem, it's a social problem - of how you tell the children, how you tell your boss - and above all, as Maggie said, it's not to lose the joy of living.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Architectural critic Charles Jencks is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Born in 1971, his career has been influenced both by his early love of technology - he was a keen computer gamer - and by his passion for the anarchic, surreal and experimental comedy of Monty Python and The Young Ones. After creating his own comic while at school, he went on to provide cartoons for the magazine Oink! at the age of 15. He cultivated his acerbic style and satirical pessimism as a writer of games reviews and features for PC Zone magazine.

His online creation TVGoHome, an often caustic parody of television listings in the style of Radio Times, brought him to the attention of the Guardian newspaper where he began writing a TV review column entitled Screen Burn in 2000. This was adapted into a BBC Four television series, and various spin-offs, including Gameswipe and Newswipe, followed.

The first two series of Black Mirror, an anthology of unrelated dramas focused around the unexpected consequences of new technologies, aired on Channel 4. The third series was released on Netflix in 2016, followed by a fourth at the end of 2017.

Charlie is married to former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq and they have two young sons.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Charlie Brooker, satirist and writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Chi-chi is the eldest of five children, born to a Nigerian father and an Irish mother. Early on, she discovered two competing passions: playing the piano and 100 metre sprinting. She was aiming to qualify for the 1976 Olympics when she suffered a knee injury which cut short her life as an athlete. Her music teacher then suggested that she could have a career as a musician if she took up 'an unpopular orchestral instrument'. She began learning the double bass a week later.

She was a student at the Royal Academy of Music and for over 30 years has played with renowned orchestras, including the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, English Baroque Soloists, London Classical Players and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment , which she co-founded and where she was principal double bass for three decades.

In 2015, she set up Chineke! to support, inspire and encourage black and minority ethnic musicians. Last year the Chineke! orchestra made its debut at the BBC Proms, and Chi-chi was awarded an OBE for her services to music.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Musician Chi-chi Nwanoku is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise by Acker Bilk

Book: In Tune With The Infinite: Fullness of Peace Power by Ralph Waldo Trine

Luxury: Make-up kit

Sue Lawley's castaway is silent movie star Chili Bouchier

Both his parents were keen competitive amateur cyclists and they backed Chris as he gradually became interested in the sport as a teenager. He left school at 16, and trained as a carpenter to fund his cycling, and his love of making things has never left him. He met his wife Sally when they were teenagers and she supported him when he took time off work to train and compete.

He became a household name in 1992 at the Olympics in Barcelona, as the first British cyclist to win a gold medal in 72 years. He moved on to road racing and wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France on three occasions. After retiring from racing, he was instrumental in the success of Team GB cycling at subsequent Olympics, with his focus on how improvements could be made in all aspects of design.

He also launched his own range of bicycles catering for elite and everyday cyclists, and as Greater Manchester's Cycling and Walking commissioner, he is finding ways to help people leave their cars at home.

DISC ONE: Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra

DISC TWO: Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann

DISC THREE: Hurt Feelings by Flight of the Conchords

DISC FOUR: The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon and Garfunkel

DISC FIVE: Barcelona by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caball退

DISC SIX: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones

DISC SEVEN: Embrace Me, You Child by Carly Simon

DISC EIGHT: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John

BOOK CHOICE: Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks

LUXURY ITEM: Butter

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon and Garfunkel

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Chris Boardman, cyclist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Once I Had A Sweetheart by Joan Baez

Book: History of the English-Speaking Peoples by Sir Winston Churchill

Luxury: Power Book G3 (laptop computer)

Sue Lawley's castaway is mountaineer Chris Bonington

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Kyrie from the Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramirez

Book: Moonfleet by J Meade Falkner

Luxury: Snorkel

Sue Lawley's castaway is singer Chris De Burgh

Since those days he's married and divorced, lived in America and, more recently, pursued a more peaceful existence - keeping chickens and growing vegetables at his cottage in the English countryside.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Here, There and Everywhere by The Beatles

Book: Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Luxury: A pair of swimming goggles with prescription lenses

Sue Lawley's castaway is broadcaster Chris Evans

TV presenter, filmmaker, writer, photographer, every bit of his work revolves around wildlife. If he's not busy telling us why we should love midges he's enthusing about the hearing capacity of a barn owl. His passion for animals is clear, what they think of him remains a little more uncertain; he's been attacked by a baboon, charged by lions and bitten by a puff adder.

His obsession with the natural world began early when a predictable boyhood fascination for tadpoles and ladybirds grew to encompass mosquito larvae, lizards, snakes and bats. As a teenager he collected badger droppings by day and pogoed with electric blue hair at Clash gigs by night.

These days he distinguishes himself by his impressive knowledge of his subject and his outspoken views on everything from countryside culls to the problems with cat owners.

He says, 'I'll never rest until I've tried to do my own small bit in terms of changing the environment so it's a better place. I won't do it for my grandchildren because I won't have any and I won't do it for yours. I'll do it because it's the right thing to do.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews Chris Packham, naturalist, TV presenter and author.

Chris Patten, this week's castaway on Desert Island Discs, describes the challenges of being the colony's last British Governor. He recalls the moment he won the election for the Conservative Party, but lost his own seat, and how, as Environment Secretary, he found himself implementing 'the single most unpopular policy that any British government has tried to introduce since the last war' - the poll tax.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mass No. 18 in C minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Luxury: A bath

Sue Lawley's castaway is Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten

He was born in 1962 in Cape Town, South Africa, where his parents were both anti-apartheid activists. They moved to the UK when Chris was a year old. He grew up first in rural England, and later in south London where his father, a vicar, became chaplain of Brixton Prison.

He started drawing as a young boy when he was given paper and pencils by his mother to keep him quiet during his father's sermons. After school, he studied illustration under Raymond Briggs at Brighton Polytechnic and received his first commission while still at art school. As a writer his work ranges from picture books to chapter book series including Ottoline and Goth Girl, and as an illustrator he has frequently collaborated with authors such as Paul Stewart and Neil Gaiman.

He started as a political cartoonist in the late 1980s and has drawn the Observer's weekly cartoon since 1995, celebrating 25 years at the paper this year. As Children's Laureate, he encouraged children to draw, and championed the importance of school libraries and librarians.

Chris is married to Jo, a fellow illustrator and printmaker, with whom he has three grown-up children, among them Katy, another illustrator.

DISC ONE: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, performed by Sinfonia of London

DISC TWO: The Funeral: September 25, 1977 (Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika) by Thuli Dumakude

DISC THREE: Smoke Signals by Phoebe Bridgers

DISC FOUR: Final Day by Young Marble Giants

DISC FIVE: Suzanne by Leonard Cohen

DISC SIX: Horace in Brighton by Bird in the Belly

DISC SEVEN: Klarinettenkonzert A-Dur K. 622 - 2. Adagio - I. Allegro. Composed by Mozart, directed by Jကnos Rolla, performed by Kကlmကn Berkes (clarinet) and Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Budapest

DISC EIGHT: Tabula rasa: II. Silentium composed by Arvo P䀀rt, conducted by Paavo J䀀rvi, performed by Viktoria Mullova (violin) and Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

BOOK CHOICE: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, with the Tenniel illustrations.

LUXURY ITEM: Sketchbooks and pens

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, performed by Sinfonia of London

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Chris Riddell, illustrator and author, shares the soundtrack of his life.

Born to an Iranian father and a British mother, she initially wanted to be a doctor, but the Revolution in Iran in 1979 galvanised her political consciousness and she turned to journalism. Her first major assignment was in Saudi Arabia where she covered the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. She describes her time in Bosnia as a life-changing experience which made her determined to tell the stories of ordinary people caught up in the chaos of conflict.

During her career she has interviewed some of the biggest names on the world stage from Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to Robert Mugabe and Colonel Gaddafi. The winner of 11 Emmy Awards, she now anchors her own nightly television show on CNN although she can be whisked away at a moment's notice to cover major disasters around the globe. She has borne witness to some of history's worst atrocities but what gets her through is her eternal optimism and the courage and dignity of humanity.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Christiane Amanpour, journalist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

An only child, and brought up in Carshalton Beeches, she was a voracious reader and dreamed of being an explorer. Although she was rebellious at school, and at one point was asked to leave, she won a place at Oxford and went on to edit the university newspaper. While working as an intern for the Financial Times, she interviewed Benazir Bhutto and was invited to her wedding in Pakistan. That experience led to her determination to be a reporter from the front line.

Her work has taken her to South Africa, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, and among her best-selling books are two which tell the stories of remarkable young women - Nujeen Mustafa who escaped from Aleppo in her wheelchair, and the Nobel prize-winner Malala Yousafzai.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Christina Lamb, journalist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

In 1998 McVie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Fleetwood Mac and received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. The same year, after almost 30 years with the band, and having a developed a fear of flying, she opted to leave and lived in semi-retirement for the next 15 years, releasing only one solo album in 2004. She bought a Jacobean house in Kent and spent the next four years restoring it.

Christine rejoined the band officially in January 2014, and that year she received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Listen again to Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie's Desert Island Discs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Concerto No.2 by Sergei Rachmaninov

Book: Teach yourself French

Luxury: Suncream

Sue Lawley's castaway is choreographer Christopher Bruce

He's published 13 books to date with an eclectic range of titles from spaghetti westerns to The Face of Tutankhamun and Clint Eastwood - a critical biography. As well as being Rector of the Royal College of Art, Sir Christopher is also the longest serving Trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum and is Chairman of the Design Council.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Il Triello by Ennio Morricone

Book: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Luxury: V & A Museum

Sue Lawley's castaway is Rector of the Royal College of Art Christopher Frayling

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Letters by Gustave Flaubert

Luxury: Syndicate whisky

Sue Lawley's castaway is horticulturalist and writer Christopher Lloyd

His first feature film, Following, had enough festival exposure and critical success to secure him his first official budget of $4.5 million to make his next film, Memento. In 2005 he was hailed for reinventing the Caped Crusader in the dark and gritty Batman Begins. He regularly works with the same actors and production team including his long-time producer, his wife, Emma Thomas. The couple's latest film, Dunkirk, is nominated in the best picture category of the Oscars this year and Christopher has a nomination for Best Director.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Christopher Nolan, film director, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Married with three children and 12 grandchildren, Mr Ondaatje is now based in London when he is not travelling the world. His lust for adventure has fuelled several books - most famously Journey to the Source of the Nile.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Einleitung / Introduction by Richard Strauss

Book: Anthology of Poetry by Robert Service

Luxury: The Blue Nude by Justin Deranyagala

Sue Lawley's castaway is businessman, explorer and philanthropist Christopher Ondaatje

Not all the struggles he's dealt with have been political. By his own admission he wasted years, maybe even decades, boozing and bingeing on drugs. Having cleaned up his act he was then forced to confront the devastating legacy of his father's early death and how it affected him throughout his life.

Elements of this programme may offend some listeners.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Taimse Im' Chodladh by Planxty

Book: Collection of Popular Songs of England & Scotland by Francis Child

Luxury: A set of Uillean pipes.

Kirsty Young's castaway is singer-songwriter Christy Moore.

Cillian was born in Cork in 1976 and initially music was his creative outlet. His band Sons of Mr Green Genes, which he formed with his younger brother, was offered a five album record deal, but the boys' parents thought his brother was too young and vetoed a career in music.

Cillian changed tack and in 1996 was cast as Pig in Enda Walsh's play Disco Pigs, reprising the role in a film version in 2001. His breakthrough film role came playing Jim the bicycle courier in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later in 2002 which he followed up with a starring role in Ken Loach's the Wind that Shakes the Barley.

In 2005 he played Dr Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow - in Christopher Nolan's film Batman Begins, which was the start of their continuing creative collaboration.

Cillian lives in Ireland with his wife, the artist Yvonne McGuinness, and their two sons.

DISC ONE: The Boy in the Bubble - Paul Simon

DISC TWO: The Wandering Minstrel - Séamus Ennis

DISC THREE: Walter's Trip - The Frank and Walters

DISC FOUR: Bullet the Blue Sky - U2

DISC FIVE: Somebody to Love - Queen

DISC SIX: Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead

DISC SEVEN: We Can Work it Out - The Beatles

DISC EIGHT: If I Was A Painter - Lisa O'Neill

BOOK CHOICE: Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works

LUXURY ITEM: An acoustic guitar and strings

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: We Can Work it Out - The Beatles

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Cillian Murphy, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Cillian Murphy, actor, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

She joined Battersea in 2010 during its landmark 150th year, spearheading a campaign which transformed the animal rescue service into a UK top 10 charity brand. During her years in charge, income and volunteer numbers quadrupled; new facilities were developed and the charity successfully campaigned for changes in animal welfare legislation.

As a teenager Claire volunteered for a number of organisations including Mencap and the Riding for the Disabled Association. At 18 she joined the police force as a special constable, patrolling the streets of Dudley where she lived.

Her first position in the charity sector was at the NSPCC and she later worked for the Cats Protection League and the Variety Club of Great Britain. In 2020 she was appointed CBE for her services to animal welfare.

DISC ONE: Howlin' For You by The Black Keys

DISC TWO: Drink, Drink, Drink by Mario Lanza

DISC THREE: Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

DISC FOUR: Ghost Town by The Specials

DISC FIVE: Agnus Dei, Op 11composed by Samuel Barber, conducted by Edward Higginbottom, performed by Choir of New College Oxford

DISC SIX: Affirmation by Savage Garden

DISC SEVEN: Heroes by David Bowie

DISC EIGHT: Benedictus by Karl Jenkins

BOOK CHOICE: A book by Dick Francis

LUXURY ITEM: A piano and sheet music

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Claire Horton, charity worker, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Sull'aria. Che Soave Zeffietto (Act 3) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Complete diaries by Samuel Pepys

Luxury: A garden

Sue Lawley's castaway is biographer Claire Tomalin

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The BBC TV coverage of London's 2012 Olympics was her triumph and much like Team GB she'd been in training for her big moment for quite a while.

She's worked on five Olympic Games, four Paralympics, three Winter Olympics and a great deal of horse racing. It's on the turf that's she's most at home - her father was a champion racehorse trainer and for a number of years she herself was a leading amateur flat jockey.

The first pony she ever rode, as a toddler, was a gift from the Queen; she went to public school and Cambridge but her life hasn't been an entirely easy ride. She has coped with thyroid cancer, being forcibly 'outed' by the tabloid press and in her own words being 'a disappointment from the moment' she was born.

She says, 'This may sound nauseating but I'm a very happy person. I love my work, I love my life and I'm told by those who know and love me that it's a bit like living with Tigger'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to broadcaster Clare Balding.

[R4 BD=20131206

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No.8, the 'Unfinished Symphony' by Franz Schubert

Book: History of England by G M Trevelyan

Luxury: Paper and pens (with thick nibs)

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist and writer Clare Hollingworth.

[R4 BD=19990115

Clare was born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and grew up on a farm, where her love of simple ingredients was nurtured. The youngest of three children, she discovered a passion for cooking and decided to make it her career from an early age.

She left home at 16, moving to England to take a catering course at a college in Portsmouth. Her ambition was to work with the finest chefs, and after completing her course and apprenticeship, she went on to cook in some of the most acclaimed kitchens in the world, including Le Louis XV under Alain Ducasse in Monaco. She returned to London to work in Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, at the invitation of the proprietor, and became the first British woman to run a three Michelin-starred kitchen.

Her many awards include the title of the World's Best Female Chef in 2018, and she received an MBE for services to the hospitality industry in 2013. She also found herself in the spotlight in 2018 as the caterer for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. She lives in London with her husband.

DISC ONE: Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses

DISC TWO: Zombie by The Cranberries

DISC THREE: Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis

DISC FOUR: Common People by Pulp

DISC FIVE: Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

DISC SIX: Maria by Blondie

DISC SEVEN: Brass in Pocket by Pretenders

DISC EIGHT: Circle of Life by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.

BOOK CHOICE: The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

LUXURY ITEM: A chef's knife

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Circle of Life by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Clare Smyth, chef, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Born into a home where caviar was more common than fish paste, she has always been surrounded by fine food. Yet she came to cooking as a profession late in life, having first practised as a barrister. Finding success on television, she has recently had to come to terms with the death of her co host Jennifer Paterson and being just One Fat Lady.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Rasputin by Boney M

Book: Complete Works by Saki

Luxury: Wind-up radio

Sue Lawley's castaway is TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright

[R4 BD=19991126

To please his mother Claude-Michel went to University to study mathematics, but whilst he was there he formed a band and began writing songs. They caught the attention of an EMI A&R man which resulted in two singles and a job for Claude-Michel as an A&R assistant. Claude-Michel enjoyed a brief career as a pop star, when he had a huge hit in France with Le Premier Pas (The first date) - a song that is still played on the radio there today. During this time he had met lyricist Alain Boublil who had been impressed with his pop songs and both were keen to take on a bigger project. The result was La R退volution Fran瀀aise which did moderately well in France. The duo perfected their skills when they went on to create the hugely successful musicals Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and Martin Guerre.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Beim Schlagengehen by Richard Strauss

Book: All the Little Live Things by Wallace Earle Stegner

Luxury: Grand piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is composer Claude-Michel Schonberg

[R4 BD=20030328

Claudia was born in Kingston, Jamaica and at seven followed her parents to New York City where they had emigrated some years before. After graduating from university in 1993, she won a poetry prize for her thesis which became her first book - Nothing in Nature is Private.

In addition to her poetry Claudia has written three plays and has taught at several universities including Yale and New York University. In 2016 she won a prestigious ‘Genius Grant' from the MacArthur Fellowship which celebrates intellectual and artistic achievement and awards its winners hundreds of thousands of dollars. She used the money to co-found the Racial Imaginary Institute which interrogates notions of race and whiteness.

Claudia lives in Connecticut with her husband, the photographer and filmmaker John Lucas.

DISC ONE: Good as Hell - Lizzo

DISC TWO: Stir It Up - Bob Marley & The Wailers

DISC THREE: Nightshift - Commodores

DISC FOUR: More Than This - Roxy Music

DISC FIVE: Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (I Love You Baby) - Lauryn Hill

DISC SIX: Kiss - Prince & The Revolution

DISC SEVEN: My Favorite Things - John Coltrane

DISC EIGHT: The Rhythm Of The Night - Corona

BOOK CHOICE: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered television, playing tennis matches

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Good as Hell - Lizzo

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Claudia Rankine, poet, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: L'Accordeoniste by Edith Piaf

Book: A La Recherche Du Temps by Marcel Proust

Luxury: Oil paints and brushes

Sue Lawley's castaway is cookery writer Claudia Roden

[R4 BD=2001080

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Don't Look Back by Jacqueline Dankworth

Book: The Jazz Revolution by John Dankworth

Luxury: Perfume

Sue Lawley's castaway is jazz singer Cleo Laine

[R4 BD=19970905

During the interview Clive reads extracts from his poem 'Young Australian Rider, P.G. Burman', taken from his book Other Passport Poems 1958-1985.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley

Book: My Method of Singing by Enrico Caruso

Luxury: Karaoke piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and critic Clive James

[R4 BD=20000616

Clive was born in London, and fell in love with rocks and the stories they tell on visits to what is now the Natural History Museum. His mother survived the Blitz in London and his father escaped persecution by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s. On a gap year trip to Indonesia, Clive saw his first volcanoes and realised both their natural power and their significance in human lives. He studied at the University of Cambridge, and completed a PhD at the Open University.

He has taken part in and led expeditions to volcanoes all over the world, including Indonesia, Italy and Ethiopia. He is one of few Westerners to have worked in North Korea, where he was invited by the government to study volcanic activity at the culturally significant Mount Baekdu.

He has also made three documentaries with filmmaker Werner Herzog about volcanoes and their scientific, cultural and spiritual significance.

DISC ONE: Blue Rondo a la Turk - Dave Brubeck Quartet

DISC TWO: Love Hangover - Diana Ross

DISC THREE: Autobahn - Kraftwerk

DISC FOUR: Lava - The B-52's

DISC FIVE: Debaser - Pixies

DISC SIX: Turangalîla-symphonie, Part VI Jardin du sommeil d'amour. Composed by Olivier Messiaen and performed by the Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, cond Myung-Whun Chung, with Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot)

DISC SEVEN: T'zeta - Bezawork Asfew

DISC EIGHT: Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God - The Sixteen and Harry Christophers

BOOK CHOICE: The Vivisector by Patrick White

LUXURY ITEM: A seismometer

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Debaser – Pixies

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producers Sarah Taylor and Tim Bano

Clive Oppenheimer, volcanologist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Clive Oppenheimer, volcanologist and film-maker, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Clive Stafford Smith spent more than 25 years representing people on death row. He's saved hundreds of lives and counts his clients among his friends. He says his work is his calling - one he was drawn to after writing an essay on capital punishment while at school. Initially he thought it was a history essay and was appalled to find the death sentence was still in use. He planned to become a campaigning journalist, but a summer spent meeting prisoners on death row inmates convinced him that he would be able to achieve more by representing them directly. So he trained in law and set up his own legal practice to enable him to do so. He has received several awards for his work including, in 2002, the OBE.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis

Book: The Koran (in Arabic and English)

Luxury: My computer

Sue Lawley's castaway is death row lawyer Clive Stafford Smith

[R4 BD=20041126

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Immolation Scene from Act 5 of Gotterdammerung by Richard Wagner

Book: The collected works by A E Houseman

Luxury: Manicure set

Sue Lawley's castaway is creator of Inspector Morse Colin Dexter

[R4 BD=19980206

He created an iconic moment in British television history when, as Jane Austen's hero Mr Darcy, he emerged wet-shirted from his stately lake. To his surprise, he became a sex symbol, was dubbed the 'male Ursula Andress' and was voted Britain's Most Popular Actor in a BBC poll. He went on to send up the role on the big screen - as the ironically-named Mark Darcy, the brooding boyfriend of Bridget Jones.

He always knew he wanted to act - from the moment when, as a five year old boy, he took on the role of Jack Frost at a school panto. He studied at the Drama Centre in London's Chalk Farm - where one of his teachers, Christopher Fettes, said he was by nature a poet and compared his acting to that of Paul Schofield. Married to an Italian woman and with two young sons, he now divides his time between life in London and in Italy.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Opening of the Kyrie from Mass in C Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Stories by Woody Allen

Luxury: His guitar

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Colin Firth

[R4 BD=20051209

One of the biggest earners in the history of golf, he's ranked number three in the world. Despite having a natural talent for the game, he'd never expected to play it professionally. Having applied for a job with a sports management company, his interview took place on the golf course. He played so well that the company persuaded him to become one of their stars.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Sailing by Rod Stewart

Book: Any book by Michael Crichton

Sue Lawley's castaway is golfer Colin Montgomerie

[R4 BD=20000317

Best-known for his novels 'Brooklyn' - now made into a film - 'Nora Webster' and 'The Master,' he has been nominated for the Booker Prize three times.

Born in 1955 in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, the second youngest of five children, Colm's life changed suddenly when his father died after a long illness when he was twelve. He says he has been dealing with the trauma which resulted in his writing ever since. After attending St Peter's College in Wexford and University College Dublin, he spent three years in Barcelona teaching English before returning to Ireland. He worked as a journalist until his books began to get published.

He once told a class he was teaching that 'you have to be a terrible monster to write. I said, 'Someone might have told you something they shouldn't have told you, and you have to be prepared to use it because it will make a great story. You have to use it even though the person is identifiable. If you can't do it then writing isn't for you. You've no right to be here. If there is any way I can help you get into law school then I will. Your morality will be more useful in a courtroom.

Producer: Christine Pawlowsky.

Colm Toibin, writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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After attending her local comprehensive school in Wincanton, Somerset, she studied Biological Sciences at Exeter University where she joined the University Officers' Training Corps, despite having no military background herself.

After what she calls a `retrospective year out`, she joined the last female-only company at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Transport in 1992, which became the Royal Logistic Corps the following year.

Over a career spanning more than 25 years, she has served in over 20 countries including South Africa, Bosnia, East Timor and Sierra Leone. She was the first female Officer Commanding of 47 Air Despatch Squadron, enabling operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in 2015 became the first woman Commander of New College, Sandhurst. She was promoted to the rank of colonel in 2018.

She is married to Brigadier Nick Post, and they have two children, Jess and Alex. In her spare time, she is a marathon runner.

DISC ONE: The Day That Never Comes by Metallica

DISC TWO: Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana

DISC THREE: Pilate's Dream (from Jesus Christ Superstar) by Barry Dennen

DISC FOUR: Love Shack by The B-52's

DISC FIVE: Street Spirit (Fade Out) by Radiohead

DISC SIX: For those in Peril on the Sea, a special arrangement by Lieutenant Colonel Simon Haw MBE, performed by Band of the Coldstream Guards and members of the Guards' Chapel Choir

DISC SEVEN: Fire by Kasabian

DISC EIGHT: Big in Japan by Alphaville

BOOK CHOICE: A book by Agatha Christie

LUXURY ITEM: A jigsaw puzzle

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Day That Never Comes by Metallica

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Colonel Lucy Giles shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[R4 BD=20210101

He was the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station and took part in three space missions spending a total of 166 days orbiting the Earth. He has spent over 14 hours doing two space walks.

He flew his first eight day mission into space in 1995 during which he visited the Russian space station Mir. In 2001 he paid his first visit to the International Space Station to help install Canadarm2, a robot arm helping to build the station which was launched three years previously. In 2012 he began his final five month stay in space on board the ISS. It was on this mission that his videos of life in space - including a film of him singing David Bowie's Space Oddity and accompanying himself on guitar - led to him enjoying a huge following on social media.

Chris was born in 1959 in Ontario, the second of five children: his father was a pilot and the family lived on a farm. He mapped out his future career aged nine when he watched Neil Armstrong become the first person to walk on the moon in 1969. In pursuit of his dream Chris first become an Air Cadet, then attended military college, becoming a fighter pilot and then a test pilot, as well as an aeronautical engineer. He finally achieved his ambition of becoming an astronaut in 1992.

He went onto become the Chief of Robotics at the NASA Astronaut Office and Chief of International Space Station Operations at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. Following his final space mission, Chris retired from the Canadian Space Agency in July 2013. Amongst the awards he's received are the military Meritorious Service Cross, NASA's Exceptional Service Medal and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Commander Chris Hadfield is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20151225

Some of us choose a life in I.T. or event planning - Conrad Anker has opted to swing from a nylon stepladder 19,000 feet up a cliff with a dose of trench foot and a wedge of stale cheese for supper. It may seem an odd way to spend one's life but it's his way.

One of the world's elite climbers he's credited with a long list of first time ascents. He's also summited Everest three times. During one renowned climb he discovered the icy corpse of the legendary George Mallory who had perished along with Sandy Irvine as they tried to scale the peak - in nothing more than hobnail boots and tweeds - in 1924.

When he isn't exploring the far corners of the world's wilderness he's at home in Montana with his wife Jennifer, the widow of his best friend Alex Lowe, who was killed by an avalanche that narrowly missed Conrad himself.

He says of his life, 'Most people are so risk averse. The world is full of couch potatoes ... we climbers should get government stipends for keeping the risk-taking gene pool alive.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Conrad Anker, mountaineer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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[R4 BD=2001072

Cornelia liked the idea of her work being ephemeral and didn't worry about it's existence beyond an exhibition. For her first solo exhibition in 1980 she showed a number of pieces and because she had nowhere to store them, told the organisers that afterwards they could give them to local schools. 'I don't know what they did with them!' she says. After a car accident in 1994 Cornelia began to realise the importance of keeping some of her work and she began to be represented by a gallery. She broadened her collaborations - for her piece Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View she got the British Army to blow up a shed so that she could hang it back together again, suspended around a lightbulb. For her piece Wedding Ring Drawing she employed a silversmith who could draw a gold wedding ring into a very fine thread. In 1995 she worked with the actress Tilda Swinton on a project The Maybe, which included Tilda herself exhibited in a glass case. In 1997 Cornelia was nominated for the Turner Prize for her work.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cry Baby by Janis Joplin

Book: World of Wonder: 10,000 things every child should know by Charles Ray

Luxury: A solar-powered vibrator

Sue Lawley's castaway is artist Cornelia Parker

[R4 BD=20030221

Elizabeth married Frank Pakenham in 1931 and they had eight children by 1947. Her experience and expertise with a large family came to the notice of The Daily Express, and she was soon to be writing a column. This led to her first book, Points for Parents, which was published in 1954. It was the start of her writing career. Her next subject, Queen Victoria, was more ambitious: she felt the Queen had been misrepresented in the past and by looking at her and Prince Albert as human beings she adopted a different approach. Elizabeth had access to the Royal archives at Windsor and spent many days in the library there imagining how the Queen would have lived. As well as her book on Victoria, Lady Longford wrote books about Wellington; The House of Windsor; Byron; The Queen Mother; and Queen Elizabeth, as well as her own autobiography. She remains an experienced authority on families and marriage: her own lasted almost seventy years until she was widowed last year.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Vow To Thee My Country by Westminster Abbey Choir

Book: Diplomacy and Murder in Tehran - Alexander Griboyedov and Imperial Russia's Mission to the Shah of Persia by Lawrence Kelly

Luxury: An orange tree

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Countess Elizabeth Longford

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[R4 BD=2001060

A prolific writer, he's lampooned everyone from DH Lawrence to Victoria Beckham and, earlier this year, he became the first journalist to win three separate prizes at the British Press Awards. He showed early promise - when he was 14 he started writing spoofs of Harold Pinter plays, and his characters have their own entries in Who's Who.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Critic and satirist Craig Brown is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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She was born in 1960, the youngest child of two university professors. Her parents divorced when she was still at primary school and she and her older siblings grew up in Oxford. Their father died when Cressida was just 11. She read Agriculture and Forest Sciences at Oxford University before spending a year in accountancy.

She joined the Metropolitan Police in 1983 where her first beat was on the streets of Soho. After a decade in London, she transferred to Thames Valley Police where she worked her way up to become area commander in Oxford.

In 2001 she completed a master's degree in Criminology, re-joining the Met to head its diversity directorate and, from 2003, Operation Trident, the Met's gun crime unit. It was in this capacity that she came to wider public attention when, in the wake of the 2005 London transport bombings, an innocent man was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station. The Met was severely criticised in the aftermath of Jean Charles de Menezes's death. Cressida Dick was the commander in charge of the operation, but a 2007 trial found that she bore no personal culpability.

In 2011, she became Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations responsible for counter-terrorism work, but in 2015 she left the Met to work at the Foreign Office. In February 2017, she made her return to policing when she was the successful candidate in the search for a new Commissioner. She took up the post in April 2017 for a five-year term, the first woman and the first openly gay person to hold the job.

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete works of Thomas Hardy

LUXURY ITEM: Endless supply of floral scented soaps

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police commissioner, shares her choices with Lauren Laverne.

A long-time human rights campaigner, she's spent years immersing herself in the problems of people on the margins of society. During the time she was Chief Inspector, the prison population expanded hugely. 'The thing that saddened me greatly is that our prisons became better places but they also became places that soaked up a lot of money and into which we put a lot of people. My view is a lot of that money could have been better spent doing things that stopped people getting there in the first place and therefore prevented there being victims of crime.

Record: Handel's Messiah

Book: An Anthology of British poetry

Luxury: A solar powered word processor

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Dame Anne Owers joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Beginning of the Third Movement by Jean Sibelius

Book: This Sceptred Isle by Christopher Lee

Luxury: Box of watercolour paints

Sue Lawley's castaway is ballerina Dame Beryl Grey

[R4 BD=20020315

She's worked for The Red Cross in over a dozen countries including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Liberia amid the sort of raw human suffering that most of us find - even on the TV - almost unbearable to witness. It was through Michael Buerk's landmark news reports of the Ethiopian famine 30 years ago that she first grabbed our attention. We saw her as a young nurse surrounded by thousands of starving people and forced, daily, to make the truly terrible decision of choosing who to feed.

Throughout the years she's won numerous plaudits and awards: her Florence Nightingale Medal is given 'to honour those 'who've distinguished themselves in times of war by exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick or disabled.

She says, 'I don't live just to eat and sleep and get money to have a nice house ... I have to create value - I have to do something in life.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to nurse and humanitarian Dame Claire Bertschinger.

[R4 BD=20140328

She was born in London and brought up on the Isle of Wight. She always knew she was adopted as a baby, which she says made her feel special within her family. She left London for Los Angeles when she was in her early twenties, looking for adventure rather than following a career plan.

In LA, she worked in a club on Sunset Boulevard before taking up an internship with a film producer. Later she worked as an assistant at the production studio New Line Cinema, and in 2001 she joined Universal Studios as senior vice president of production.

She says her decision to say yes to a film is based on her gut instinct and whether she loves it. She is a champion of original content and early on in her career backed Straight Outta Compton – the story of the hip hop band NWA – and later Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele. She currently oversees major franchises including Fast and Furious, Despicable Me and Jurassic World.

Dame Donna lives in California with her husband and two children.

DISC ONE: Thank You For The Music - Abba

DISC TWO: Zorba the Greek - Mikis Theodorakis

DISC THREE: La Wally - composed by Alfredo Catalani and performed by Wilhelmenia Fernandez

DISC FOUR: This is the Day - The The

DISC FIVE: It Was A Good Day - Ice Cube

DISC SIX: Never Is a Promise - Fiona Apple

DISC SEVEN: All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem

DISC EIGHT: Come Home (feat. André 3000) - Anderson Paak

BOOK CHOICE: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

LUXURY ITEM: Tarot cards

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Donna Langley, studio executive, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Dame Donna Langley, film studio executive, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

She says her decision to say yes to a film is based on her gut instinct and whether she loves it. She is a champion of original content and early on in her career backed Straight Outta Compton - the story of the hip hop band NWA - and later Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele. She currently oversees major franchises including Fast and Furious, Despicable Me and Jurassic World.

DISC EIGHT: Come Home (feat. Andr退 3000) - Anderson Paak

BOOK CHOICE: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garc퀀a Mကrquez

The first woman to become both Scotland's Solicitor General and Lord Advocate she's currently principal of St Hugh's College Oxford. It's a long way from Govan where her father heaved bags of coal round the streets and there wasn't always money for the meter. She was the youngest of four and by her own admission being 'gabby' was the only way she got heard.

It's an early skill that seems to have served her pretty well - in the legal establishment she gained a reputation as a gutsy moderniser, unafraid to challenge the system. Among her innovations a pioneering support scheme for vulnerable victims and establishing the National Crimes Sex Unit for Scotland - the first of its kind in Europe.

Her predisposition to seeing things from the victim's point of view might have something to do with her own experience - in 1984 she was badly injured in a rail disaster that killed 13 others - including the two men sitting opposite her.

She says '... Advocacy is a great life skill. If you go to your bank manager asking for an overdraft, or if you barter at a market, you are employing advocacy skills. It is all about empathy and charisma.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young interviews lawyer Dame Elish Angiolini.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Boys of Summer by Don Henley

Book: SAS Survival Handbook by John 'Lofty' Wiseman

Luxury: A fluffy purple worm (which has been taken everywhere).

Kirsty Young's castaway is yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur.

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That's Life ended after 21 years and Esther went on to present her own daytime talk show. A fan of reality TV, she's appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity First Dates, Celebrity Stars in their Eyes and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

It was while she was working on That's Life that she met TV producer Desmond Wilcox. They later married and had three children. A few years after Desmond's death, Esther wrote a newspaper article about how lonely she felt as a widow. The response inspired her to set up her second charity, Silverline, which offers friendship and advice to older, lonely people.

She has received many TV awards over the years and was made a Dame in 2015 for her charity work. She stood unsuccessfully as an independent MP for Luton South in the General Election of 2010. Now 78, she is still very involved in her charity work and is a grandmother of five.

BOOK CHOICE: Poem for the Day with a Foreword by Wendy Cope

LUXURY: A bath - sometimes filled with hot water, sometimes cold water and sometimes champagne.

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: September Song by Frank Sinatra

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Dame Esther Rantzen shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

It was during a sleepless night, more than forty years ago, that she came up with the idea of launching a piano competition in Leeds. Since then it's become a world renowned event and been a springboard for many of our most celebrated pianists including Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia.

Although she is now 90 years old, she still teaches masterclasses and continues to be involved with every detail of the competition. 'They call me Field Marshal Fanny' she says, 'I am a busy breeches.

Record: Radu Lupu- Piano Concerto No.3

Book: The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith

Luxury: A grand piano and a stool.

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Glenys was born in Walsall Wood in the West Midlands, where her father was a painter and decorator for the council and her mother worked full time in Union Locks. She left school at 16 and her first job was in an explosives factory. She became a legal executive before deciding to take A levels and then study law at the University of Kent. She was the founding CEO of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, set up by the government in January 1997, after the miscarriages of justice in the cases of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four. As Chief Executive of Animal Health, she oversaw the management of the outbreak of foot and mouth in 2007 and then led Ofqual for five years, during the reform of GCSEs and A levels.

She was awarded a Damehood in 2016 for her services to education and earlier this year she became a founding Board Member of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, an advisory body established by the government.

DISC ONE: Loch Lomond - Sir Harry Lauder

DISC TWO: Harry Belafonte - Scarlett Ribbons (For Her Hair)

DISC THREE: T.REX -Ride a White Swan

DISC FOUR: Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill

DISC FIVE: Wagner - The Ride of the Valkyries

DISC SIX: Second movement of Saint Saen's Piano concerto number 2 in G minor

DISC SEVEN: Bob Marley and the Wailers - I Shot the Sherriff

DISC EIGHT: Soave sia Il vento from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte

BOOK CHOICE: Oxford Book of English Short Stories

LUXURY ITEM: A selection of seeds

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Photo: BBC / Amanda Benson

Dame Glenys Stacey shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

She has been a stalwart of the stage for more than three decades - winning great acclaim for her work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Performing ran in the family - her uncle is the actor Christopher Lee and she remembers how, as a child, he would make her shriek by putting on his famous 'Mummy' walk to scare her. She turned down a place at Oxford because she knew she wanted to act - only to find that the drama schools weren't keen on her... she was turned down five times before securing a place.

She says she has never thought about making clever career choices, but, in the year in which she has been made a dame, turned sixty and married for the first time, she says it has all turned out better than she ever expected.

Record: My Baby Just Cares for Me - Nina Simone.

Book: The complete works of Isabella Bird.

Luxury: A flute

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Actress Dame Harriet Walter joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

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Helena Morrissey is the daughter of two teachers, and her drive was evident from an early age. She was - by her own admission - a 'manic Brownie', striving to gain the maximum number of badges, and she also played the piano to a high standard. She won a place at Cambridge University from her comprehensive school in Chichester, and on graduating, joined an asset management company in their New York office. On her return to London, she felt that she was denied promotion because she had a young baby.

She moved to Newton Investment Management, and at the age of 35 she was appointed the CEO - a role she was not expecting to take. Under her leadership, the company's assets grew from £20 billion to £50 billion. In 2010 she established the 30% Club, campaigning for better female representation on the boards of British companies, and in 2017 she received a DBE for services to diversity in the financial sector.

She lives in London with her husband Richard, who gave up full time work to look after their many children.

DISC ONE: My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

DISC TWO: Polonaise in A Flat, Op. 53, Heroic, composed by Fr退d退ric Fran瀀ois Chopin and performed by Arthur Rubenstein

DISC THREE: We've Only Just Begun by The Carpenters

DISC FOUR: Being Boring by Pet Shop Boys

DISC FIVE: Moon River by Audrey Hepburn

DISC SIX: Calm Down by The Clementines

DISC SEVEN: Condolence by Benjamin Clementine

DISC EIGHT: God Is by Kanye West

BOOK CHOICE: Much Obliged, Jeeves by P. G .Wodehouse

LUXURY ITEM: A grand piano

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Dame Helena Morrissey, campaigner, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Born in Sheffield, Jessica discovered sport as a youngster after attending a local athletics camp during the school holidays. By the time she was 13 she was working with a coach and had joined the City of Sheffield Athletics Club.

In 2006 she won bronze at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games but in 2008 she suffered an injury to her right foot which dashed her hopes of competing in the Beijing Olympics.

She spent the next year working her way back to fitness and by the 2012 London Olympics she was at the peak of her powers. When she crossed the finish line on 4 August - known as Super Saturday when Team GB won three athletics gold medals in less than an hour - she took the gold medal with a British and Commonwealth record score which remained unbeaten for seven years.

Just 15 months after the birth of her first child, Jessica won the heptathlon world title in Beijing - her third World Championship gold medal in a row. She won silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016. In October of that year, at the age of 30, she retired from competitive athletics.

DISC ONE: Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj

DISC TWO: Street Life by Randy Crawford

DISC THREE: Westside by TQ

DISC FOUR: Foolish by Ashanti

DISC FIVE: Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious BIG Featuring Mase And Puff Daddy

DISC SIX: Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

DISC SEVEN: Public Service Announcement by Jay-Z

DISC EIGHT: Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding

BOOK CHOICE: The Wonders of Life by Professor Brian Cox

LUXURY ITEM: A photo album

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Olympian, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Jo was born in Washington DC where her father was a diplomat. As a child she enjoyed making things including buildings for her brother's train set. After graduating from Cambridge University she joined design and engineering firm Arup where her first assignment involved working with Lord Norman Foster on a design for bus shelters.

She went on to work on the Ondaatje Wing at the National Portrait Gallery and Hong Kong's International Airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok.

In 1994 she went to Tanzania where she worked in the refugee camps which had sprung up after the genocide in Rwanda. She devised a road system which transformed the delivery of food, water and medical supplies. After this experience she decided to devote her energies to crisis and disaster projects and in 2007 she founded Arup International Development, a not-for-profit business which designs buildings and infrastructure to help vulnerable and displaced people around the world.

In 2021 she received a Damehood in the New Year's Honours list for her contribution to humanitarian relief.

DISC ONE: Sound And Vision (Remastered) by David Bowie

DISC TWO: Clarinet Concerto in A, K.622:2 Adagio, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by Jack Brymer (clarinet), Allegri Quartet (string quartet), London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Colin Davis

DISC THREE: All The World is Green by Tom Waits

DISC FOUR: Weird Fishes / Arpeggi by Radiohead

DISC FIVE: Shudder / King Of Snake by Underworld

DISC SIX: Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell

DISC SEVEN: Not Dark Yet by Bob Dylan

DISC EIGHT: Crying Shame by Jack Johnson

BOOK CHOICE: ‘The Boardman Tasker Omnibus' by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker

LUXURY ITEM: A charpoi (traditional Indian rope bed)

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: All The World is Green by Tom Waits

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Dame Jo da Silva, engineer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Now appointed as the Voice of Older People by Gordon Brown, her passion for debate and social change is as strong as ever. She says she has always regarded the world to be improved and is not afraid of being called a wishy-washy liberal. 'It's a good thing to do,' she says, 'you feel you can be part of change.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: String Quintet in C Major by Franz Schubert

Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Luxury: An abundance of paper and pencils.

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell.

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Dame Joan Plowright is an actress who has been at the forefront of her profession since she first appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in London half a century ago. In those days she was identified with the new wave, appearing in plays by writers such as Arnold Wesker and John Osborne. She went on to make her name in more established roles - winning Actress Of The Year for her performance as Shaw's 'St Joan'. Through her marriage to Laurence Olivier, she became closely associated with his work at Chichester, and the foundation of the National Theatre. After his death, she added a career on screen to her theatre work. She was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Enchanted April and her latest film, Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont will be released later this year.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Sonata in C Major- 1st Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust

Luxury: A piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Dame Joan Plowright

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Born into a family with dramatic leanings, she followed one of her older brothers, Jeffery, to drama school. Having abandoned ideas of becoming a set designer, she made her professional debut as Ophelia at the Old Vic in 1957. An illustrious stage career followed in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet in 1960, in Cabaret in 1968 and as Lady Macbeth for Trevor Nunn in 1976. On TV she found huge success in sitcoms - appearing with her husband, the late Michael Williams, in A Fine Romance and with Geoffrey Palmer in As Time Goes By.

She received an Oscar nomination for her first big-screen part as Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown; Shakespeare in Love won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; Mrs Henderson Presents, Notes on a Scandal, Iris, and Philomena followed. She played the part of 'M' in the James Bond films seven times and is about to appear as Paulina in Sir Kenneth Branagh's production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.

Married to Michael Williams for 30 years, their daughter, Finty, is also an actress.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to actress Dame Judi Dench.

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Born in Glasgow in 1975, her parents were teachers. At school she earned a black belt in karate, and it wasn't until she went to Edinburgh University that her passion for rowing was truly ignited. Winning silver medals at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics, Katherine finally ceased to be the sport's eternal bridesmaid when, with her partner Anna Watkins, she won gold in the Double Sculls at the 2012 London Olympics. After two years away from the sport, Katherine returned in 2014, to win her fourth silver and fifth overall Olympic medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics with her new partner, Vicky Thornley.

Alongside her sporting achievements, she gained an Honours degree in Law from Edinburgh, a Masters in Medical Law from Glasgow University and was awarded a PhD in Homicide Sentencing from King's College London in 2013. She was made the fourth Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University in 2015 and became a Dame in the 2017 New Year Honours.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews Dame Katherine Grainger, Olympian and rower.

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She grew up in Portsmouth and her first job was working on reception at a branch of the Department of Health and Social Security in the late 1980s. At 27 she became the deputy director of the housing and homelessness charity, Shelter. In 1999 she was appointed head of Tony Blair's new Rough Sleepers Unit, prompting the media to call her the ‘homelessness tsar'.

She went on to run the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit at the Home Office where she became known as the ASBO Queen. David Cameron appointed her director general of the Troubled Families Programme in 2011.

In 2016 she was awarded a DBE for services to families and vulnerable people. During the first COVID-19 lockdown she led the government's Everyone In campaign which found emergency accommodation for rough sleepers.

DISC ONE: Hanging on the Telephone by Blondie

DISC TWO: What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

DISC THREE: G Puccini: La Boheme / Act 1: Che Gelida Manina by Luciano Pavarotti and Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert Von Karajan

DISC FOUR: Love Train by The O'Jays

DISC FIVE: Abide With Me by Shirley Bassey and the Morriston Rugby Club Choir

DISC SIX: Danny Boy by The Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band

DISC SEVEN: Nocturne No 2 in E flat Discogs title: Op. 9/2 in E flat major, composed by Fr退d退ric Chopin, performed by Daniel Barenboim (piano)

DISC EIGHT: Quanta Qualia composed by Patrick Hawes, performed by The Self-Isolation Choir

BOOK CHOICE: The collected works of Jane Austen

LUXURY ITEM: A supply of wine

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Love Train by The O'Jays

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Dame Louise Casey, crossbench peer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She was born in Egypt but her family had to flee the country when she was four years old, because her parents lost everything during President Nasser's nationalisation programme. Her father, a scientist, found work in America, and Minouche and her sister attended numerous schools there, before she went back to Egypt at the age of 16. She trained as an economist, studying at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the London School of Economics before receiving her doctorate at Oxford.

Minouche Shafik was the youngest ever Vice President of the World Bank, at the age of 36. She later served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Development from 2008 to 2011. She joined the Bank of England as its first Deputy Governor on Markets in 2014, and was a member of the bank's monetary policy committee. She became a Dame in the 2015 June Birthday Honours list.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Dame Minouche Shafik, economist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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Her working life has been dedicated to dance. When she joined the Royal Ballet at fifteen she was the youngest dancer to be admitted to the company and, during her career, its legendary choreographer Kenneth MacMillan created five roles for her. She became director ten years ago and is due to step down this summer. She says: 'I couldn't bear it if I thought that, behind closed doors, somebody was saying 'she's here again, you know', so I shall keep my distance and only go in when asked.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Dame Monica Mason, Director of the Royal Ballet, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Norma by Bellini

Book: Nine Tailors by Dorothy L Sayers

Luxury: Solar laptop

Sue Lawley's castaway is wife of the former Prime Minister Dame Norma Major

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Prue was born in Cape Town, South Africa, during the era of Apartheid. After leaving school she moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, but decided that her future lay in food, and took a Cordon Bleu cookery course in London. She set up her own catering business from her bedsit, where space was so tight that she washed lettuces in the bath.

In 1969 she opened Leith's, her own fine dining restaurant, in Notting Hill in west London. Leith's was awarded a Michelin star in the 1980s. She went on to write columns and cookbooks and became a regular broadcaster about food, on shows including the Great British Menu. In 1975 she opened Leith's School of Food and Wine which trains professional chefs and amateur cooks.

Prue replaced Mary Berry as a judge on the Great British Bake Off in 2017. She has written eight novels and lives with her husband in Gloucestershire.

DISC ONE: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles

DISC TWO: Ugly Duckling by Danny Kaye

DISC THREE: Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika by Ladysmith Black Mambazo

DISC FOUR: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (I) composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and performed by Sir Neville Marriner (violin), Academy Of St Martin-in-the-Fields Orchestra and conducted by David Willcocks

DISC FIVE: 16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford

DISC SIX: Skylark by Aretha Franklin

DISC SEVEN: Chopin, Nocturne No. 2, op 9 in E flat major, played by Elisabeth Leonskaja

DISC EIGHT: Big Spender by Shirley MacLaine

BOOK CHOICE: Ulysses by James Joyce

LUXURY ITEM: Writing materials

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika by Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Dame Prue Leith, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She was born in Birmingham in 1949 to academic parents - her father was an Anglican priest and theologian, her mother a scientist. She studied medicine at Manchester University and after two 'brutalising' years spent learning the job on the wards, she welcomed the opportunity to move to Madrid as a diplomat's wife. However, she decided that she did not enjoy being - in her words - 'an appendage', and so she returned to medicine in the UK, starting in paediatrics and then moving to haematology, specialising in Sickle Cell Disease. Her first marriage didn't last and her second ended in tragedy when her husband died of leukaemia within months of the wedding.

After joining her first research scheme committee in the late 1980s, Sally widened her remit. She became Chief Scientific Adviser to the Health Secretary and, in 2011, Chief Medical Officer for England. Her achievements include creating the National Institute for Health Research, a body to oversee the funding of research in the NHS, and working tirelessly to raise awareness of the dangers of anti-microbial resistance.

Sally holds 24 honorary degrees and is about to return to academia, taking up her post as the first woman Master of Trinity College in October 2019. She is married to Willem with whom she has two grown-up daughters.

BOOK CHOICE: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

LUXURY ITEM: Bubble bath

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Trumpet Shall Sound, from Handel's Messiah

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Dame Sally Davies, CMO of England, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

As a child, she was an outstanding pianist with a passion for classical music and jazz. After studying piano and voice at the Royal College of Music, she decided to become a singer. She was a member of the BBC Singers for five years, before taking the leap and seeking work as a soloist.

She took a break from public performance in 2019 to have treatment for breast cancer, but has now resumed her career.

She was made a DBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours and last year she became an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, recognising her outstanding services to music.

DISC ONE: Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin

DISC TWO: Handel: L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed il Moderato, Part III: As steals the morn. Performed by Mark Padmore (tenor), Lucy Crowe (soprano) and The English Concert, conducted by Andrew Manze

DISC THREE: Rebel Rebel by David Bowie

DISC FOUR: Blue In Green by Miles Davis

DISC FIVE: Embroidery in Childhood (Act III, scene 1) Composed and conducted by Benjamin Britten. Performed by Claire Watson (soprano) and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

DISC SIX: Schubert Winterreise : Das Wirtshaus, performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) and Gerald Moore (piano)

DISC SEVEN: Wagner - Der Ring : Keilberth, Bayreuth live, 1955. Act 3 Die Walküre, Denn einer nur freie die Braut. Performed by Hans Hotter (bass-baritone) and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

DISC EIGHT: Symphony Number 3 in D minor Mahler 3 : Mov't 6, Ruhevoll- Empfunden (what love tells me) Performed by Vienna Philharmonic and conducted by Claudio Abaddo

BOOK CHOICE: The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter

LUXURY ITEM: A grand piano with a tuning kit

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wagner - Der Ring : Keilberth, Bayreuth live, 1955. Act 3 Die Walküre, Denn einer nur freie die Braut. Performed by Hans Hotter (bass-baritone) and Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Dame Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

As a child, she escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport - travelling across Europe for two days in a train with a thousand children and just two adults. She went on to set up a computer programming company which made her a millionaire many times over. But she has given away most of her fortune and now is an ambassador for philanthropy. Her determination throughout it all, she says, has been to prove that hers was a life worth saving.

Record: Mozart- Sonata in C, K. 545

Book: AA Milne - Winnie The Pooh

Luxury: Mother and Child by Henry Moore.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the entrepreneur Dame Stephanie Shirley.

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Born in 1948, just outside Nottingham, Sue was sporty from an early age, even changing schools to allow her to play football. She became a PE teacher in Manchester and realised how transformative sport could be, increasing self-esteem, motivation and self-belief.

In the mid-1980s, after learning about excellence in sport at Loughborough University and playing netball for England as well as dabbling in the pentathlon, Sue became deputy chief executive (and a year later chief executive) of the National Coaching Foundation, which provided education for coaches at both ends of the spectrum, from parent volunteers to elite coaches.

Ten years later, in 1995, she co-founded the Youth Sport Trust to set up a sports activity programme for every primary school in the country. It was hugely successful: in 2003 only 23% of school children were getting two hours of PE a week. By 2008, this figure had risen to 95%. In 2010, the coalition government cut their funding.

By this time, back at the elite end of the sporting spectrum, Sue was also in charge of UK Sport, where she presided over Team GB's biggest Olympic medal haul in living memory, at the London 2012 games. In 2016, she took her current job as head of Women's Football at the FA. She has also been a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords since 2008.

BOOK CHOICE: The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

LUXURY ITEM: A photo album

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Music Of My Heart by Gloria Estefan And *N SYNC

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Dame Sue Campbell shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Her parents were from humble beginnings and it was clear from the get-go that their first born had a budding flair for numbers: aged six she was charged with teaching a group of schoolmates maths. The first in her family to go to University she rejected Cambridge, judging it 'too stuffy'.

She says, 'I get too excited about stuff. I love my life and am passionate about web science, women in science and shopping'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Dame Wendy Hall.

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The first woman to be awarded architecture's highest honour, the Pritzker Prize, she designed the Aquatic Centre for London 2012, Glasgow's Riverside Museum and has twice won the Stirling Prize - first for the MAXXI museum in Rome and secondly for her design for the Grace Academy school in Brixton, London. She recently became the first woman in her own right to receive the RIBA Gold Medal.

She was born in Baghdad in 1950 where her father was a prominent member of the opposition National Democratic Party. After attending school there, she travelled to Switzerland and England to boarding school before returning to London in 1972 to study at the Architectural Association.

In 1983 she won her first competition to design the Peak Leisure Club in Hong Kong. It gained her international recognition though it was never built: her first building was the Vitra Fire Station in Germany in 1993. In the late 1990s she built a contemporary arts centre in Cincinnati & a BMW car manufacturing plant in Leipzig. She won competitions to design a new opera house in Cardiff but it was never realised and her first permanent building in Britain was a Maggie's Cancer Care Centre in Scotland built in 2006. She has designed stations for the Nordpark Cable Railway in Innsbruck, Austria and in 2010 the Opera House in Guangzhou, China. In 2014 she became the first woman to win the Design Museum's Design of the Year Award for the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

She was made a Dame in 2012 for services to architecture.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews architect Dame Zaha Hadid.

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As part of the wave of British talent that's crashed onto America's shores in recent years his impact has made a deep impression on the creative landscape. His role as Sergeant Brodie in Homeland saw him win both an Emmy and Golden Globe and along with Band of Brothers, The Forsyte Saga and a long list of other credits, he now ranks as one of our most well recognised and highly regarded performers.

Things didn't always look so peachy: aged 11, and in the school production of Princess Ida, he forgot the entire third act and stood mute in front of a packed auditorium. Tellingly, rather than scuttling into the wings with shame he soldiered on and by 16 he knew performing was, more than anything, what he wanted to do.

He says, 'I am a person who is ambitious. I'm ambitious to get the very best from every moment and even if that's just taking my children to the zoo ... I want it to be the best it can be.'.

Kirsty Young interviews actor Damian Lewis.

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Life, death, desire, fear, beauty, horror - his creative preoccupations are standard fair; his art - using sharks, maggots, butterflies, glass, formaldehyde and even sometimes paint - is not. His best known works have become iconic symbols of contemporary culture and his exhibitions and auctions attract attention the way a carcass attracts flies.

Growing up in Leeds his mother was something of an early artistic influence - she had dots painted on the front door and whenever Damien said he'd finished a drawing, she'd lay another sheet of paper down and tell her son 'carry on.

He once said, 'People don't like contemporary art but all art starts life as contemporary. I'm sure there were people in caves going 'I like your cave but I hate that crap you've got on the wall'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews contemporary artist Damien Hirst.

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His style is governed by a desire to create a sense of place and he is drawn to wild plants and gardens. Aged just five he discovered this passion, while building roof gardens for his collection of trolls and spent the summer watching the plant and animal life in a pond created by his father.

He gave up A' levels in favour of apprenticeships at RHS Wisley and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and then spent several years working abroad, studying plants in their natural environment. His first large-scale project was creating a garden for Frances Mossman, a colleague of his mother's, who asked him to design the garden at her Northamptonshire plot. He won more clients through word of mouth and set up his own garden design company in the late 1980s. His work has since taken him all over the world and he has designed five award-winning gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show. Amongst his current projects he is creating a design for London's proposed Garden Bridge.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to garden designer Dan Pearson.

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His marriage to the British cellist Jacqueline du Pr耀 made them the most celebrated musical couple of their day - but less than two years after they were married, she began to show symptoms of multiple sclerosis - the disease that would kill her. In a moving interview recorded in his home in Jerusalem, Daniel Barenboim talks frankly about their relationship and the cruelty of her illness; he reveals his own musical influences and also discusses his plans to spend more time playing the piano, after stepping down as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra later this year.

He would, Daniel says, only take musical scores to the island, and not records.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Book: Ethics by Benedict Spinoza

Luxury: A piano with a mattress

Sue Lawley's castaway is conductor Daniel Barenboim

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Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most influential living psychologists, his many years of study have centred on how and why we make the decisions we do.

As a child, he lived in Nazi occupied France and he says that, from a young age, he already had a pretty good idea that he wanted to be an academic.

He says 'My mother had a big influence ... in fact I credit her with the fact that I became a psychologist ... because she got me interested in people and listening to gossip. I've been fascinated by gossip ever since.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews psychologist and Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman.

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In 1989 he won the commission to build a Jewish Museum in Berlin and it opened in 2001 amid much controversy. Closer to home he has designed and built the Imperial War Museum North at Trafford, Manchester - its design based on a shattered globe to reflect the themes of conflict. One of his most controversial designs in this country is the proposed V&A extension known as The Spiral. It has been variously described as 'a public lavatory', 'a pile of boxes' and 'quartz crystals'. His most recent commission and his biggest project to date is the complex to be built at the site of the destroyed twin towers in New York.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Aria from Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: The Prisons (Le Carceri): The Complete First and Second States by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Luxury: Pencil and paper

Sue Lawley's castaway is architect Daniel Libeskind

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Born in 1989, the only child of Alan and Marcia Radcliffe, Daniel made his acting debut aged 10 in a BBC adaptation of David Copperfield. The following year he was cast as Harry Potter, and he and his co-stars, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, would spend ten years filming the series. Daniel made a point of taking other roles before it had finished, and he appeared on stage in Peter Shaffer's play Equus in 2007, a role which involved prolonged full frontal nudity.

Since then he has appeared on screen, on stage and on television, playing characters from the beat poet Allen Ginsberg to a cop going undercover as a neo-Nazi, and his recent films include Guns Akimbo and Escape from Pretoria. In the theatre, he is appearing in Samuel Beckett's Endgame in London.

He supports the Trevor Project which works to prevent suicides among LGBTQ youth and which Daniel first became aware of during the Broadway run of Equus in 2008. Daniel has been in a long-term relationship with fellow actor Erin Darke who he met on a film set in 2012.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Daniel Radcliffe, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne

She made her professional operatic debut when she was 15 with the Los Angeles Opera, appeared briefly in Les Miserables on Broadway, and first performed with the Metropolitan Opera in New York at the age of 19, taking the role of Barbarina in a production of The Marriage of Figaro, directed by Jonathan Miller.

In 2005 she came to more widespread public attention with her performances as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne, stepping into the role at the last minute when the original Cleopatra was unwell.

She first appeared at the Royal Opera House in London four years later, and her international stage career now ranges from baroque operas to new works. She has also presented a number of television programmes about music. She married Gus Christie, the grandson of Glyndebourne's founder, in 2009.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Danielle de Niese, opera singer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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He is a Sony Gold award winning broadcaster with one of the most recognisable voices on our airwaves and his numerous radio and TV shows have brought him legions of fans. As a writer, he has put words in the mouths of Jeremy Clarkson, Ricky Gervais, Chris Evans and even the legendary George Burns.

Despite the successes, he says he's never plotted his next career move: 'No plan - certainly no plan - you've only got to look at the incredible way this is all botched together and yet I don't feel that's somehow lucky when you look around at some of the half-wits and boss-eyed bozos who people this business - and they're running departments. All of this is an ant-hill that somebody's kicked over, and I happen to be one of the more bumptious ants.

Record: I've Grown Accustomed to her Face

Book: The Most of S J Perelman

Luxury: My blue suede shoes

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Broadcaster Danny Baker joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

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Dara grew up in Bray, County Wicklow and attended Irish language schools, playing for the Gaelic football and hurling teams. He studied mathematical physics at University College Dublin where he took part in debating competitions and discovered a flair for getting laughs from an audience.

In 2001 he moved to the UK and, alongside performing at comedy gigs, he started appearing on television shows including Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You. His love of mathematics came to the fore when he presented the game show School of Hard Sums and he has gone on to write popular science books for children.

Dara continues to perform stand-up and, when he's not touring what he calls his conversational and whimsical style of comedy, he lives in London with his wife and three children.

DISC ONE: Kiss - Prince & The Revolution

DISC TWO: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: No 1, Introitus and Kyrie - Requiem and Kyrie. Composed by Mozart and performed by London Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony chorus, conducted by Sir Colin Davis

DISC THREE: Glanfaidh M退 - K퀀la

DISC FOUR: Groove is in the Heart - Deee-Lite

DISC FIVE: Cuba Libre - Gloria Estefan

DISC SIX: All About My Girl - Jimmy McGriff

DISC SEVEN: Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle and Sebastian

DISC EIGHT: Adagio for Strings. Composed by Samuel Barber and performed by Berliner Symphoniker, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

BOOK CHOICE: The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman

LUXURY ITEM: Astrophotography equipment

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Groove is in the Heart - Deee-Lite

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Dara \u00d3 Briain, comedian, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Her first child was born prematurely as a result of the life-threatening condition pre-eclampsia. Her speedy recovery she put down to her strength and fitness, and she returned to dance three months later. She has announced her decision to retire as a Principal of the Royal Ballet next month, though she will continue to dance as a guest artist.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai

Book: A biography of Audrey Hepburn

Luxury: Eye lash curler

Sue Lawley's castaway is ballerina Darcey Bussell

[R4 BD=20060519

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Ode To Joy (Symphony No 9) by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Spear in the Sand by Raoul C Faure

Luxury: Grand piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is jazz pianist Dave Brubeck

[R4 BD=19990108

Most of his work is for children but the adults who populate the juries of heavyweight literary prizes really like it too. The accolades began with his first novel Skellig published in 1998 when he was 47; it won the mighty 'Whitbread Children's' award and then many others besides.

Ever since, he's been acclaimed for his ability to craft complex, philosophical narratives with strikingly down to earth characterisations.

He grew up just outside Newcastle in a big, Catholic family and his childhood features heavily in his stories.

He says 'Each of my books has had to be written - there was something that had to come out.

Producer: Alison Hughes.

Kirsty Young talks to children's author David Almond, creator of the award-winning Skellig

[R4 BD=20130315

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Adagio from String Quintet in C Major by Franz Schubert

Book: Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life by W B Lord

Luxury: Guitar

Sue Lawley's castaway is naturalist David Attenboroug

He read English at Cambridge and became vice-president of the Footlights before starting out on the London comedy circuit. Together with Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and Rob Newman, he was part of The Mary Whitehouse Experience for Radio 1 and later BBC 2. Rob and David went on to create Newman and Baddiel in Pieces, and were the first comedians to sell out Wembley Arena with a gig in 1993, prompting newspapers to declare comedy 'the new rock 'n' roll'. David then formed a comedy partnership with Frank Skinner and they hosted Fantasy Football League and later Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned. They co-wrote the lyrics to one of the best-known football songs, Three Lions.

In 2005, David took a break from performance and concentrated on writing novels for adults and children's books as well as the script for a film, which became a musical, The Infidel. He returned to stand-up in 2013 with a show about fame. He recently mined his parents' idiosyncrasies and the rare form of dementia from which his father suffers for a stand-up show entitled My Family: Not the Sitcom. His partner is fellow comedian and writer Morwenna Banks. They have two teenage children.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

David Baddiel, comedian and writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

[R4 BD=20180601

As a professional footballer he's the only Englishman to win the league titles in England, Spain, the US and France. He spent the bulk of his career as a midfielder for Manchester United, winning the Treble - Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League - in 1999, before moving to Real Madrid in 2003. He headed to the US to play for LA Galaxy in 2007, and ended his career at Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, retiring in May that year.

Born and raised in East London, the middle child of Ted and Sandra, David Beckham discovered football early and spent hours kicking a ball around at the local park with his father. At the age of seven, he played for his first team, Ridgeway Rovers, before coming to the attention of Manchester United while attending the Bobby Charlton Soccer School. He became a trainee with Manchester United in 1991, and progressed to make 265 first team appearances, winning the Premier League six times, the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Champions League once. He played for England from 1996 to 2009 and captained the side for six years.

He has been married to Victoria Adams - known as Posh from the Spice Girls - since 1999 and they have four children. Since retiring from professional football in 2013, David has spent more time on his work with UNICEF which he has supported since 2005.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to former professional footballer David Beckham.

[R4 BD=20170203

He started playing in bands at school and, when art school didn't work out for him, he founded Talking Heads with a couple of friends. They played their first gig, opening for the Ramones, at the legendary New York club CBGB's, in June 1975. Eight studio albums later, cracks were beginning to show in the relations between band members, and by 1991 Talking Heads had officially split up.

Since then, he has enjoyed a solo career, and also made films, published photographic books, composed scores for musicals, created art installations and written books. He has received an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, as well as a Golden Globe and a Grammy, for his soundtrack to the 1987 film The Last Emperor.

He and his fellow Talking Heads members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. He lives in New York and has a daughter in her late twenties from his 17 year marriage to Adelle Lutz.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

David Byrne, musician, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20180323

He went on to join the SAS through the territorial army and, during his career at Westminster, has earned the nicknames 'Bone Crusher' and 'Bovver Boy'. Yet he shocked his own party when, in June last summer, he stood down as Shadow Home Secretary and announced he was going to campaign against what he saw as a fundamental assault by the government on our civil liberties. In this personal interview, he describes the anxieties that beset him as he made that decision - and the extent to which his political life changed as a result of it.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Un Bel Di - One Fine Day by Kiri Te Kanawa

Book: The complete works by Iain Banks

Luxury: A magic wine cellar which never runs out.

Kirsty Young's castaway is politician David Davis MP.

[R4 BD=20081121

He is best known for the big state events - he has anchored the BBC's general election coverage since 1979 and commentated during the funerals of both Princess Diana and the Queen Mother - throughout them all, he says, his method is not to think of the audience of millions, but instead to imagine himself sitting on a sofa, next to just one viewer, saying as little as he needs to in order to explain what is happening.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Song that You'd Like by Kate Dimbleby Band

Book: Collected essays by Michel de Montaigne

Luxury: A collection of drawing books, pencils and varnish.

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster and journalist David Dimbleby.

[R4 BD=20080229

His interest in theatre goes back to his childhood; his parents both had theatrical connections and his father even turned a garden shed into an elaborate theatre. It was here that as a boy he was to star in plays in which he cast himself in the leading role. Despite the shift of politics to the centre ground, he remains committed to the left-wing cause and to exploring the difference between utopia and reality. He also writes for TV and radio, and his plays are regularly performed on the international as well as the British stage.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cum Sancto Spiritu - With the Holy Ghost by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: An Evil Cradling by Brian Keenan

Luxury: A piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is playwright David Edgar

[R4 BD=20060804

Pink Floyd went on to become one of the most successful bands of all time with albums such as Animals, Meddle and Wish You Were Here, and most famously, The Dark Side of the Moon and, later, The Wall. Dark Side of the Moon has remained in the best-selling albums chart ever since its release 30 years ago and has racked up some 35 million copies sold worldwide. The records were as groundbreaking in their presentation as their music, and the covers, designed by Storm Thorgerson, became iconic in their own rights: the man on fire on Wish You Were Here, the flying pig over Battersea power station on Animals, the black gatefold with a prism streaming light on Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd concerts became a byword for spectacle through the 1970s and 1980s with lights and lasers and special effects.

Since the seventies, David Gilmour has also worked solo and guested with Bryan Ferry and Paul McCartney among others. He has several charitable interests, recently selling his mansion in Maida Vale to Earl Spencer and donating the £4.5 million to Crisis, a homelessness and housing charity. In 2001 he performed a mainly acoustic selection of his and Pink Floyd's songs at Robert Wyatt's Meltdown on the South Bank. He lives on 300 acres of land in Sussex with his second wife, writer Polly Samson and four of his eight children.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Dancing in the Street by Martha and the Vandellas

Book: An English translation of the Koran

Luxury: An acoustic Martin D.35 guitar

Sue Lawley's castaway is frontman of Pink Floyd David Gilmour

[R4 BD=20030411

David was born in Birmingham in 1965. After one of his teachers suggested that he should try his luck at acting, he won a place at RADA where he tackled a number of challenging roles including King Lear. After graduating, he performed in a range of television and theatre productions, but by the time he auditioned for Homeland he says he was down to his last £80. He joined the cast of Homeland in 2011 and the following year he was awarded an MBE for services to drama.

In 2019 he presented a BBC documentary called Psychosis and Me which told the story of the mental breakdown he experienced as a young man. The programme was nominated for a BAFTA award and was praised by critics for its honest exploration of a difficult subject and for helping to remove some of the stigma around mental health. He went on to present a range of documentaries which addressed subjects close to his heart including the health inequality exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the experience of slavery within the history of his own family.

David lives in London with his wife and their two daughters.

DISC ONE: Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers

DISC TWO: Tears on My Pillow by Johnny Nash

DISC THREE: One in Ten by UB40

DISC FOUR: $29.00 by Tom Waits

DISC FIVE: I Still Haven't found what I'm Looking For by The Chimes

DISC SIX: (Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

DISC SEVEN: Cruisin' by D'Angelo

DISC EIGHT: Ain't Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan

BOOK CHOICE: The Sandman by Neil Gaiman

LUXURY ITEM: A disco dancefloor

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Ain't Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

David Harewood, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Manha de Carnaval by Stan Getz

Book: Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach

Luxury: Saxophone

Sue Lawley's castaway is explorer David Hempleman Adams

[R4 BD=19980814

As a young boy growing up in Wakefield, it was his cousin Muriel who would take him along to the town's cathedral to worship - he was captivated by the ritual and atmosphere of the place and 35 years later he returned as its Bishop. A traditionalist himself, he opposed the ordination of women and believes the church should resist pressure to ordain practising homosexuals, but he fears that both issues will continue to divide Anglicans across the world for the rest of his lifetime. He says he has never been happier than he is as a parish priest - and that throughout his ministry, he has been someone who preferred people to paper.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Vespers by Sergei Rachmaninov

Book: Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Luxury: A case of selected malt whiskies

Sue Lawley's castaway is former Archbishop of York David Hope

[R4 BD=20051216

He was born in South Africa and brought up in a middle-class suburb of Johannesburg. As a teenager he was taken by his school to visit a township to see how black South Africans lived. He says it was an eye-opening experience and, while he pursued his scientific studies, he also took a stance against the political regime and wrote letters denouncing apartheid. His activism brought him to the attention of South Africa's secret police - he was questioned and left with little option but to leave the country. He came to Britain and continued his studies here. He pursued an academic career - he was made the 1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cambridge University in 1988, a post he still holds, and has recently been confirmed for a second term as the Government's chief scientist.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Don't Know Why by Norah Jones

Book: Wild Reckoning, An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carson's Silent Spring by John Burnside

Luxury: Bunch of canvases with oils and brushes

Sue Lawley's castaway is Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King

[R4 BD=20050527

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Concerto in C Minor K.491: 2nd Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher

Luxury: A guitar

Sue Lawley's castaway is furniture designer David Linley

[R4 BD=20020208

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Von Ewiger Liebe by Johannes Brahms

Book: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Alternative to Bible: Bhagavad Gita

Luxury: Well stocked bar & fridge.

Kirsty Young's castaway is opera director David McVicar.

[R4 BD=20081010

But as a child, Mitchell was sure he wasn't funny and it was only when he was at university, he says, that he learnt how to have fun. It is now just the rest of his life that Mitchell needs to address - beginning, he says, by tidying up his flat and then, maybe, even getting a girlfriend.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Rainbow Connection by Jim Henson

Book: Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh

Luxury: DVDs of sitcoms and DVD player.

[R4 BD=20090724

He has also translated two books on autism from Japanese, working with his Japanese wife: their son is on the autistic spectrum. While his work also includes writing for the screen and opera libretti, his main occupation has been, as one critic put it, `quietly pottering away at the frontier of fiction` for more than two decades.

David is the son of two artists, and grew up near the Malverns, where his father worked in the art department of the Royal Worcester porcelain factory. After studying at the University of Kent, he worked in a bookshop, and moved to Japan in the mid-1990s to teach English. Here he met his wife and put his mind to writing. His first two novels were published while still living in Hiroshima.

With each standalone novel, David is also adding to what he calls an uber-novel in which all of his books are part of a larger narrative, with characters flitting from one story to another, transported to a different time and place, but bringing a familiarity and a backstory with them.

He now lives in County Cork, Ireland, with his wife and two children.

DISC ONE: Sunset by Kate Bush

DISC TWO: Requiem Op. 33b, For Mixed Choir A Cappela / Fyrir Blandadan K　r A Capella.

Performed by Motet Choir Of The Hallgr퀀m's Church, chorus Master: H怀r

He works across three London hospitals performing general, vascular, trauma & reconstructive surgery. In addition, for the past two decades, he's spent several weeks every year working in conflict zones around the world for M退decins Sans Fronti耀res (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Born in Carmarthen, Wales, he was brought up by his grandparents until he was four while his parents finished their training - his Welsh mother became a nurse, his Indo-Burmese father an orthopaedic surgeon. He studied medicine at St Andrews University and completed his medical and surgical training in Manchester and Liverpool before becoming a consultant general and vascular surgeon working in London.

He first volunteered to go into a war zone in 1993 when he travelled to Sarajevo. Since then he has worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Chad, Haiti, Yemen, Nepa, Gaza and Syria. In 2016 he and his wife, Elly, set up the David Nott Foundation, a charity which funds the training of local doctors to work in conflict zones and hostile environments.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews vascular and war surgeon David Nott.

[R4 BD=20160610

Born in Lagos, the second child to a Nigerian father and a British mother, David was brought up by his mother in Gateshead after his parents' marriage broke down. As a child he and his siblings experienced sustained racism and he remembers school as a place of violence and cruelty.

He credits his mother's tenacity and her determination to educate her children for his later success in getting to university and establishing a career in television. His love of history developed from a young age, thanks to one of his teachers who taught him why an understanding of history matters. Watching television documentaries also opened up a world of possibility and David fondly recalls programmes from the 1980s presented by the historian Michael Wood, who made history seem cool in the eyes of the young schoolboy glued to the TV in his Gateshead council house.

Last year David delivered the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival in which he talked candidly about his loneliness at being the only black person on a production team and the difficulties he had trying to explain the racial implications of how, for example, people in Africa were often portrayed on screen.

DISC ONE: Zombie by Fela Kuti

DISC TWO: Roll on Buddy by Aunt Molly Jackson

DISC THREE: Black Mountain Blues by Bessie Smith

DISC FOUR: Just The Other Day by Dr Alimantado

DISC FIVE: Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground by Blind Willie Johnson

DISC SIX: Last Kind Words by Geeshie Wiley

DISC SEVEN: You Can't Blame The Youth (Live At The Record Plant '73) by Bob Marley & The Wailers

DISC EIGHT: Precious Lord, Take My Hand / You've Got a Friend by Aretha Franklin

BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell: An Age Like This, 1920-40

LUXURY ITEM: Acoustic guitar

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground by Blind Willie Johnson

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Historian David Olusoga shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: String Quartet No 2 'Intimate Letters' by Leos Janက?ek

Book: Anthology: The English Year by Geoffrey Grigson

Luxury: Croquet lawn

Sue Lawley's castaway is opera director David Pountney

[R4 BD=19980227

David was born in New York State and grew up in Raleigh in North Carolina. He dropped out of university and became a performance artist for a while, but says he lacked artistic talent and chose not to pursue art as a career. In 1990 he moved to New York City where he supported himself by working as a Christmas elf called Crumpet at Macy's department store. He wrote an essay about this experience called Santaland Diaries which he read on National Public Radio. His performance attracted an enthusiastic response from listeners and led to his first major break as a writer and broadcaster.

David's later collections of stories and essays have won non-fiction awards and in 2002 he gave a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. The recording of this event was later nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. David's most recent collection of essays addresses a range of subjects including the end of Donald Trump's administration, the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of his father.

David lives with his boyfriend Hugh and they divide their time between New York and West Sussex. David is a committed litter-picker which prompted his local Sussex council to name a refuse vehicle after him - Pig Pen Sedaris.

DISC ONE: I Don't Wanna Play House by Tammy Wynette

DISC TWO: Where is Love, composed by Lionel Bart and performed by Keith Hamshere and Original London Cast of Oliver!

DISC THREE: Dindi by Maria Beth nia

DISC FOUR: Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) by Aretha Franklin

DISC FIVE: I Got A Right to Praise The Lord by The Georgia Mass Choir

DISC SIX: Manhattan by Blossom Dearie

DISC SEVEN: You and I by Abbey Lincoln

DISC EIGHT: They Say It's Wonderful by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman

BOOK CHOICE: A German dictionary

LUXURY ITEM: Pencils and paper

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You and I by Abbey Lincoln

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

David Sedaris, writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Rejected from the Slade Art School on the grounds of having 'no talent whatsoever' he was taught to paint by a man he met at a cocktail party who told him 'you're going to be painting for the Inland Revenue, the Gas Board and the school fees.' Famed now for his paintings of elephants, he is one of the best-selling artists in the world.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No. 8 by Gustav Mahler

Book: Collection by Beatrix Potter

Luxury: Wind-up video player

Sue Lawley's castaway is wildlife artist David Shepherd

[R4 BD=19990122

Born into a working class, Quaker family in Kendal, David's formidable drive owes much to his mother's love and ambitions for her only child. David's feeling that history should not be the preserve of academics, but belongs to the public, set him on a path to a TV career, via Cambridge, the LSE, and his infamous performances on Radio 4's The Moral Maze which earned him the title of 'the rudest man in Britain'. Now, his programmes are watched by millions and his books are bestsellers.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Dove Sono by ozart

Book: Microcosmographia Academica by Francis M Cornford

Luxury: Hot and cold running water, bath tub and bath oil

Sue Lawley's castaway is historian and broadcaster David Starkey

[R4 BD=20050211

His approach to his work is meticulous and he says he has to inhabit each role he takes on. In this illuminating interview he recalls how, early in his career, a psychologist showed him how to shed his character at the end of each performance otherwise, he found, the edges between his own life and those of the person he was playing became blurred.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: When I Fall In Love by Nat King Cole

Book: Magnum Magnum by Brigitte Lardinois

Luxury: His clarinet and an unlimited supply of reeds.

Kirsty Young's castaway is actor David Suchet.

[R4 BD=20090213

He has been voted the best Dr Who ever and has redefined the Time Lord for a generation of parents and children.

As a child he was a huge fan of the programme; he reckons he only ever missed one episode, wore a long stripy scarf and queued up to meet Tom Baker and get his autograph. As a role, he says, it appealed not just to his adult self but to the eight-year-old boy who was just below the surface

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs].

[R4 BD=20100101

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths

Book: Collected Poems by Philip Larkin

Alternative to Bible: None - Bible not taken

Luxury: A gun.

Kirsty Young's castaway is comedian David Walliams.

[R4 BD=20090227

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Clarinet Concerto in A by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer

Luxury: Harmonica

Sue Lawley's castaway is sculptor David Wynne

[R4 BD=19980213

She was the presenter of Big Brother during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010 and enjoyed it so much that she planned her family around the transmission schedule. All three of her children were born in September.

Davina hosts a variety of prime time and popular programmes including ITV's Long Lost Family which seeks to reunite family members.

Her own childhood was complicated. Her French mother was an alcoholic and drug user, and Davina was largely brought up by her father and grandparents. After a difficult childhood, she moved to London with her father and step-mother, and during some wild teenage years, she became a drug user. She has been clean since she was 25.

Alongside her television presenting career, she has a large following with her fitness DVDs and healthy food cookbooks.

In 2014, she undertook a 500 mile triathlon for Sport Relief raising more than two million pounds.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Davina McCall, TV presenter, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20161216

Her career started back when dungarees were considered a legitimate fashion choice and she's built her reputation on borderline surreal skits and glowingly warm characterisations.

Brought up in a forces family she had to move schools a lot and found making people laugh helped to make them her friends. Since then it's made her a household name and she may be moments away from becoming a 'national treasure'.

Double act partner, sit-com star, sketch show performer, writer, actor, Dawn has made us laugh for years. So does she ever feel overwhelmed by people's expectations? She says 'I tell myself that I'm the sort of person who can open a one-woman play in the West End, so I do - I am the sort of person who writes a book - so I do'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to comedian, actress and writer Dawn French.

[R4 BD=20121228

Her group Blondie started out in seedy New York bars and went on to achieve international success - selling tens of millions of albums along the way. She was ultra cool - a striking beauty with platinum hair and a sneer. Now aged 65, her trademark look continues to serve her well, she says: 'As far as ageing goes it's rough - I try my best - I'm healthy and I exercise like a fiend. I'm glad that I've had all the radical experiences in my life - it suits me.

Record: Mahler's Symphony No.5 in C sharp Minor -4th movement

Book: War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

Luxury: Paints and papers

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Blondie singer Debbie Harry joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20110527

Her work is wide ranging, but her talents are most often employed in crafting lyrical, melodic scores for film and TV. Her credits include Land Girls, Judge John Deed, Haunted and Father Brown. Now a visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music, her unlikely introduction to the piano came at the age of 8 when she found a bashed up old instrument sitting in the corner of a hotel dining room.

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Kirsty Young talks to composer Debbie Wiseman.

[R4 BD=20141024

The Royal Ballet, where she was a principal dancer for almost two decades owes a debt of gratitude to the Janice Sutton School of Dance in Skegness. It was there, aged 7, two floors above a fish and chip shop and a row of amusements arcades - and having practiced 'good toes, bad toes' - that she knew precisely what she wanted to do with her life.

After many years of success at the top of her profession, she said goodbye to her childhood dream and jet退d into her life's next act - for a time serving as Creative Director of The Royal Opera House and more recently working far beyond Covent Garden promoting creativity and cultural partnerships across Britain.

She says 'I always thought I'd feel a passionate sense of loss when I stopped dancing. What was absolutely wonderful was, as the volume turned up on the new career, the volume turned down on the old one.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Dancer, writer and broadcaster Deborah Bull is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20130531

Deborah was born in South Africa in 1959, the eldest child of anti-apartheid activists Norman and Philippa Levy. Her father was arrested when she was five and was imprisoned for four years. During this time, Deborah became an almost silent child, but was encouraged by a teacher to write down her thoughts, sparking her love of creative writing. After her father's release, the family relocated to the UK and first lived above a menswear shop in London. As a teenager Deborah worked as a cinema usher, and a chance encounter with the film-maker Derek Jarman inspired her to change her plans to take a degree in literature, and instead she headed to Dartington College of Arts, where she studied writing for the stage and performance.

Her first play, Pax, was commissioned in 1984, and was followed by more than a dozen dramas. Deborah then turned to writing novels in the late 1980s and 1990s. Swimming Home was shortlisted for the 2012 Booker Prize, although it initially struggled to find a publisher. Her trilogy of autobiographies, beginning in 2013 with Things I Don't Want to Know, have enjoyed considerable critical acclaim.

DISC ONE: Nkosi Sikelel I'Afrika by Sol Plaatje

DISC TWO: Starman by David Bowie

DISC THREE: Opening by Phillip Glass

DISC FOUR: Moritat Vom Mackie Messer (German version of Mack the Knife) by Lotte Lenya

DISC FIVE: Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair by Nina Simone

DISC SIX: Soothing by Laura Marling

DISC SEVEN: Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez

DISC EIGHT: Because the Night by Patti Smith

BOOK CHOICE: The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C. G. Jung)

LUXURY ITEM: A silk sheet

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Because the Night by Patti Smith

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Deborah Levy, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Destined to be a successful entrepreneur, Deborah Meaden launched her first business straight out of college at nineteen years old, importing artisan Italian glass and ceramic homeware goods to the UK.

After running various franchise businesses, she joined her family company, Weststar Holidays and eventually became Managing Director. A few years later, when her parents wanted to retire, she bought them out of the business and later sold the company making her a multi-millionaire.

Deborah is now a full time investor with a wide ranging portfolio. For the last fifteen years, she has been one of the investment Dragons on BBC TV's Dragon's Den. Even though she has many millions in the bank, she has no plans to step back from business. `Why would I stop doing something that I love?`

She lives in Somerset with her husband, Paul.

DISC ONE: Ride a White Swan by T. Rex

DISC TWO: The Bottle by Gil Scott-Heron / Brian Jackson

DISC THREE: Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye

DISC FOUR: Don't Push It Don't Force It by Leon Haywood

DISC FIVE: Money's Too Tight To Mention by The Valentine Brothers

DISC SIX: El Condor Pasa by Simon And Garfunkel

DISC SEVEN: Suite: The Planets - Jupiter composed by Gustav Holst, performed by BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent

DISC EIGHT: Be Thankful For What You've Got by William De Vaughn

BOOK CHOICE: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor

LUXURY ITEM: A sketch book and pencil

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Be Thankful For What You've Got by William De Vaughn

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Deborah Meaden, businesswoman, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Delia Smith CH CBE is one of Britain's most popular and successful cookery writers and broadcasters.

Her first book, How to Cheat at Cooking, was published in 1971 and she presented her first television series, Family Fare, two years later. Since then she has presented many more series and her books have sold more than 21 million copies in the UK alone. Her widespread influence has led to the phrase ‘the Delia effect', when large numbers of shoppers sought out her recommendations.

Delia was born in Woking in 1941, and grew up in Bexleyheath. She attended the local secondary modern school, but left without any qualifications. She eventually found work as a pot washer and then a waitress in a French restaurant in London, where the chef encouraged her interest in cooking and food.

In 1969 she landed the job of cookery writer on the Daily Mirror's new colour supplement. There she honed her simple, no-nonsense instructions and met her husband, Michael Wynn-Jones.

She hung up her apron in 2013 to spend more time on her other passion - football. Delia and Michael have been long-standing supporters – and, since 1996, majority shareholders - of Norwich City FC. She lives in Suffolk countryside in the same cottage she and Michael bought as their first home.

DISC ONE: The Sound of Silence - Paul Simon

DISC TWO: Within You Without You - The Beatles

DISC THREE: Gnossienne No 1. Composed by Erik Satie and performed by Alexandre Tharaud

DISC FOUR: Caruso – composed by Lucio Dalla and performed by Luciano Pavarotti

DISC FIVE: Kyrie: Call To Prayer – Muezzin from the Muhammad Ali Mosque, Cairo. Performed by Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Choristers of St. George's Chapel, Windsor and composed by David Fanshawe

DISC SIX: This Woman's Work - Kate Bush

DISC SEVEN: He Moved Through the Fair - Sinéad O'Connor

DISC EIGHT: Happy - Pharrell Williams

BOOK CHOICE: Sister Wendy's 100 Best-loved Paintings by Wendy Beckett

LUXURY ITEM: The Desert Island Discs archive

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Kyrie: Call To Prayer – Muezzin from the Muhammad Ali Mosque, Cairo. Composed by David Fanshawe and performed by Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Choristers of St. George's Chapel, Windsor

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Delia Smith, cookery writer and broadcaster, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Born in 1976, he was introduced to chess aged four and, by the age of twelve, was the world's second-highest ranked player for his age. With his winnings, he bought himself a PC and taught himself to code. After taking his A Levels two years early, before going to university he worked on one of the most successful computer games of the 1990s, Theme Park. He graduated from Cambridge with a double first, and returned to the computer games industry, founding his own company in his early twenties.

His passion had long been artificial intelligence and he says everything he's done has been part of a long-term plan to 'solve intelligence' and then use intelligence 'to solve everything else'. He gained a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience where he deliberately chose to study topics where AI had failed so far: memory and imagination. After stints at MIT and Harvard, he co-founded his company in 2010, which was then acquired by Google in January 2014. In March 2016 their computer programme, AlphaGo, beat a world champion Go player at the game having taught itself how to play through a combination of two techniques - deep learning and reinforcement learning.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Demis Hassabis, AI expert, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20170526

Her discipline was the heptathlon and it was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics that she leapt, threw, sprinted and hurdled her way on to the winner's podium. An only child of a single mother, she says her mum had always had ambition for her - and was there to witness her success. She said: 'Her face said it all, there were tears in her eyes and for me it felt like, yes mum, we've done it together'.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Denise Lewis, Olympic medallist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20120210

She is, she says, one of life's survivors -- yet she seems to have had more than her fair share of tragedy; she's been widowed twice, dealt with financial hardship and lost a child to cancer. She's written dozens of novels and for more than forty years been an agony aunt on local radio, papers and television.

She says: 'There have been times when I've thought, just as I get things right, fate steps in and kicks the steps from under me. But then you pick yourself up again. When I started out, there used to be a joke, that one day I'd open a letter without saying, 'Oh I remember when that happened to me'.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Kirsty Young interviews agony aunt, writer and presenter Denise Robertson.

[R4 BD=20120601

Derek Brown himself comes from a middle-class Portsmouth family and his first ambition was to be a history teacher. After spending a summer earning pocket money as a waiter he realised that hotel management was his path in life and cherished a dream of owning his own hotel. At twenty-seven he saw an advert for Michelin inspectors and gradually worked his way up to the top job.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 2nd Movement of Symphony No.7 in A Major by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Luxury: A steamer chair

Sue Lawley's castaway is director of the Michelin Red Guides Derek Brown

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[R4 BD=2000112

He's also a successful artist - once holding the directorship of the Institute of Contemporary Arts - and he's exhibited his work at galleries around the world.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Imagine by Alex Parks

Book: Tales from Arabia: One Thousand and One Nights by Richard Burton

Luxury: Snorkel

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and broadcaster Desmond Morris

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For nearly 50 years Diana Athill was involved in every aspect of publishing, from editing and even completely rewriting books to drawing adverts, designing covers and nursing authors for the publishing house Andre Deutsch. They published some of the greatest names of the 20th century, including Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac, VS Naipaul and Jean Rhys.

Her career has been remarkable, but it was one that she fell into after her original plans for marriage and children fell through. Now aged 86, she is still writing and her novel Make Believe is being republished this autumn - and she still visits the Norfolk estate owned by her family where she spent so much time as a girl riding horses.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: O Glucklich Paar by Franz Joseph Haydn

Book: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Luxury: Her own bed

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and editor Diana Athill

[R4 BD=20040625

It was not the first British institution she'd cracked - she had already propelled herself through Cambridge and then into the Civil Service. But she has not always sat comfortably inside these great bastions of the establishment; she says Gordon Brown booted her off an influential committee because she asked too many questions; she was a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq and she attracted a good deal of controversy when she decided to send her son to private school.

After more than 20 years in the House of Commons, she is, she says, happy for people to judge her on what she has done and what she has stood up for.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Nkosi Sikelel 'Iafrika by Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Book: Volumes of architectural and historical surveys of London

Luxury: A nice bed with comfortable mattress, sheets & mosquito net.

Kirsty Young's castaway is politician Diane Abbott.

[R4 BD=20080523

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Chatanooga Choo Choo by Glenn Miller Orchestra

Book: Men and Horses I Have Known by George Lampton

Luxury: Waterbed

Sue Lawley's castaway is jockey and crime writer Dick Francis

[R4 BD=19981218

Now appearing on the British stage for the first time in 36 years, he chooses eight records to take to the mythical desert island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major 412 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman

Luxury: 100 cases of vintage Bordeaux

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Donald Sutherland

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The life she thought was hers ended when her son Stephen was murdered by a group of young white men on a street in London in 1993. In the years since, her campaigning has resulted in a shift in public attitudes, laws being changed and policing methods overhauled. She set up a charity in her son's memory and has been awarded an OBE for services to community relations.

She says: 'My son was special and I think, what happened to him, I just wanted everyone to know and learn about him - but all the other things, the OBE, I'd swap all of that just to have my son back. When your children are young you take them for granted, because you think they're going to be there forever.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Campaigner Doreen Lawrence is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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In 2018 she received the Outstanding Contribution Award at Royal Television Society Journalism Awards, and her recent commissions include the Channel 4 News investigation into Cambridge Analytica, the Michael Jackson expose Leaving Neverland and the BAFTA-winning documentary For Sama, about one family's life under siege in Aleppo, which also won an Oscar nomination.

She began her career in journalism in her mid 20s on the Waltham Forest Guardian, after writing a cheeky letter to 50 local newspaper editors - just one responded. She later moved into television, joining the acclaimed World in Action team at Granada, where she argued that the programme's agenda was male-dominated and needed to change.

Dorothy gave the MacTaggart Lecture at the 2019 Edinburgh International Television Festival, in which she argued that the scrutiny of politicians through broadcast interviews is important for the health of democracy. She also described herself as 'just about the oldest female TV executive working for a broadcaster'.

DISC ONE: Greatest Living Creature by John Grant

DISC TWO: Non-Alignment Pact by Per Ubu

DISC THREE: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, composed by George Frideric Handel, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult and performed by Dame Joan Sutherland and London Symphony Orchestra

DISC FOUR: Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense by Fela Kuti

DISC FIVE: Dido's Lament: When I'm Laid In Earth, composed by Hendry Purcell, conducted by Raymond Leppard and performed by Jessye Norman and English Chamber Orchestra

DISC SIX: World in Action by Matt Berry

DISC EIGHT: The People United Will Never Be Defeated by Igor Levit

BOOK CHOICE: Physics text books

LUXURY ITEM: The back catalogue of In Our Time / the voice of Melvyn Bragg

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, composed by George Frideric Handel, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult and performed by Dame Joan Sutherland and London Symphony Orchestra

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Dorothy Byrne, journalist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Finale (Allegro vivace) by Franz Schubert

Book: The Oxford Companion to the Body by Professor Colin Blakemore

Luxury: A snorkelling suit with prescription goggles

Sue Lawley's castaway is psychologist Dorothy Rowe

[R4 BD=20020329

He's spent thirty-five years capturing unique footage of animals in some of the most remote and least hospitable places on earth. If you've watched fuzzy little polar bear cubs frolic in the frozen wilderness or slick killer whales eerily circling their prey, the spellbinding footage is his. David Attenborough, a long- time collaborator describes his work, simply, as 'extraordinary'.

A trained biologist he first made a living diving into the icy rivers of Scotland searching among the mussel-beds for pearls; a useful early lesson in patience and coping with the cold. His subsequent dedication to a working life in the wilderness has bagged him a slew of Baftas and Emmys but there's also been an emotional toll - he's coped with periods of depression and is twice divorced.

He says, 'Big animals are my passion. I particularly love working with large mammals because they're intelligent and you can develop a relationship with them

And he's at his happiest at -18 degrees centigrade!

Kirsty Young talks to wildlife cameraman Doug Allan.

[R4 BD=20140725

Frequently referred to as the 'grandfather of allergy', his achievements include the introduction of the pollen count to the British public and the prediction of increased levels of allergy to penicillin.

Born in Cumbria in 1912, Dr Frankland turned 103 in March. He studied medicine at Oxford and worked at St Mary's hospital in Paddington, London, before war intervened. He signed up to the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), but spent over three of the six years he spent in the army as a prisoner of war in Singapore.

After the war, he began work in the dermatology department at St Mary's, but quickly switched to allergy which became his passion. During the fifties he served as a registrar to Alexander Fleming who had discovered penicillin back in 1928. In 1954 he published a seminal research paper about a double-blind randomised trial proving that pre-season pollen injections greatly reduced the symptoms of hay fever sufferers.

He has treated high profile patients including Saddam Hussein and given evidence in court - possibly the oldest expert witness to do so. He continues to work in a private practice and has remarked, 'I really don't know what people do when they retire at 65.'.

Dr Bill Frankland, allergy specialist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20150814

The first woman to be awarded the highly prestigious President's Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering, she has worked her way to the heart of an industry that remains very contentious.

Her passion for understanding how and why the world works the way it does first began as she tinkered for hours at her parents' kitchen table with a little chemistry set.

Today she goes into schools to encourage more girls to take up engineering and her enthusiasm for the subject has galvanised many to take up the discipline.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the nuclear engineer and scientist Dr Dame Sue Ion.

[R4 BD=20160311

A consultant at Broadmoor Hospital, it is her job to try to understand the behaviour of some of the most vilified people in our society. The Victorian institution in Berkshire is home to more than two hundred men; all people who have been convicted or accused of the most dangerous violent behaviour.

Her life outside work seems impossibly normal - bringing up her children, singing in a choir and gardening fill her spare time. Of her work, she says: 'Other people's minds are so fascinating I can't think of anything more interesting and I can't understand why everyone isn't a psychiatrist.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: James Taylor - Shower the People

Book: Biggest book of poetry available.

Luxury: Pen and paper.

Kirsty Young's castaway is consultant forensic psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead.

[R4 BD=20100716

As a teenager she was passionate about aesthetics and politics but did not know how how to combine her passions in a career - once she discovered the work of Sigmund Freud she knew her calling lay in psychoanalysis. Her mentor was Melanie Klein and she wrote what has become a standard text about her work. Dr Segal has written too about psychoanalysis and aesthetics and our response to the threat posed by nuclear weapons. She has held the post of Freud Professor at University College London and is a past president of the British Psychoanalytical Society. Now aged 87, she continues to work overseeing student analysts and giving seminars.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 2nd movement of String Quartet in C Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

Luxury: A snorkel and Polaroids

Sue Lawley's castaway is psychoanalyst Dr Hanna Segal

[R4 BD=20060728

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Under the Milk Wood by Richard Burton

Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien

Luxury: Pencil and paper

Sue Lawley's castaway is primatologist Dr Jane Goodall

[R4 BD=20000114

Whilst still a medical student he received an invitation which changed the course of his life and career - to take part in a sketch show called Beyond the Fringe, which was to go to the Edinburgh Festival. Jonathan was never to return to science full-time, as invitations to direct began to come in. He went on to become a leading theatre and opera director, celebrated for productions which included Tosca, set in Mussolini's Italy, and a mobster Rigoletto. This career alone would be regarded by many as more than sufficient, but Jonathan Miller combined it with making films and presenting television programmes.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Aria from Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: The Invertebrates by Libbie Henrietta Hyman

Luxury: Canvas roll containing dissecting set

Sue Lawley's castaway is director Dr Jonathan Miller

[R4 BD=20050128

Born to parents who had come to the UK from Mauritius, he grew up in London. His parents put great emphasis on education - which they had both missed out on in their youth.

Kevin's first degree was in astrophysics and he went on to study medicine.

He has combined his love of space with medicine and has spent time working at the Johnson Space Centre in the US.

He has been a consultant anaesthetist since 2010, but has kept pursuing his interests in extreme environments from space to altitude and depth. He has made many television documentaries about his field of interest and gave the 2015 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Dr Kevin Fong is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20170811

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Sonata No.30 in E Major by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Luxury: Skis

Sue Lawley's castaway is molecular biologist Dr Max Perutz

[R4 BD=20000630

Nicky was born in Hitchin in Hertfordshire and her father introduced her to the wonders of space when she was just a few months old. In 1969 he lifted her out of her cot to watch the television coverage of the Apollo 11 mission when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Nicky's enduring fascination with the cosmos led her to study physics at Imperial College in London.

After completing her PhD she took up a post-doctoral fellowship at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland. In 2010 she became the project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe, humanity's first mission to a star, which launched in 2018 and is still flying through the sun's atmosphere collecting data. Recently she oversaw the Osiris-Rex mission which brought back the first asteroid samples from deep space.

In 2021 Nicky was awarded the American Astronautical Society's Carl Sagan Memorial Award for her leadership in the field of Heliophysics.

DISC ONE: The Best – Tina Turner

DISC TWO: Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi

DISC THREE: Lara's Theme - MGM Studio Orchestra, composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre

DISC FOUR: Danny Boy - Andy Williams

DISC FIVE: When You Know - Shawn Colvin

DISC SIX: (Reach Up for the) Sunrise - Duran Duran

DISC SEVEN: Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

DISC EIGHT: Canyon Moon - Harry Styles

BOOK CHOICE: Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

LUXURY ITEM: Lego

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Nicola Fox, Nasa's head of science, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Dr Nicola Fox, head of science at Nasa, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Born in Albany, New York, in 1948, Langer's interest in science was kindled by the Gilbert chemistry, microscope and building sets he was given as birthday presents by his parents. He studied chemical engineering at Cornell University before getting his Doctor of Science from MIT in 1974. His enthusiasm wasn't fired up by the many job offers from oil companies he received, preferring to apply to work in the medical sector. After many unsuccessful applications, he was hired by Dr Judah Folkman, a surgeon at Harvard, who tasked Langer with isolating a compound to restrict blood vessel growth in order to stop a tumour from growing. His work at the interface of medicine and engineering led to him being awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in 2015. He attributes his success to 'a combination of stubbornness, risk taking, perhaps being reasonably smart and wanting to do good'.

Producer: Christine Pawlowsky.

Dr Robert Langer, scientist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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Born in Fareham, Hampshire, she was 12 when her mother died of a brain haemorrhage. She left school and home at the earliest legal age, 16, and by the age of 20 she was the mother of three children. She returned to education by taking a maths access course at night school which led to a degree in computing from London South Bank University in 1993. She gained a PhD in software engineering in 2001 and became a lecturer. She was Head of Department of Computing Science at the University of Westminster before leaving in 2012 to become a technology evangelist.

In 2016 She was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to for services to technology.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Dr Sue Black, computer scientist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20180525

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Ode To Joy (Symphony No 9) by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

Luxury: An endless supply of curry

Sue Lawley's castaway is neuroscientist Dr Susan Greenfield

[R4 BD=19970307

In 1988, at the height of the Soviet-Afghan conflict, Waheed and his family fled Kabul for Pakistan where they lived in a refugee camp for the next few years. Waheed was just five when they arrived there and contracted tuberculosis. The doctor who saved his life planted a dream and Waheed decided that one day he would study medicine.

When he was 15 Afghanistan was in the grip of the Taliban and Waheed and his parents knew it was only a matter of time before he would be recruited to join their fight. Waheed's family found someone who, for a fee, offered to help him leave the country and claim refugee status in the UK. He arrived in the UK in 1999, studied A levels while working in a number of jobs and then in 2003 took up a place to read medicine at Cambridge University.

In 2014 he began training as a radiologist and currently works in the A&E department at a busy NHS hospital. In 2017 he won a UN Global Hero Award for his charity work.

DISC ONE: Lose Yourself by Eminem

DISC TWO: Gule Sori by Farhad Darya

DISC THREE: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

DISC FOUR: Never Enough by Loren Allred

DISC FIVE: Home by Michael Bubl退

DISC SIX: Fly by Celine Dion

DISC SEVEN: Are You Ready for Love by Elton John

DISC EIGHT: Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish

BOOK CHOICE: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer and William Kamkwamba

LUXURY ITEM: Pen and paper

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Fly by Celine Dion

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Dr Waheed Arian, radiologist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

He made his name appearing on the TV show Dragons' Den as a no-nonsense investor with an eye for the bottom line. He made his fortune in nursing homes, health clubs and hotels. Quite something, given that aged 30 he was a deck chair attendant who had been thrown out of the Royal Navy for attempting to throw his commanding officer overboard. He says, 'When you've got a criminal record, no qualifications, no references, the best option is starting your own business - because no one can stop you.

Record: Love Changes Everything

Book: The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet

Luxury: A pillow.

[R4 BD=20100319

In spite of his Aunt Pearl telling him he wasn't good looking enough to be an actor for the past forty-five years he's been crafting landmark movie performances. He is that rare and apparently contradictory thing - a character actor and a superstar.

The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, All The President's Men, Marathon Man, Kramer v Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man, Wag The Dog, and Last Chance Harvey are just a handful of the movies that contribute to an unparalleled body of work: he is the only actor in history to have top billing in three films that won Best Picture Oscars.

Now in his mid-70s he is making his directorial debut.

He says 'I'm always fighting to break through... I'm trying to show you the part of me that wants to love, wants to kill, that wants to find my way out, that feels there is no way out.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Hollywood film star Dustin Hoffman is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20121207

Born into a creative family, Ed had piano and cello lessons as a youngster and briefly sang in a local church choir. At the age of 11, seeing Eric Clapton play Layla on TV at the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert inspired him to take up the guitar. Ten years later, Ed himself was performing at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert.

Ed left school and home at 16 to focus on playing gigs in London. Despite relentless performing he failed to secure a recording contract and decided to try his luck in America. During a successful stint performing in Los Angeles, he came to the attention of the Academy Award-winning actor and musician Jamie Foxx, and within months of returning to the UK he'd signed a record deal. His first single, The A Team, became a top ten hit around the world and won him an Ivor Novello award, and his second and third albums topped the UK and US charts.

In 2015 he performed at Wembley Stadium as a solo artist for three nights to capacity crowds, and this year he is headlining the Pyramid stage on the final night of Glastonbury.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Ed Sheeran, singer-songwriter, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20170512

His written work has also won him several awards; his book 'The Hare With Amber Eyes' traces the rich and dramatic story of his family's Russian Jewish heritage and the diaspora in Odessa, Paris, Vienna, and Tokyo.

He says, 'I make pots and I write. I'm not one of those people who by mistake became a potter or by mistake is a writer - they are both completely entwined.

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Kirsty Young interviews artist and author Edmund de Waal.

[R4 BD=20121130

Nursing and midwifery have been her life since she won a scholarship to study in the UK in the mid-1950s, when she cycled to appointments in her black raincoat to deliver babies all around London. Married at one time to the prime minister of Somalia, she juggled the high profile role of First Lady with shifts at her local hospital. 'I was born with this desire to fix things,' she says.

As her country's first female foreign minister, she broke deep-rooted taboos by publicly condemning the widespread practice of female genital mutilation - FGM. Her opposition stems from personal experience - she was only eight years old when she endured the invasive procedure herself.

Now 80, she lives on site at her beloved hospital, where more than 22,000 babies have been born since it opened in 2002.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Campaigner Edna Adan Ismail is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20171027

She was living in England when she published her first novel, The Country Girls, in 1960. It was a huge hit and was critically well received - but in Ireland she was decried and her book was burnt in the streets. Although she's lived in London for most of her adult life, she continues to draw on her Irish background for inspiration - she says: 'it's in my roots, and when I dream at night it's the place I go'.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Foggy Dew (Sinead O'Connor) by The Chieftains

Book: Ulysses by James Joyce

Luxury: Vault of a very good white wine

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Edna O'Brien

[R4 BD=20070119

Edward was born in the port city of Takoradi in Ghana in 1972. His father was a major in the Ghanaian army and, following a period of political instability, the family fled the country and settled in London.

Edward's interest in fashion dates back to his childhood in Ghana when he watched his seamstress mother at work making dresses for clients including the President's wife. As a teenager in London he was spotted by the stylist Simon Foxton and began modelling for the irreverent fashion magazine i-D. At 18 Edward became the magazine's fashion director, the youngest person ever to hold this post at an international fashion title.

In 2017 Edward became editor-in-chief of British Vogue and since his appointment he has championed inclusivity and diversity. His cover stars have included Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey and he recently featured the first man - actor Timoth退e Chalamet. Edward was awarded an OBE for services to diversity in the fashion industry in 2016. He married his partner Alec Maxwell this year and they live in London with their dog Ru.

DISC ONE: Kyenkyen Bi Adi Mawu by Alhaji K Frimpong

DISC TWO: Song to the Siren by This Mortal Coil

DISC THREE: Strange Fruit by Nina Simone

DISC FOUR: Back to Life by Soul II Soul

DISC FIVE: Ex-Factor by Lauryn Hill

DISC SIX: Stars of Track & Field by Belle and Sebastian

DISC SEVEN: Peru by Fireboy DML & Ed Sheeran

DISC EIGHT: Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary by Rihanna

BOOK CHOICE: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

LUXURY ITEM: A pair of embroidered slippers

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Strange Fruit by Nina Simone

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Edward Enninful, editor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Get off of My Cloud by The Rolling Stones

Book: Moments of Being by Virginia Woolf

Luxury: An Atkinson Grimshaw painting

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Eileen Atkins

[R4 BD=19981204

Elif Shafak has published ten novels and several volumes of non-fiction and her work is translated into 47 languages. She is the most widely read female novelist in Turkey today.

Born in 1971, she was raised by a single working mother and also, for the first ten years of her life, by her grandmother in Ankara. Her mother's job as a diplomat led to a move to Madrid when Elif was ten years old - and so began a peripatetic life which has taken her to places as diverse as Jordan and Germany, the United States and finally to London where she has lived for the past seven years.

Elif wrote her first novels in Turkish, but began writing in English shortly after the start of the new millennium. English, she says, has given her a new freedom to write about sensitive issues in Turkey. Her books draw on diverse cultures and reflect her interest in history, philosophy, spiritualism and Sufism. One commentator has said of her work: 'Stepping into the writing of this Turkish-born author for the first time is like breaking through the back of a children's wardrobe and walking into a whole new multicultural world of lives and histories - and, above all, fabulous stories.

She is a regular columnist both for English as well as Turkish papers and also writes lyrics for rock musicians.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Elif Shafak is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20170602

She concedes that MI5 has to rely, in large part, on information that is 'patchy and incomplete' and that ultimately the service will always be judged 'by what we do not know and did not prevent'. In her first ever interview, Dame Eliza talks gives her recollections about the day when Britain was targeted by suicide bombers, describes what lay behind her own departure from the service and reveals how her mother's role during World War II fuelled her own interest in public service.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The opening of String Quintet in C by Franz Schubert

Book: The Rattlebag: An Anthology of Poetry by Ted Hughes

Luxury: Large supply of pencils and pens.

Kirsty Young's castaway is former head of MI5 Eliza Manningham-Buller.

[R4 BD=20071123

Ellie is the youngest of five children and was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. Swimming was central to her life from a very early age, and her ambition to compete at the highest level was sparked by watching the Athens 2004 Paralympics on TV at the age of nine, when her mother told her she could take part at any age, as long as she was good enough.

She became the face of the London 2012 Paralympics and won a further two gold medals, followed by another gold in Rio in 2016. Shortly after taking part in the Tokyo Paralympics last year, she announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 26.

She recently presented TV documentaries on conservation and on the controversies surrounding drug treatments for achondroplasia.

DISC ONE: Proud by Heather Small

DISC TWO: Own It by Stormzy ft Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy

DISC THREE: Toxic by Britney Spears

DISC FOUR: Lose Yourself by Eminem

DISC FIVE: Paradise by Coldplay

DISC SIX: Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves

DISC SEVEN: Unforgettable by French Montana feat. Swae Lee

DISC EIGHT: Rocket Man by Elton John

BOOK CHOICE: The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

LUXURY ITEM: A diary and pen

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Rocket Man by Elton John

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Ellie Simmonds, swimmer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Born in 1979, she was a small child when her parents, Jean and Michael, were inspired to make the Glastonbury Festival an annual event, although she wasn't keen on the yearly invasion of the family farm. By her late teens, however, she had changed her views. She left Worthy Farm to study to be a teacher at Goldsmiths College in London but when, at the end of her first year, her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Emily left and went home to help look after her and to help her father run that year's festival.

Emily never went back to university. Motivated by a visit to Haiti to look at Oxfam projects, she spent a few years in London putting on charity gigs, before returning home to work with her father running the festival. She married her husband, Nick Dewey, manager of The Chemical Brothers in 2009. The couple have three children and live on Worthy Farm.

BOOK CHOICE: The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

LUXURY: Carpenter's tool set (so she can build her own veranda)

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go by Bob Dylan

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

DISC ONE: Madame George - Van Morrison

DISC TWO: Paranoid Android - Radiohead

DISC THREE: You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan

DISC FOUR: High Tide Or Low Tide - Bob Marley

DISC FIVE: Landslide (Live at Warner Brothers Studios) - Fleetwood Mac

DISC SIX: That's Life - Frank Sinatra

DISC SEVEN: Winterlude - Guy Garvey & Peter Jobson

DISC EIGHT: Crazy In Love - Beyonc退

LUXURY CHOICE: Carpenter's tool set (so she can build her own veranda)

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go - Bob Dylan

~Desert Island Discs was created by Roy Plomley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.

Emily Eavis, festival co-organiser, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

[R4 BD=20190628

It is an unlikely career for someone who studied English at University. Together with her husband, illustrator Matthew Rice, Emma Bridgewater has played a part in keeping the pottery tradition alive in Stoke-on-Trent. The factory also now hosts an annual literary festival.

She was awarded a CBE in 2013 for services to industry.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Emma Bridgewater, pottery designer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

[R4 BD=20161202

Sense and Sensibility, The Remains of the Day, Much Ado About Nothing and Howards End are just a handful of her notable screen credits in a dazzling career that has seen her pick up Oscars for both acting and writing.

She appears to have pulled off that rare trick of being both a star and one of us - she famously keeps her brace of Oscars in the downstairs loo, still lives across the road from her mum and holidays in a cottage in Scotland where, she says, she and her husband spend a third of the year 'digging in like a pair of old potatoes.

Record: Corarsik

Book: Homer's Odyssey

Luxury: A saucepan - heavy bottomed with a removable handle.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actress and writer Emma Thompson.

[R4 BD=20100402

He was born Arnold George (Gerry) Dorsey in 1936 in India and was one of 10 children. At the age of 10, his family returned to the UK and Leicester. At 17 he began performing in clubs and pubs. In 1965 his manager changed his name to Engelbert Humperdinck but it was still two years before his chance arrived. His big break came in April 1967 when Dickie Valentine was ill and Engelbert took his slot on the show Sunday Night at the London Palladium. His single Release Me flew off the shelves staying in the charts for 56 weeks. He went off to conquer America and there he shared the bill with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra while he counted Elvis Presley as a close friend. He starts a new UK tour in February next year and his autobiography Engelbert - What's in a Name? was published this year.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Return to Me by Dean Martin

Book: What's in a Name? by Engelbert Humperdinck

Luxury: A saxophone

Sue Lawley's castaway is singer Engelbert Humperdinck

[R4 BD=20041224

[R4 BD=1997062

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Flute Concerto No 1 in D Major Op 44R Op 44 by Antonio Vivaldi

Book: Arabian Nights (1000 and One Nights)

Luxury: Dark room, film and camera

Sue Lawley's castaway is photojournalist Eve Arnold

[R4 BD=19960726

She was groomed for success by Rupert Murdoch, but made an editor by Robert Maxwell. Her career has spanned glossy magazines and tabloid journalism, breakfast television, biographies and novels. When she first worked on Fleet Street, she says, women were such a rarity that the male reporters didn't know what to make of her. 'Any woman who has a high flying job, they don't know who to compare you to - you're not their mum, you're not their sister, you're not their wife - so they make you a sort of monster-nanny figure.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Eve Pollard is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20111216

Her big screen credits include Les Miserables, The King's Speech and Vera Drake and for TV The Hour, Upstairs Downstairs and Call The Midwife. Responsible for locations, scenery and all the props she is renowned for creating entirely convincing, cohesive worlds that capture a beguiling sense of time, place and spirit. Not even the requirement for nine tons of Scottish seaweed or noiseless rubber rosary beads will defeat her.

Her trademark is her relentless attention to detail and she slavishly trawls the archives for visual clues and references. It would seem that the bug bit her early - she says:

'When I was a little girl I used to have lots of doll's houses. Now I have lots of big ones and get to do it on a bigger scale.'

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Bafta-winning production designer Eve Stewart is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20130809

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Dark Lochnagar by Jimmy O'Brien Moran

Book: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

Luxury: Chromatic Harmonica

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Ewan McGregor

[R4 BD=20020104

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 5th movement, String Quartet No 13 in Bflat by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Rattlebag: An Anthology of Poetry by Ted Hughes

Luxury: Egg tempura paints, brushes, and boards to paint on

Sue Lawley's castaway is landscape photographer Fay Godwin

[R4 BD=20020322

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Goldberg Variations Nos. 1 and 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Luxury: A huge supply of ouzo

Sue Lawley's castaway is restaurant critic Fay Maschler

[R4 BD=19990319

The author of dozens of novels, essays and radio and TV dramas, she says she spends so much time inventing characters and storylines that the distinction between fact and fiction has become blurred.

As a child, Fay Weldon believed she had a second sight - seeing people who weren't there and hearing voices that no-one else could hear. As an adult, her perceptive nature has served her well too and she says: 'I think I know what goes on in other people's heads - more than most people do.

Record: Rockin' My Life Away -Jerry Lee Lewis

Book: Kennedy's Latin Primer

Luxury: A shotgun.

[R4 BD=20100514

As hem-lines headed north in the early 60s she was hitting her stride in Fleet Street. She was the first woman on the board of a national paper and, as society changed, she kept right up with it. She introduced readers to Mary Quant, Biba and Twiggy and, on one memorable occasion, gave Harold Wilson's wife Mary a home perm.

Now in her mid-80s she is still mentoring students at St Martin's College and says 'I have never been fashionable - fashion needs to be followed at a very, very respectful distance. My blue-print for fashion is to be simple and stylish.

Record: Chan Chan

Book: Finishing the Hat by Stephen Sondheim

Luxury: A bronze sculpture by Giles Penny

Producer: Rachel Simpson.

Fashion journalist Felicity Green joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20110422

As a child, she had always loved singing, but was, she says, a shy, gawky girl who didn't have sharp enough elbows to get to the top. She tried her hand at teaching, but found she was so crippled with nerves that she had to abandon the idea. By good fortune she was delivered to a singing teacher who spotted her talent and gave her encouragement. It was exactly what she needed - she has enjoyed a career spanning more than 30 years and over that time has won a large and loyal army of fans.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Moonlight Music - the prelude to the final scene of Capriccio by Richard Strauss

Book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Luxury: Lots of champagne and pistachio nuts.

Kirsty Young's castaway is soprano Felicity Lott.

[R4 BD=20080718

For many years his life was one of addiction and excess - but latterly the only thing he feels compelled to do each day is write poetry and he's become one of a very rare breed - a best-selling poet.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: One Too Many Mornings by Bob Dylan

Book: The Dictionary of National Biography

Luxury: A very long stainless steel shaft to encourage pole-dancing mermaids!

Kirsty Young's castaway is publisher Felix Dennis.

[R4 BD=20070817

Fiona was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Her father was a former coal miner who worked as a hospital porter and her mother was a midwife. After graduating in Russian and History from St Andrews University, she won a scholarship to read Soviet Studies at Harvard. She spent the next three decades establishing herself as a policy expert on Russia.

In 2017 she joined the National Security Council at the White House as deputy assistant to President Trump and senior director for Europe and Russia. She left the administration in 2019 and later that year she testified to the US Congress as a witness in the hearings which led up to Donald Trump's first impeachment trial in 2020.

Fiona's performance and North East accent caused a stir and her personal story was discussed in American newspapers and on television. Strangers in the street thanked her, but she also received death threats from people who opposed the observations she recounted during her testimony.

Fiona is a senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution, a think tank based in Washington DC. She became an American citizen in 2002.

DISC ONE: Message in a Bottle by The Police

DISC TWO: It's only a Paper Moon by Ella Fitzgerald

DISC THREE: Ghost Town by The Specials

DISC FOUR: The Passenger by Iggy Pop

DISC FIVE: Goodbye America by Nautilus Pompilius

DISC SIX: On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

DISC SEVEN: Hypersonic Missiles by Sam Fender

DISC EIGHT: This is the Day by The The

BOOK CHOICE: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Fiona writes about how her dad saved up to buy the Encyclopaedia Britannica - you'll find the story in the Background section.

LUXURY ITEM: Crystallised ginger

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: This is the Day by The The

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Fiona Hill, foreign affairs expert, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Salutation from Dies Natalis by Finzi

Book: The Making of the English Landscape by W G Hoskins

Luxury: The full collection of Ordnance Survey maps of the British Isles

Sue Lawley's castaway is Director-General of the National Trust Fiona Reynolds

[R4 BD=20020412

Although now in her 60s, retired to her bed and celibate, she is still writing lyrics and performing her poetry and has just published a new collection of her work. From poor little rich girl to a life of bohemian excess, she looks back at her experiences - free love, free speech and mind-expanding drugs - on Desert Island Discs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Down by Nicki Leighton Thomas

Book: Rebel Without Applause and Jay Walking by Jay Landesman

Luxury: Cannabis seeds

Sue Lawley's castaway is songwriter Fran Landesman

[R4 BD=19960927

Frances is the youngest of five children, and was brought up in Oxford. Her family has strong links with the trade union movement: her great grandfather and grandfather were founder members of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union, and her father was a shop steward at the British Leyland plant in Cowley.

Thanks to strong encouragement from one of her teachers, Frances was the first of her family to go to university, studying History and Politics at Manchester. After graduation, she moved to London and worked in shops and the hospitality industry, becoming a union rep before getting a job at the Transport and General Workers Union. She joined the TUC in 1994 as Campaigns Secretary, became Deputy General Secretary in 2003 and General Secretary a decade later. In 2020, during the pandemic, she worked with the government on the furlough scheme, providing support for workers whose usual employment.

In April 2022, she announced that she would step down from her post at the end of this year.

DISC ONE: It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones

DISC TWO: Burn It Down by Dexys Midnight Runners

DISC THREE: Double Barrel by Dave & Ansell Collins

DISC FOUR: Atmosphere by Joy Division

DISC FIVE: Funkin' for Jamaica by Tom Browne

DISC SIX: Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis

DISC SEVEN: Pieces of a Man by Gil Scott-Heron

DISC EIGHT: A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke

BOOK CHOICE: History by Elsa Morante

LUXURY ITEM: A painting set with edible paints

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Double Barrel by Dave & Ansell Collins

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Frances O'Grady, TUC General Secretary, shares the soundtrack of her life.

As head of the Chinese collection at the British Library she is the gatekeeper to some of the rarest printed texts in the world. Her life has been immersed in the language and culture of the Far East and, along the way, she's spent time learning how to throw hand-grenades, plant rice in the paddy-fields and bundle Chinese cabbages.

She was in China in the final months of Mao Zedong's regime and remembers being aware of the sense of national unease: 'There were the bodies that floated down the Pearl River to Hong Kong - you did get a real sense of foreboding. You did know that the whole country was on edge.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: Don Carlos

Book: A copy of Chinese dictionary Cihai, (which means Sea of Words) from the 1930s

Luxury: The War Memorial outside Euston Station.

Writer and historian Frances Wood joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20101210

Educated at Yale and Oxford she initially thought she'd pursue an academic life - but within weeks of her son's birth, found that ideas for children's stories started flowing. She's now written twenty books featuring her creation Horrid Henry and they sell in their millions.

She sees Horrid Henry as sitting within the long tradition of anarchic characters in children's literature. She says: 'Everyone responds to Henry because I think everyone feels - however conventional they seem on the outside - that they are rebellious and unconventional, and Henry really taps into that.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Children's author Francesca Simon is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20111111

In the war he fought as a partisan and twice faced a firing squad before he met up with the 1st Scots Guards and became their interpreter. As well as using his linguistic talents, the Scots Guards gave him an early opportunity for theatrical creativity, and he made an open-air auditorium from 30 army trucks and some camouflage netting. After the war he studied art and architecture and was drawn into the worlds of theatre and film, working as assistant to the Marxist director Luchino Visconti initially but soon designing and directing his own films, plays and operas. His filmography runs to some 20 movies from the ground-breaking, and at the time shocking Romeo and Juliet of 1968 to the brooding Jane Eyre of 1996 via his stunning seven-hour Jesus of Nazareth for television in 1977, not to mention his 1990 Hamlet with Mel Gibson in the leading role. On stage he is famed for his opulent productions at the opera and he has worked with the titans of the art including Maria Callas, Placido Domingo, Joan Sutherland and Herbert Von Karajan.

He is in London to direct Pirandello's Absolutely! (Perhaps) starring Joan Plowright and Oliver Ford Davies, which opened at Wyndham's Theatre on 7th May.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Casta diva (from Norma) by Vincenzo Bellini

Book: Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Luxury: A hammock from Hermes

Sue Lawley's castaway is director Franco Zeffirelli

[R4 BD=20030523

His film credits include Hilary and Jackie, Welcome to Sarajevo and 24 Hour Party People. He's also written TV soaps, radio and stage plays and children's novels.

These days children are his main audience and, as a father of seven himself, he should know what they want. He not only tests his ideas on them, but they keep him focused: 'I need them in the house to make sure I'm not watching telly, or having a four-hour bath - the fact that they're there makes me work.

Record: Miserere by Allegri

Book: The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin

Luxury: A ferris wheel.

[R4 BD=20100326

But in June last year the reporter became the news. He and his cameraman were attacked by gunmen while they filmed in Saudi Arabia. His colleague was killed, he was shot six times and left for dead. Incredibly, he survived - though with devastating injuries. Now he is paraplegic - he has some feeling and movement in his legs above the knee but none below. He uses a wheelchair for most of the day though remains determined to walk some of the time using callipers and a walking frame. Nearly a year after the attack he returned to work - continuing to analyse the terrorist threat and trying to explain the circumstances behind it - he is, he says, busier than ever.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Third movement of Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: A Passage to India by E.M Forster

Luxury: A solar-powered buggy

Sue Lawley's castaway is BBC Security correspondent Frank Gardner

[R4 BD=20051007

[R4 BD=2001062

As a football-obsessed comic whose stand-up routines were peppered with details of his personal life, he became the poster-boy for the 'Loaded' generation. Beneath the surface, though, he seems to be full of contradictions. He was expelled from school when he was a teenager - but went on to gain a masters degree; he has long been obsessed with Elvis Presley - but now says he feels a tingle when he goes to the opera. Although he had long enjoyed entertaining his friends, he was 30 before he realised where his future lay. 'I was an unemployed drunk going nowhere,' he says, 'And then comedy turned up. Comedy saved my life

Record: The Fall

Book: Teach yourself French

Luxury: A ukulele.

[R4 BD=20100618

He has managed and promoted some of the biggest names in the sport, including Joe Calzaghe, Prince Naseem Hamed, Ricky Hatton and the Olympic medal winner Amir Khan.

Over the past three decades he has lost fortunes and remade them, survived an assassination attempt and even a run-in with Mike Tyson. Boxing has been good to him, he says, but now he says he wants to find something that will nourish his soul too.

Record: Don't Worry 'Bout Me, Billie Holiday

Book: Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

Luxury: Merlot grapevine.

[R4 BD=20100129

But in 2000 he thought his luck had run out when he and fellow jockey Ray Cochrane left Newmarket in a light aircraft - only for it to plunge to the ground moments after take-off. He thought he was about to die and on coming round in the wreckage was not sure whether he was alive or dead. The event left him undecided as to what to do next. He was a hugely popular team captain on BBC TV's A Question of Sport for two years, but a chance remark from one of the contestants who thought he had retired made him realise he had to focus on being a jockey. He returned to the sport with a renewed vigour and became Champion jockey once again. Now a father of five, Frankie plans to retire at 45 and hopes that by then he will have won the Epsom Derby - the only major title that has so far eluded him.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Amazing Grace by Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

Book: The History of the Derby

Luxury: Lifetime's supply of Pinot Grigio

Sue Lawley's castaway is jockey Frankie Dettori

[R4 BD=20060120

One of the best players of his generation, he was part of the England team that won the Ashes in 2005, a year that marked his sporting coming of age. On the strength of that historic victory he was awarded an MBE for services to the game, and the public voted him BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Barely out of his pram when he picked up a cricket ball he turned out to bat for an under-14 match when he was just six years old. His debut was not in crisp cricket whites, but in a second hand Manchester United tracksuit, setting the tone for someone who's made a habit of doing things his way. Not least at a 10 Downing Street reception when, somewhat the worse for wear, he weaved into the cabinet room, plonked himself down in the PM's chair and knocked back yet another bottle of beer.

Since retiring from the game he's had a go at heavyweight boxing and won the bout. One area where he hasn't come out on top: his sons never listen to his cricket coaching tips.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to former England cricketer Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff.

[R4 BD=20150710

He was born in Chicago but came to England as a boy - where, his father advised him, he could grow up to be 'an English gentleman' rather than 'an American Jew'. While his parents did not want to disown their faith, nor did they want to be defined by it and they were very cautious about the way Jews were perceived in Britain before the Second World War. He was one of only a handful of Jewish boys at boarding school and was isolated and miserable there. But his loneliness led him to the solitary pursuit of writing - an occupation where he could right the wrongs he had suffered. A bright pupil, his own glittering prize was winning a scholarship to Cambridge - after that, he said, no other success in his life could compare.

For the past 50 years he has split his time between London, France and Greece - accompanied all the time by his wife, Sylvia-Betty.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Vorka Sto Yialo by Manos Tacticos & his Bouzoukis

Book: Oxford Latin Dictionary

Luxury: Mont Blanc pen, nibs and spiral squared notebooks

Sue Lawley's castaway is screenwriter Frederic Raphael

[R4 BD=20060224

Gabby was born in Leeds and her father Terry Yorath is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United and for the Welsh national team. As a young girl she was a rhythmic gymnast and represented Wales in the Commonwealth Games in 1990. She retired from the sport the following year after struggling with severe back pain.

In 1996 she joined Sky Sports as a presenter, moving to ITV two years later where she became one of the first female sports anchors to break into terrestrial television and the first woman to host the channel's football coverage.

Gabby joined the BBC in 2007 where she has presented Final Score, Inside Sport and Match of the Day. She also co-presents the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards show. In 2021 Gabby was awarded an MBE for services to sports broadcasting and the promotion of women in sport.

Gabby is married to the former rugby union player Kenny Logan and they have two children.

DISC ONE: Abide With Me by Emeli Sand退

DISC TWO: Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

DISC THREE: Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

DISC FOUR: Going Home: Theme Of The Local Hero (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, 1983) by Dire Straits

DISC FIVE: Daniel by Elton John

DISC SIX: Belter by Gerry Cinnamon

DISC SEVEN: As by George Michael & Mary J. Blige

DISC EIGHT: You Got the Love by The Source, featuring Candi Staton

BOOK CHOICE: Every Ruddy Word by Alan Partridge

LUXURY ITEM: A piano

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You Got the Love by The Source, featuring Candi Staton

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Gabby Logan, broadcaster, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Gareth's first two TV series, which charted his attempts to build successful choirs in schools with little or no tradition of singing together, both won major awards, and gripped and inspired viewers. He has since also worked widely on TV with adult groups from a wide range of backgrounds, and his Military Wives Choir even hit the top of the charts at Christmas.

Once described as a human tuning fork, Gareth loved music from an early age - and as he recalls, his parents and grandmother took a strong interest in his own youthful performances, from his very first school concerts. As a teenager, he felt an outsider amongst his fellow pupils, because he found his music teacher so inspiring. After time spent as a youth worker, and as a music educator, Gareth's TV series have taken him all over the country becoming - in his words - 'an evangelist for music.'.

Gareth Malone, choirmaster, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20161230

He grew up in the Soviet Union, the only child of engineer parents. He learned chess by watching his parents play as they worked out chess problems in the newspaper. As a five year old he was fascinated by the mysterious little pieces and the board with its 64 squares.

Garry Kasparov's father died when he was seven and it was his mother who guided him on his chess career. As a player, he was nicknamed the Beast of Baku, because of his dynamic style at the chessboard. He became a grandmaster on his 17th birthday and went on to become the World Champion after beating Anatoly Karpov in a now-legendary series of games in the mid-1980s.

He played high-profile matches against the IBM computer Deep Blue in 1996 and 1997. Since his retirement from competitive chess, he has written numerous books and become a high-profile political activist.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Garry Kasparov, chess grandmaster, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20180202

Born in Cheshire in 1971, his interest in music was sparked at an early age by a child's keyboard. At the age of 10, he saw Depeche Mode on Top of the Pops, prompting the desire to take to the stage himself. He wrote A Million Love Songs, which later became a Top 10 hit for Take That, in his bedroom when he was 15. By this time he was a regular performer in a Labour club just across the Welsh border, where he cut his teeth playing the organ and singing.

By the time he was 18, he was so good at writing songs that he successfully auditioned for a place in the group which became Take That. They went on to be one of the most successful bands of all time, winning a devoted audience with tracks such as Back For Good, Everything Changes and Pray. When they broke up in early 1996, helplines were set up to assuage their fans' feelings of loss and grief. In 2005, Take That reformed, with Robbie Williams rejoining them for a spell in 2010, and - in some form or other - the band has kept going and will tour again in 2019.

Gary was put in charge of organising the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert and performed at the closing ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012. He was a judge on the X-Factor for three series and his talent show, Let It Shine, was broadcast on BBC One in 2017. Earlier this year he published a second autobiography.

BOOK CHOICE: Recording the Beatles by by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew.

LUXURY ITEM: Piano

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Nimrod by Elgar

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Gary Barlow, musician and Take That front man, is interviewed by Lauren Laverne.

In his teens he began to learn the guitar and piano, and formed a local band whilst at high school, finding that performing was a good way to overcome his shyness. Spotted by what Gene calls 'the proverbial fat man with a cigar', he was taken to New York and recording contracts soon followed. Soon his songs were being recorded by some of the biggest stars of the time - Hello Mary Lou was released by Rick Nelson, Roy Orbison recorded Today's Teardrops as the B-side to his million-selling single, Blue Angel, and Rubber Ball became a worldwide hit for US artist Bobby Vee and UK artist Marty Wilde. By the mid sixties Gene had found international success with the Bacharach song Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa. In 1990 he had his first number one in this country with Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart, a duet with Marc Almond.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Last Song by Elton John

Book: The Giant Book of Mensa Puzzles by Robert Allen

Luxury: Case of Opus One wine

Sue Lawley's castaway is singer-songwriter Gene Pitney

[R4 BD=20030307

Gene Wilder talks to Sue Lawley and remembers his starring roles in films like Blazing Saddles and The Producers.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Don't Explain by Nina Simone

Book: The Notebooks of Captain Georges by Jean Renoir

Luxury: Earl Grey tea

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Gene Wilder

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With a face 'reminiscent of a bloodhound mourning a lost scent', Palmer has, by his own admission 'cornered the market in playing dull, plodding men'. Many of his characters live out lives characterised by petty worries, suburban frustration and missed opportunities, but he plays them brilliantly, and with a sympathy that elevates them to the status of unlikely heroes. Geoffrey's grumpy on-screen persona has also recently led to him doing the narration for the BBC TV series Grumpy Old Men, which has become a cult hit and brought him a whole new generation of viewers. He was awarded an OBE in the new year honours list.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: One O'Clock Jump by Benny Goodman

Book: Oxford Book of English Verse by Arthur Quiller-Couch & Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse by Philip Larkin

Luxury: Fly-fishing rod

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Geoffrey Palmer

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Now decided on a career in acting, George moved to L.A. in 1982 and for a year tried to get a role while he slept in a friend's closet. His first film, in which he starred with Charlie Sheen, stayed unreleased, but got him the producers' attention for later contracts. He got parts in sit-coms such as The Facts Of Life, and Roseanne, and earned decent money, although fame eluded him. Then came a part as Doug Ross in the US TV drama ER. It was to be a huge success and made George's name around the world. Film parts soon flooded in and today he is one of Hollywood's biggest stars, featuring in many Hollywood blockbusters such as From Dusk Til Dawn, One Fine Day, The Peacemaker, Out of Sight, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Ocean's Eleven. After numerous Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, in 2001 George was awarded a Golden Globe for best leading actor in a comedy for O Brother, Where Art Thou?

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Destination Moon by Dinah Washington

Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Luxury: An anchored yacht

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor George Clooney

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His trick is knowing his market, and he does that by carefully studying the details of how his clothes sell. Each week he analyses sales figures for every garment, in every store up and down the country - the result, he says, is that he not only knows what women like, he knows what they think.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers

Book: A book about learning to paint

Luxury: A Cannondale Bike

Sue Lawley's castaway is businessman and designer George Davies

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Since 1982 he has been nominated for four more Oscars (for Cry Freedom, The Fisher King and Dangerous Liaisons) and three Golden Globes; he's won three BAFTAs, two Ivor Novello Awards and an EMMY and written music for more than 100 television productions including Bergerac, The Jewel in the Crown, Talking Heads and The Blue Planet. In addition he cornered the market in jingles for daily news bulletins across the BBC. George Fenton is a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music in London, and regularly appears on television arts shows and documentaries as an authority on music.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: On Going to Sleep from Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss

Book: Short Stories by Anton Chekhov

Luxury: A piano or, failing that, for comfort a tin of condensed milk & tin opener

Sue Lawley's castaway is composer George Fenton

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George won the gold medal for heavyweight boxing at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 and became a professional boxer. He defeated Joe Frazier in 1973 and became heavyweight champion at the age of 24. After being defeated by Muhammed Ali at the infamous Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, George took up religion and became a preacher, giving up boxing for good, or so he thought. By the mid-80s George was short of money: he was building a community centre and wanted it to be well stocked with equipment. So he returned to the only honest way he knew of making money. Ten years out of practice in 1987 when he was 38, George started to train again. Remarkably, on 5 November 1994, at the age of 45, George won the heavyweight title for the second time - this time against Michael Moorer, aged 26, by a knockout in the 10th round.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: All You Need Is Love by The Beatles

Book: An anthology of poems which include the poem Waiting by John Burroughs

Luxury: A pillow

Sue Lawley's castaway is boxer George Foreman

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Title Music for the Adventures of Robin Hood by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Book: Complete Oxford English Dictionary

Luxury: Typewriter

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer George MacDonald Fraser

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Bess You Is My Woman Now by George Gershwin

Book: A book on how to build a boat

Luxury: An electric keyboard

Sue Lawley's castaway is record producer, composer and 'fifth beatle' George Martin

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Born in Glasgow, he grew up in Edinburgh where he studied zoology at university. Following a PhD in entomology, he went on to teach and research at the University of Oxford. He gave up his post as the assistant curator of the university's Museum of Natural History after 25 years to follow his dream of becoming a television presenter.

He has presented documentaries from far-flung locations including Borneo, Guyana and New Guinea. He has made it his life's work to uncover the mysteries of the largely uncatalogued world of invertebrates which he says makes up close to 80% of life on earth.

In 2018 he was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer and the following year he turned the camera on himself to present a very personal programme about his diagnosis and treatment.

DISC ONE: Love Reign O'er Me by The Who

DISC TWO: The Dark Island by The Pipes and Drums of The Black Watch

DISC THREE: Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85, composed by Edward Elgar, performed by Jacqueline du Pr退 and London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

DISC FOUR: Night Lament by Kate Rusby

DISC FIVE: To Begin at the Beginning read by Richard Burton, from Under Milk Wood

DISC SIX: Keep Talking by Pink Floyd

DISC SEVEN: Sola, Perduta, Abbandonata by Maria Callas and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Tullio Serafin

DISC EIGHT: The Bog by Einojuhani Rautavaara

BOOK CHOICE: A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor

LUXURY ITEM: Hot sauce

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85, performed by Jacqueline du Pr退 and London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

George McGavin, entomologist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

His ability to write, produce, and perform perfect pop songs is unquestioned. But along with the career highs, there have been lows too: he lost a long wrangle with his record company, was crippled by bereavement and for years questions about his sexuality were a matter of newspaper headlines until he was spectacularly outed a decade ago. In a rare interview, George Michael talks candidly to Kirsty Young about how he regained his emotional and professional confidence - and is now a happier and more peaceful man.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Love is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse

Book: Any book of short stories by Doris Lessing

Luxury: DB9 car.

Kirsty Young's castaway is singer George Michael.

[R4 BD=20071005

Geraldine James became a household name 20 years ago for her performance as Sarah Layton in the epic, lavish series The Jewel in the Crown. But she is also used to far more earthy roles - one of her first television performances was portraying the real-life story of a deaf/mute prostitute from Bradford for which she won a TV Critics' award. The TV role she took after Jewel in the Crown was as the redoubtable and beefy Lady Maud in Blott on the Landscape and, later, more northern prostitutes in Band of Gold.

She is a well respected stage actress - key roles include Portia in the Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman and When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout. Her most recent screen work was as the prim and disapproving Women's Institute leader in the hugely successful film Calendar Girls. After school she studied drama at the Drama Centre, London, and spent three years in repertory theatre and school theatre before embarking on her television career; most recently as Lady Rowley in Trollope's He Knew He was Right. She was made an OBE in 2003.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: In Tears of Grief, Dear Lord We Leave Thee by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

Luxury: iPod

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Geraldine James

[R4 BD=20040611

The X Files turned out to be a massive success and in September 1993, Gillian began a nine-year stint in the FOX TV series. For her role she received two Screen Actors Guild awards, an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series. In 1999 Gillian wrote and directed her own episode. In 2000, Gillian played Lily Bart in the Terence Davies' feature The House of Mirth and won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress. This year she debuts on the West End in Michael Weller's What the Night is For.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley

Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Luxury: Recordings of her daughter and 'her love' reading self-written stories and poetry

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Gillian Anderson

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Wales's National Poet, she has received the Queen's Gold Medal for her work. She writes about everything from dinosaurs to suicide, but the potency and power of nature is a recurring motif.

Although she's recognised for her significant and distinguished contribution to her homeland's literature and culture, her verse has been translated into ten languages and she regularly receives fan mail from South America, Pakistan and most countries in between.

Aside from writing, her main project in life is the conservation of her own small patch of West Wales - restoring hedges, conserving bluebells and tending sheep take up her spare time.

She says, 'A poem is the only work of art you can have for nothing. Read it, memorise it, copy it into your notebook and it's yours.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young talks to poet Gillian Clarke.

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She took up an internship in America, where she met her husband, and they returned to Liverpool when she became pregnant with the first of her three sons. She first worked as a radio critic for the Guardian in 1967. She became the first female controller of a commercial radio station when she joined Radio City, Liverpool, in 1974. She moved to London in 1975 when she left her troubled marriage, and secured the job of radio critic for the Telegraph, as well as working as a journalist in television and radio, at one point even co-presenting the Today programme.

She chaired the Sony Radio Awards for four years, the only woman to have done so, and the Radio Academy Festival for a decade. She lives alone, but with around two dozen radios, in Notting Hill.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Gillian Reynolds, radio critic, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: War Requiem Libera Me by Benjamin Britten

Book: The History and Creation of a Japanese Sand Garden

Luxury: A bath

Sue Lawley's castaway is transport minister Glenda Jackson

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She was among the vanguard of women who tried to have it all - to combine motherhood with a fulfilling career. Her eldest daughter, Caron Keating, followed her into the profession and shared Gloria's ready warmth and wit. But Caron was just 41 when she died from breast cancer and Gloria's moving account of her experiences has now touched tens of thousands of people.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Miss You Nights by Cliff Richard

Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Luxury: Family photographs

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster Gloria Hunniford

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At the forefront of the second wave of feminism, she came to prominence after publishing an article entitled 'After Black Power, Women's Liberation' in 1969. Two years later she co-founded the feminist magazine Ms. As an activist, she has spent much of her life travelling, giving talks and lecturing.

Born in 1934 in Ohio, her father was a businessman who ran a lake-side resort in the summer and packed up his family at the first sign of frost to travel cross-country in a caravan selling antiques. Her mother had been a newspaper journalist and later suffered a nervous breakdown before Gloria was born. She became her mother's sole carer aged eleven when her parents divorced. It was only following their separation, having settled down in a house in Toledo, that she spent her first full year at school.

After high school, she read politics and government and then traveled around India for two years on a fellowship. On her return, she established herself as a writer in 1960s New York and co-founded Ms. magazine in 1971. Since then, her writing has appeared in innumerable magazines, newspapers, anthologies, television commentaries, political campaigns, and film documentaries in America and internationally. In 2013 she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest honour, by Barack Obama.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews feminist, writer and activist Gloria Steinem.

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Dispensing fashion advice and hugs in equal measure, he aims, he says, to 'make women feel like women, not like turkeys'.

Yet although he made his name as a stylist, his special talent isn't for fashion, but for gaining people's trust. He understands only too well the emotional journey he is asking women to make; the first person he had to transform was himself, and that, he says, is very much work in progress.

Record: The Promise

Book: Beautiful Thing by Jonathan Harvey

Luxury: Lip balm.

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Like most things in Tinseltown the image is somewhat at odds with the reality. Goldie is an Academy Award winner and producer who's been on the A list for 40-odd years, starring alongside Peter Sellers, Walter Matthau and Woody Allen. She's now transmuted from fantasy pin-up to best selling author - she writes parenting manuals and spearheads a childhood learning initiative.

She tells Kirsty about her journey from dancing in sleazy go-go bars to bagging an Oscar, how she coped with the difficulties her early success brought her and how she met her husband of 29 years, Kurt Russell.

Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Yellow by Coldplay

Book: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Luxury: A fresh vanilla pod

Sue Lawley's castaway is chef Gordon Ramsay

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Graham was born in 1942 and grew up in Salford. He found his singing voice at the age of six when he realised that not only could he sing, but he had the ability to harmonise any melody.

He is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Over the years, Graham has written many hit songs for The Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash including Our House and Marrakesh Express. Alongside his critically acclaimed musical career, Graham is also a successful photographer. His photos have been on show in galleries and museums around the world.

He lives in New York with his third wife.

DISC ONE: Be-bop-a-Lula - Gene Vincent

DISC TWO: Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis

DISC THREE: Maybe Baby - Buddy Holly and the Crickets

DISC FOUR: Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers

DISC FIVE: God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

DISC SIX: Adagio for Strings, composed by Samuel Barber and performed by City of London Sinfonia conducted, by Richard Hickox

DISC SEVEN: Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush

DISC EIGHT: A Day In The Life - The Beatles

BOOK CHOICE: The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto

LUXURY ITEM: A sleeping bag

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A Day In The Life - The Beatles

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Graham Nash, musician, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren laverne.

Graham Nash, musician, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

He started dressing in his sister's clothes when he was a child - initially as part of his imaginative games and then for an erotic thrill. In part, women's clothes represented the tender emotions he was too scared to show in his repressive and sometimes frightening family home. Now, they're a way of controlling how people see him, what kind of attention he attracts and, if nothing else, they're a unique selling point. He acknowledges the debt he owes to his profession; only the arts would tolerate, he says, a transvestite potter from Essex.

Favourite track: Prophecies by Philip Glass

Book: An art book on Gothic and Renaissance altar pieces

Luxury: Loads of really good pens and paper

Kirsty Young's castaway is potter Grayson Perry.

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But his critics say that it is his passion and instinct that ultimately led to his downfall. He was forced to resign from the BBC after a bitter row that erupted between the corporation and Downing Street about its coverage of the Iraq war. His departure, which followed considerable mud-slinging, ill temper and tragedy, prompted a huge display of loyalty from his staff as thousands gathered on the steps to wish him a tearful goodbye. Since then, he's kept a low profile - but doesn't rule out a return to high office if the right job came along.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

Book: Complete Works by Dylan Thomas

Luxury: A guitar with a guide to playing it.

Kirsty Young's castaway is former Director-General of the BBC Greg Dyke.

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Greg was born in Germany in 1971 where his father was a surveyor in the army. The family returned to the UK a few years later and, following his parents' divorce, Greg and his two younger siblings were brought up by his mother in Halifax. He describes his mother's fortitude in bringing up three children on a tight budget as inspirational.

Greg left school at 16 to write video games but returned to education a few years later to complete his A-Levels. He went on to study economics at Cambridge University and then joined Procter and Gamble's graduate scheme where he worked in marketing.

He became managing director of a mirror business when he was still in his twenties and then began flexing his business acumen by investing in a series of tech start-up businesses. In 2015 he secured £10m in investment to start a new energy company.

Greg has two sons and lives in west London.

DISC ONE: The Only Way is Up - Yazz & The Plastic Population

DISC TWO: Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden

DISC THREE: Shipping Forecast (BBC Radio 4) Read by Eugene Fraser

DISC FOUR: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2

DISC FIVE: Dizzy - The Wonder Stuff and Vic Reeves

DISC SIX: The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

DISC SEVEN: One Day Like This - Elbow

DISC EIGHT: Rockaway Beach - Motörhead

BOOK CHOICE: The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'Brien

LUXURY ITEM: A pinball machine

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: One Day Like This - Elbow

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Greg Jackson, entrepreneur, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Greg Jackson, entrepreneur, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

DISC EIGHT: Rockaway Beach - Mot怀rhead

Greta Gerwig is the director of the feature film Barbie - the first woman in cinematic history to have the sole director's credit for a billion dollar blockbuster. Her previous films include Lady Bird, inspired in part by her own childhood, and Little Women, a widely acclaimed adaptation of the much-loved novel.

Greta was born and brought up in Sacramento in California. Her parents encouraged her love of the arts and she started trying to direct her friends in productions while she was still in kindergarten. She studied English and Philosophy at Barnard College in New York where she started acting and writing.

After she graduated she appeared in a series of low budget, improvised, so-called mumblecore films, noted for their often low-key naturalistic style. Her solo directorial debut came in 2017 with Lady Bird, starring Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf. The film won two Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for five Academy Awards. Her follow up film, Little Women, received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Greta has been named president of the jury for next year's Cannes Film Festival. She lives with her partner, the writer and director Noah Baumbach, and two sons in Manhattan.

DISC ONE: Opening: I Hope I Get It - Don Pippin, A Chorus Line Orchestra, A Chorus Line Ensemble

DISC TWO: Pinball Wizard - The Who

DISC THREE: Sleigh Ride - Johnny Mathis, Percy Faith & His Orchestra

DISC FOUR: And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind - Elvis Presley

DISC FIVE: Moonage Daydream - David Bowie

DISC SIX: Top Hat, White Tie and Tails - Johnny Green & His Orchestra, Fred Astaire

DISC SEVEN: Camelot: Finale Ultimo - Camelot Orchestra conducted by Franz Allers, Original Broadway Cast of Camelot

DISC EIGHT: Ain't Got No / I Got Life - Nina Simone

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Poems: Emily Dickinson

LUXURY ITEM: A writing set

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Sleigh Ride - Johnny Mathis, Percy Faith & His Orchestra

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Greta Gerwig, writer and director, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

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She was born in Isfahan, central Iran, the youngest of four children to Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, the first ethnic Iranian Anglican Bishop of his country, and his wife Margaret. In 1980, in the wake of the Islamic Revolution, her family were targeted and forced to leave the country. She arrived in the UK aged 13 as a refugee. Four decades on, Guli has yet to set foot on Iranian soil.

She was ordained as a deacon in 1998 and a priest the following year. She was consecrated a bishop in November 2017, making her the first woman from a minority ethnic background to be ordained as an Anglican bishop in the UK.

She is the lead Bishop for Housing for the Church of England and is a contributor to BBC Radio 4s Thought for the Day. She is married to Lee, who is a priest, and they have three children.

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Writer, director and producer behind the films Bend it like Beckham, Bhaji on the Beach and Bride and Prejudice, she began her career as a BBC news reporter.

She was born in Kenya to Sikh parents and grew up in Southall in West London. Her political awakening came in her teens in the 1970s against the backdrop of the National Front and race riots in the capital. The bands she listened to, including the Clash, the Jam and the Specials, were fixtures at the Rock Against Racism concerts which galvanised her desire to make a difference.

Bend it Like Beckham, which launched the career of Keira Knightly, is now a hit musical on the West End stage. Her next film, Viceroy's House, tackles the Partition of India in 1947.

She was awarded an OBE in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to the British Film Industry.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young talks to film-maker, writer and producer Gurinder Chadha.

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Front man of the group 'Elbow' his voice and lyrics have helped the band win pretty much every music prize going ... headlining Glastonbury too, and playing at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. Yet his image is that of an everyday, low key, unassuming bloke ... except that he isn't, he's penning and performing songs filled with intimacy, optimism and lyricism, that strike a chord with millions of fans.

For a long while his devotees were well versed in the art of delayed gratification - Elbow's debut album was released 11 years after the band members first made music together.

He writes his songs in his journal and has been keeping a diary since he was 14. Maybe it was the peace and calm of the blank page that first appealed - one of 7 kids he says he was brought up 'in a house full of women that were singing, shouting, arguing, fighting over the bathroom. I'm ruined by these women, spoilt rotten'.

Kirsty Young talks to Guy Garvey, musician and frontman of Elbow.

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Severely dyslexic, he disliked school, but thanks to an aptitude for performing well in exams, he won a place at Oxford University to read Agricultural and Forestry Science, graduating with a First. He briefly joined the family farm, but left to become a management consultant in London and then New York, returning to the farm in 1986. He started cultivating vegetables on three acres of land with a wheelbarrow and a borrowed tractor, and found his niche, moving from three to 18 to 50 acres quite rapidly.

Initially, Guy sold to supermarkets, but became convinced that there must be a better way of getting his produce to customers, and set up a veg box scheme in 1993. His company now delivers to around 50,000 homes a week and had a turnover of £56.7 million in 2017.

Guy has four grown-up children from his first marriage and an eight-year-old step-daughter from his second marriage to Geetie Singh.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Guy Singh-Watson, farmer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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A former Conservative MP, he is also a some-time actor, broadcaster and prolific writer who has authored biographies, diaries, stage plays and mysteries.

Pursuing a political career has been, he says, the over-riding ambition of his life. However the happiest moment came not from politics, but when he was performing in a West End show that he had written himself. These days, his ambitions are to return to the stage and the role he wants to take on is Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.

'I have no complaints' he says; 'my life has been one long series of tomato and marmite sandwiches. I've always had what I wanted.'

Record: I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face sung by Simon Cadell

Book: The Complete plays of Anton Chekhov

Luxury: Michelangelo's Piet

In a career spanning fifty years, he has played with all the best orchestras and continues to teach masterclasses around the world.

He grew up in Hungary and, after both his parents were taken to labour camps, he was brought up by his grandmother. His parents died during the war and it was, says Gyorgy, a miracle that he and his grandmother survived in the Budapest ghetto. For years afterwards, he says, he would carry food with him because he was so scarred by the hunger he'd felt.

His musical talent was his passport to the West and, when he was 22 years old, he fled first to France, then to Holland and finally to Britain where he has lived for nearly fifty years. Of his early years, he says: 'There were times when you were punished if you were listening to the radio. That's when it started to get to me - realising that I was not free. Music is international, it has to be worldwide.

Record: Bach's Andante from the Second Sonata in A Minor

Book: How To Be An Alien by George Mikes

Luxury: A N'espresso machine

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mache Dich Mein Herze Rein by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: History of the American Civil War by Shelby Foote

Luxury: Silk pyjamas

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist and writer Harold Evans

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Nabucco Overture To Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi

Book: Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Luxury: Beer and a cigarette machine

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian Harry Enfield

[R4 BD=19970523

His list of credits and collaborations read like a Who's Who of 20th century music - Gracie Fields, Charles Aznavour, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Matt Monro & Barbra Streisand are only a handful of the stellar names who've benefitted from his talents. He's conducted a lot of movie scores too, including Chariots of Fire and The Talented Mr Ripley; indeed the late director Anthony Minghella described him as 'the UK's best kept secret'.

It wasn't an illustrious start; his first job was playing sheet music for prospective customers in a Johannesburg department store - he was fired after 6 weeks. His first go at conducting was enhanced not by an elegant baton of the finest Maplewood but a rolled up old newspaper.

He's almost a hundred years old now, still plays the piano every day and only retired from the concert platform six years ago at the age of 94.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to music maestro Harry Rabinowitz.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing) by Benny Goodman

Book: The Reader's Digest Complete Do It Yourself Manual

Luxury: A piano.

Kirsty Young's castaway is musical impresario Harvey Goldsmith.

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Called to the Bar in 1972, Heather practised family, civil and criminal law, eventually specialising in criminal law. In 1989 she became a QC and was the first woman to chair the Bar Council in 1998. She was only the fifth woman to be appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2005 and was appointed vice president of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in 2013.

Heather was born in Eastleigh in Hampshire. Her father Hugh was a policeman who worked his way up to the rank of assistant chief constable. With each promotion the family moved house and Heather's education was disrupted, leading her teachers to conclude that she was unlikely to secure a place at university. Heather proved them wrong and studied law at the University of Oxford.

In 2009 she acted as coroner at the inquest into the deaths of the 52 victims of the July 7th London bombings in 2005 and she has taken over the inquest of Dawn Sturgess who died in the Salisbury Novichok poisonings.

Heather retired as a judge in 2019 and currently sits as a life peer.

DISC ONE: Caroline (Live) by Status Quo

DISC TWO: Climb Ev'ry Mountain by Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess)

DISC THREE: Wing Commander Hancock by Tony Hancock and Kenneth Williams

DISC FOUR: Invisible Touch by Genesis

DISC FIVE: The Best by Tina Turner

DISC SIX: I Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye

DISC SEVEN: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by Temple Church Choir

DISC EIGHT: Vissi d'Arte by Maria Callas (soprano) and Orchestra Del Teatro Alla Scala, conducted by Victor De Sabata

BOOK CHOICE: Inspector Morse Mysteries Series Collection by Colin Dexter

LUXURY ITEM: A solar-powered iPad

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Caroline (Live) by Status Quo

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Heather Hallett, former judge and crossbench peer, shares the soundtrack of her life.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Britain, her early years were unpromising and she left school with just a few O levels. But after evening classes, she studied law and became a barrister before making her name as the youngest council chief in the country.

She's at home in the toughest business environments - from Millwall Football Club to the Royal Opera House - and says: 'I definitely like being in charge and I've always felt that I can gather everyone's spirits and energies to take that jump into the unknown together.

Record: Que Sera Sera by Corinne Bailey Rae

Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Luxury: A solar powered digital photo album

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Businesswoman Heather Rabbatts is interviewed by Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs.

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Born in 1962, Heidi Thomas grew up as the eldest of three children in the leafy suburbs of Liverpool. Her father ran a drain cleaning business while her mother looked after the children, including Heidi's youngest brother David, who was born with Down's Syndrome.

Heidi studied English at Liverpool University, supporting herself by selling ladies' underwear at a department store. During a bout of viral hepatitis, which left her unable to apply for jobs when she graduated, she entered a competition for new plays and won a prize for her debut, All Flesh is Grass. During the production,of her next play, Shamrocks and Crocodiles, she met the actor Stephen McGann. They went on to marry, and many years later Stephen was cast as the GP in Call the Midwife.

After nearly a decade in the theatre, Heidi made the leap into television, first writing on existing series such as Soldier, Soldier and Doctor Finlay. Her other screenwriting credits include Lilies, based on her grandmother's recollections, and adaptations of classic novels including Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford, Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

DISC ONE: You Belong to Me by The Duprees

DISC TWO: Penny Lane by The Beatles

DISC THREE: Gentle on my Mind by Dean Martin

DISC FOUR: Who Will Sing Me Lullabies? by Kate Rusby

DISC FIVE: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack

DISC SIX: Finishing The Hat by Josh Groban

DISC SEVEN: Agnus Dei from Requiem, op. 48, conducted by Nigel Short and performed by London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble and Tenebrae

DISC EIGHT: Both Sides, Now by Joni Mitchell

BOOK CHOICE: London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew

LUXURY ITEM: A hot water bottle

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Both Sides, Now by Joni Mitchell

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Heidi Thomas, screenwriter, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Song of the Birds by Cant Del Ocells

Book: Poet for Poet by Richard McCain

Luxury: Radio to listen to the World Service

Sue Lawley's castaway is psychotherapist & campaigner Helen Bamber

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Born and brought up on the farm in Wiltshire she runs today, she told her father she wanted to be a 'proper farmer' aged just 9. By the time she was 24 her father had passed the reins on to her and not long after, she made it entirely organic.

Inspired by five of her great aunts who, after the First World War, began farming themselves, today she continues to run the family farm, her own meat business and the local pub. Awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to farming, she is chair of the Food Ethics Council, has served on the Curry Commission into the Future of Farming and Food and was appointed Chief Executive of the Soil Association in 2010.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Helen Browning, farmer and CEO of the Soil Association.

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Born in 1958, Helen grew up in Yorkshire with an older sister and two younger brothers. Her father was a manager at the textile mill next door to where they lived.

She read English at Oxford where she became friends with Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. After graduating, she became a BBC trainee, travelling to Africa for Comic Relief. She later made documentaries for Thames TV before moving into print journalism.

To date, Helen has written four Bridget Jones novels, three of which have been turned into feature films starring Ren退e Zellweger. She spent a decade in Los Angeles at the start of the new millennium and had two children with Kevin Curran, who was a scriptwriter for The Simpsons. She now lives in London.

DISC ONE: Fly Me to the Moon by Julie London

DISC TWO: The Windmills of Your Mind by Noel Harrison

DISC THREE: It Must Be Love by Madness

DISC FOUR: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30, composed by Sergei Rachmaninov, conducted by Valery Gergiev and performed by Denis Matsuev (piano) and Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra

DISC FIVE: La Isla Bonita by Madonna

DISC SIX: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

DISC SEVEN: I've Got the World on a String by Frank Sinatra

DISC EIGHT: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Stan Getz & The Oscar Peterson Trio

BOOK CHOICE: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

LUXURY ITEM: A magical tree

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: It Must Be Love by Madness

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Helen Fielding, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Helen's father was a staff photographer at the Daily Mirror and her mother was a journalist on local newspapers. In 1975, when Helen was five, her parents bought a house in Terkel's Park, an estate owned by the Theosophical Society. It was here that Helen became a keen bird watcher and developed a love of the natural world, spending her days in fields and meadows where she collected specimens which she brought home to study.

When she was 12 she helped out at a local falconry centre and trained her first hawk, a kestrel called Amy. After graduating from Cambridge she worked for the National Avian Research Centre in Wales before returning to academia.

The death of her father in 2007 prompted Helen to buy Mabel and bring her home to live with her. Training Mabel was Helen's way of dealing with her grief during what she describes as a very dark period of her life. The relationship between her and Mabel became so intense that she says she became more hawk than human.

Helen continues to write books and essays and present programmes about the natural world. She lives in Suffolk with two parrots she calls the Bugs.

DISC ONE: Wayfaring Stranger by Rhiannon Giddens With Francesco Turrisi

DISC TWO: Lully: Le Triomphe de l'Amour: Pr退lude pour la nuit, composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, performed by Capriccio Stravagante Les 24 Violons, directed by Skip Semp退

DISC THREE: Michelangelo by The 23rd Turnoff

DISC FOUR: Ocean by The Velvet Underground

DISC FIVE: 'Corelli' Variations, Op. 42, composed by Sergei Rachmaninov, performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

DISC SIX: When We Were Wolves by My Latest Novel

DISC SEVEN: Point of View Point by Cornelius

DISC EIGHT: Time by Hans Zimmer

BOOK CHOICE: The Karla Trilogy by John Le Carr退

LUXURY ITEM: Luxury bedding

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: 'Corelli' Variations, Op. 42, composed by Sergei Rachmaninov, performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Helen Macdonald, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Helen McCrory OBE is one of the most versatile and critically acclaimed actresses working today. On screen she has played Anna Karenina, Cherie Blair (twice), Harry Potter's Narcissa Malfoy and the Peaky Blinders matriarch Aunt Polly. Her theatre roles range from Yelena in Uncle Vanya to Euripides' Medea.

A diplomat's daughter, she spent her early childhood in Africa before continuing her education in the UK. After a bruising and unsuccessful audition at the Drama Centre in London - she was instructed to find out more about life before learning to act - she travelled to Italy where she discovered art and love and came back to try again. This time she passed the audition.

In 1993 she made her mark in Richard Eyre's production of Trelawny of the Wells at the National Theatre and went on to perform leading roles on some of London's most prestigious stages, winning two Olivier Award nominations. She was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2017.

She met her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, when they both starred in a play called Five Gold Rings. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic Helen and Damian, together with the comedian Matt Lucas, co-founded the Feed NHS campaign which raises money to provide hot meals to frontline NHS workers.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Helen McCrory, actress, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Helen has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Book Trust in 2018. She attended the Ipswich School of Art and later the Central School of Art in London where she met fellow illustrator and her future husband, John Burningham.

After the birth of her children she began illustrating children's books, working at the kitchen table long after they'd gone to bed. Her work for Ivor Cutler's Meal One, published in 1971, was praised by Spare Rib magazine for its portrayal of a single mother and her relationship with her young son.

Helen came up with the idea of her baby board books in the late 1970s after the birth of her third child who suffered with eczema. Discovering that her daughter could be distracted from scratching by looking at baby catalogues, Helen created a series of board books placing babies and toddlers at their heart. Such a concept was unheard of at the time.

From the late 1980s, Helen ensured that the babies and children featured in her books came from different ethnic backgrounds and her work in So Much by Trish Cooke has become a children's classic. In We're Going on a Bear Hunt, published in 1989, Helen's pictures celebrated the joy of adventure and the bond between siblings.

DISC ONE: America by Marilyn Cooper, Chita Rivera and Shark Girls

DISC TWO: Mir Ist So Wunderbar by Ludwig van Beethoven, conducted by Mark Elder, performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra. Tenor: Andrew Kennedy, Soprano: Lisa Milne, Soprano: Anja Kampe, Bass: Brindley Sherratt

DISC THREE: Tubby The Tuba by Danny Kaye

DISC FOUR: Lullaby of Birdland by Erroll Garner

DISC FIVE: Episode 1of Life In A Scotch Sitting Room Vol. II by Ivor Cutler ?

DISC SIX: Schubert 's Impromptu No. 3 in G flat D899 by Alfred Brendel, (piano)

conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras

DISC SEVEN: Singin' in the Rain by Gene Kelly

DISC EIGHT: Les Pecheurs de Perles, Act 1: Romance: Mi par d'udir ancora (Je crois entendre encore) by Beniamino Gigli, conducted by Eugene Goossens

BOOK CHOICE: The Empire Trilogy by JG Farrell

LUXURY ITEM: A bed with an unlimited supply of white linen sheets

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Les Pecheurs de Perles, Act 1: Romance: Mi par d'udir ancora (Je crois entendre encore) by Beniamino Gigli, conducted by Eugene Goossens

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Helen Oxenbury, illustrator, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[R4 BD=20201204

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cello Suite No 1 in G Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Aeneid by Virgil

Luxury: Goose down duvet

Sue Lawley's castaway is human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy QC

[R4 BD=19980130

Born in Vienna in 1929, she was raised by her mother who, in March 1939, put her on a Kindertransport train to Britain to escape the Nazis. Her mother was able to follow her to England a few months later and Hella spent her formative years in the Lake District. After reading Politics at London School of Economics, she worked as commercial editor of a London-based weekly publication called West Africa. After she left, she offered her services to The Guardian - and spent the next 35 years or so with the paper.

While UN correspondent, she worked alongside Alistair Cooke in New York and subsequently held posts as European Integration correspondent, Washington correspondent, Eastern Europe correspondent, and diplomatic editor before retiring in the mid-1990s. Since leaving The Guardian, she has nurtured a new career as a writer, publishing a biography of Simon Wiesenthal and a book about Austria's post-war history.

BOOK: Scorn by Matthew Parris

LUXURY: Recliner armchair

FAVOURITE TRACK: Mozart's Marriage of Figaro

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Hella Pick, veteran journalist, is interviewed by Lauren Laverne

As a teenager he showed great promise as a cricketer and was even thought good enough to play for England until his dreams were dashed after a serious accident when his bike hit a bus. He dropped out of Cambridge and toyed with the idea of a career in merchant banking before realising his true vocation. Advised in his early years to 'paint a picture' for his listeners, 'Blowers' has since gone on to become a much-loved stalwart of the Test Match Special team.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cricket commentary by Brian Johnston, Jonathan Agnew, John Arlott

Book: A Pelican at Blandings by P G Wodehouse

Luxury: Personal photo album

Sue Lawley's castaway is cricket commentator Henry Blofeld

[R4 BD=20031205

He was born in 1950 in Oxford, where his father was an academic. His mother came to England as a political refugee from Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. Henry did not initially pursue a career in medicine: after dropping out of university, he found work as a hospital porter, and only then decided to train as a doctor.

He was appointed a consultant at St George's Hospital, London, in 1987. He has spent his career in the NHS, and has also frequently worked abroad, in Ukraine, Nepal, Albania and elsewhere. He retired in 2015, but continues to teach one day a week and to work overseas to help less experienced surgeons.

In 2014, he published a memoir, Do No Harm, which was widely praised for its honesty about mistakes in the operating theatre.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Kirsty Young interviews Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon and writer.

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[R4 BD=2001031

His day job was as a journalist and Kretzmer wrote celebrity profiles for the Daily Express. He says his most memorable interviewees were 'writers and fighters', including George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Truman Capote and Arthur Miller. But it wasn't until he was nearly sixty that he had his greatest success. The director Cameron Mackintosh was working on Les Miserables but did not have a 'book' - that is, a set of songs that he could produce. He remembered a chance meeting he'd had with Kretzmer, recalled the songs he'd written and his connection with France - and invited him to write the lyrics. The show has been running in London for the past 19 years and has played all over the world. Now aged 78, he continues to work. He is currently collaborating with the former ABBA musicians, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus on another musical.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Gymnopedies by Yikin Seow

Book: The Great War and Modern Memory by Prof Paul Fussell

Luxury: Zippo Lighter

Sue Lawley's castaway is songwriter Herbert Kretzmer

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His speedy rise to the top of his profession is little short of extraordinary. He has only ever spent a week in a professional kitchen and taught himself classical French cookery. He became fascinated by the science of cooking and has become the Willy Wonka of modern cuisine - dishes he's created include mango and douglas fir puree, salmon poached with liquorice and, most famously, snail porridge. But he acknowledges his success has been largely due too to his wife's support and now wants to change the balance of his life towards spending more time with his young family.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Love has Finally Come at Last by Bobby Womack

Book: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

Luxury: Japanese knives

Kirsty Young's castaway is chef and broadcaster Heston Blumenthal

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The very incarnation of entrepreneurial spirit, Hilary Devey built a haulage network business from scratch, which now employs nearly eight thousand people and has an annual turnover of £100 million. She has a successful media career and is one of the current incumbents of the TV programme Dragons Den.

The real drama in her life has happened off screen. The skeleton in her parents' closet reappeared in her own life. She's been married and divorced three times, her only child has battled drug addiction and a severe stroke nearly killed her in 2009.

Despite this, she remains ambitious and energetic in the business world and says that there's no such thing as a glass ceiling.

Producer: Alison Hughes.

Hilary Devey, businesswoman and TV star, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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She was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in 1966, where her father was a builder while her mother looked after Hilary and her two older siblings. She spent her childhood roaming the fields near her home, 20 miles outside Belfast. She went to art college after school where she met her husband, Frank. Their relationship initially caused difficulty for her family who were staunch Protestants and unionists, while Frank's came from a Catholic, nationalist area.

After finishing her degree in Graphic Design, Hilary worked as a designer before moving into marketing and then into the charity sector for an organisation called Arts & Business. After working on Belfast's ultimately unsuccessful bid to become European Capital of Culture she joined the National Trust in 2006 as regional director for Northern Ireland. She moved around the organisation, taking on ever bigger roles with every move, becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2014. She succeeded Dame Helen Ghosh as Director General in March 2018. Her major priority for the National Trust over the next decade is to tackle climate change and biodiversity, and she set out a ten-year plan in January 2020 to coincide with the Trust's 125th anniversary.

Hilary lives in County Antrim with her husband. They have three grown-up children, a dog and 16 ducks. She lists her interests as the arts, gardening and hill walking.

DISC ONE: The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, performed by Tasmin Little (violin) and BBC Symphony Orchestra

DISC TWO: How Great Thou Art by Chris Rice

DISC THREE: Blue Monday by New Order

DISC FOUR: She Moved Through The Fair by Cara Dillon

DISC FIVE: One by U2

DISC SIX: Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol

DISC SEVEN: Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Morricone

DISC EIGHT: Paradise by George Ezra

BOOK CHOICE: A Poem for Every Day of the Year by Allie Asiri

LUXURY ITEM: Painting set and easel

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: She Moved Through the Fair by Cara Dillon

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Hilary McGrady, National Trust DG, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Weichet nur, Betrube Schatten, from the Wedding Cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Luxury: Champagne

Sue Lawley's castaway is playwright Howard Brenton

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Howard says he hears music in his head all the time - and can't imagine life without it.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The first movement of Introitus from the Durufle Requiem by Maurice Durufle

Book: The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

Luxury: Ice-cold vanilla vodka and tonics.

Kirsty Young's castaway is composer Howard Goodall.

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After many years of swiping at literary prizes, last October he walked off with the biggest one going, the Man Booker. His book, The Finkler Question, was a study of what it meant to be Jewish in England. It's a subject that has been very near to Howard Jacobson's heart. He says: 'My sense of myself has always meant being on the outside. On the outside as a Jew, looking into gentile England, but also on the outside of Jewishness too. I have always felt myself to be on the outside of everything.

Record: You're a Sweetheart

Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse

Luxury: A never ending supply of pressed shirts and trousers

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Writer and Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson joins Kirsty Young.

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Known around the world for his portrayal of Lord Grantham in ITV's hugely popular Downton Abbey, he made British audiences laugh with his portrayal of the hapless Ian Fletcher in the BBC comedies Twenty Twelve and W1A and charmed audiences of all ages as Mr Brown in the animated film, Paddington Bear.

His immense range as an actor has ensured he's seldom been out of work since joining the National Theatre in 1987, but his thespian leanings started much earlier - writing, performing & even creating tickets for his very own dramatic productions - performed for his family at home. He was born in London to a surgeon and a former nurse and grew up with two older siblings. At junior school he refused to let a teacher put him off his passion for acting which he continued to pursue while doing a degree in Theology at Cambridge.

He chose an acting career over law, and following a brief time at drama school, his first professional role was 'bashing a cymbal' in A Midsummer Night's Dream at London's Regent's Park theatre in 1986. He joined the National the following year and achieved his ambition of being a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1991. His television debut was as a conman in the ITV drama Chancer and his first appearance on the big screen was in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh. He appeared opposite George Clooney in the 2014 film The Monuments Men and was the voice of Father Christmas in the BBC's adaptation of the Julia Donaldson picture book Stick Man.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to actor Hugh Bonneville.

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A stint in the renowned River Cafe in London, however, set him on his way to establishing his own waterside haven for food lovers, his River Cottage in Dorset. From there, he has followed his passion for the environment by campaigning for ethically-produced food, including championing a creature not normally given time on our small screens - the humble supermarket chicken.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Love Reign O'er Me by The Who

Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Luxury: Full set of Scuba gear.

[R4 BD=20090731

If life were straightforward he'd be marooned on the island because of his achievements as an Olympic rower. But his early promise on the water was scuppered by a bout of glandular fever - so he's had to make do instead with life as a worldwide entertainment superstar.

Very British comedy, very big budget movies, very successful syndicated TV drama - his 30 year career has taken him from A Little Bit of Fry & Laurie to a big bit of broadcasting history: his role in the U.S. show House ran for 8 series and had a global audience of 81 million. So why now does he feel the need to risk his stellar reputation by making music too?

He says, 'as soon as I acknowledge to myself that something is frightening and carries the risk of public humiliation I feel like I have to do it.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Hugh Laurie, actor and musician, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20130628

Hugh soon made a name for himself in South Africa but as the racial tensions intensified during the 50s he decided he had to leave his homeland to get a better music education in America. There he quickly made a name for himself with his fusion of African jazz music and became a 'flower child' playing with some of the great bands of the decade: Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and the Byrds. He's still probably best known for his number-one track, Grazing in the Grass, which sold four million copies worldwide in 1968. He returned to Africa in 1973, spending the next 17 years working on a range of musical collaborations in Botswana, Liberia, Nigeria, Congo and Guinea. Then, after thirty years in self-imposed exile, he returned to his homeland in 1990.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Lilizela Mlilezeli by Mahlathini & the Mahotella Queens

Book: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Luxury: A keyboard

Sue Lawley's castaway is musician Hugh Masekela

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But his first love is jazz - as a child, he was always fascinated by music and when he was a teenager it was Louis Armstrong who inspired him to take up the trumpet. Fittingly, Armstrong went on to hail Humph as 'Britain's top trumpetman'. Now aged 85, Humph is still recording and touring with his band and says that he finds he's kept awake at night by new ideas for music they can play together.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: That's My Home by Louis Armstrong

Book: Collected works by James Thurber

Luxury: A keyboard

Kirsty Young's castaway is jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton

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Eventually, his book on witchcraft was finished just before his debut with the English National Opera. Magic appeals to people in a way that is both mysterious and irrational and so it is, he says, not so different to music.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Last movement of the Piano Sonata No.31 in A flat by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Luxury: A solar computer loaded with pictures of my family and friends.

Kirsty Young's castaway is musician and opera singer Ian Bostridge.

[R4 BD=20081031

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Ramblin by Ornette Coleman

Book: Macmillan Dictionary of Art

Luxury: Mixing Desk - Solar Powered

Sue Lawley's castaway is punk rocker Ian Dury

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A Booker Prize winner, he was once dubbed 'Ian Macabre' because of the dark nature of his stories. His first novel The Cement Garden told a horrifying tale of family life. Later, The Comfort of Strangers described how a chance encounter can end in murder. He does though admit to his writing becoming gentler in recent years. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he talks about his life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Aria from Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Ulysses by James Joyce

Luxury: Italian leather hand-stitched hiking boots

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Ian McEwan

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Thirty years ago he was working in a factory gluing together tennis ball halves. Then he got a grant, chucked in his job and devoted himself to writing and performing.

These days he's known as the Bard of Barnsley and his appeal stretches from the terraces of his local football club to the balcony of the London Coliseum... he is poet in residence at both Barnsley FC and the English National Opera...

He still lives in the village where he was born and he considers and analyses British culture from his very particular vantage point in south Yorkshire.

He says: 'You can do the universal in the local, I always think. You can see all the changes that have happened all over the world in the 20th and 21st centuries in microcosm.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: 4' 33' - John Cage

Book: The Long and The Short of It: Poems 1955-2005 by Roy Fisher

Luxury: A tandem bike with wooden models of his family on the front.

Poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

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Born in Fife, Rankin came from a working-class background in a coal-mining town where he says he spent most of his childhood trying to 'look like he fitted in'. In his bedroom he would live out a fantasy life, writing poems, stories and creating strip-cartoons. He admits there are many parallels between himself and Rebus - they lived at the same Edinburgh address, both are fond of a drink and now they even share the same taste in music, though unlike Rebus, Rankin has never smoked. However all that is about to change; Rebus has reached the age of retirement in the police force and Rankin's next novel will be the last in the series.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Solid Air by John Martyn

Book: A Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell

Luxury: Pinball machine (traditional American one)

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Ian Rankin

[R4 BD=20060721

He calls it 'the golden angle', and says it can be found everywhere in nature - whether in the pattern of seeds on a sunflower head or in the spiral of a snail's shell. Mathematics, he says, has nothing to do with arithmetic and everything to do with being able to pack the luggage into the boot of the car. But for a broken collarbone which meant he stayed at home working out puzzles with his mum, he would have remained bottom of the class and never discovered how much fun maths could be.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Scarborough Fair by Simon and Garfunkel

Book: Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter

Luxury: Mrs Thatcher pickled in a Damien Hurst sculpture

Sue Lawley's castaway is mathematician Ian Stewart

[R4 BD=19980320

Born to a Jamaican couple in south-east London, Ian grew up with his mother and step-father. His biological father had left the family when Ian was under two years old. Things at home were difficult and Ian spent as much time as possible outside playing football.

At his primary school a teacher, Mr Pigden, took him under his wing and Ian would later credit him with changing his life. He left his secondary school at the age of 14 to get a job. Although he took part in trials for many professional football clubs as a teenager, he was never selected. He continued to play for amateur sides. By the age of 21, he had three children to provide for, so when Crystal Palace came calling in 1985, he turned them down three times before accepting a two-week trial, followed by a three-month contract. His football career had finally begun.

After impressing as a forward at Palace, he was bought by Arsenal for a record fee in 1991. He was called up to the England squad the same year and would go on to collect 33 caps. He spent his last couple of years in professional football at a number of clubs around the country and in total, he played 581 league games, scoring 387 goals for seven clubs in England and Scotland. Since his retirement from football in 2000, he has had a career as a pundit on both TV and radio.

He has eight children and has been happily married to his second wife, Nancy, since 2011.

DISC ONE: The Marriage of Figaro: Duettino - Sull'aria by Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, composed by Lorenzo Da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

DISC TWO: Looking For You by Kirk Franklin

DISC THREE: River Deep Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner

DISC FOUR: Redemption Song by Bob Marley & The Wailers

DISC FIVE: Mysteries of the World by MSFB

DISC SIX: Endlessly by Randy Crawford

DISC SEVEN: Crown by Stormzy

DISC EIGHT: Just Fine by Mary J Blige

BOOK CHOICE: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

LUXURY ITEM: A seven iron golf club and golf balls

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Endlessly by Randy Crawford

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Ian Wright, former footballer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Agnus Dei from Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi

Book: Companions to the Mind by Richard Gregory

Luxury: A virtual reality London Symphony Orchestra so he can conduct it

Sue Lawley's castaway is a professor of neural systems engineering Igor Aleksander

[R4 BD=19990709

Imelda Staunton was born in Archway, London, in 1956. Her mother Bridie was a hairdresser, and the family lived over her shop, whilst Imelda's father worked on the roads. It was an elocution and drama teacher at her school, Jacqueline Stoker, who encouraged her talent, adapting plays for her and putting her in for school drama competitions. She also encouraged Imelda to apply for drama school. At the time, Imelda had never heard of RADA - but she was offered a place there and studied alongside Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and Timothy Spall. Imelda Staunton lives with her husband, the actor Jim Carter, and their daughter, in London.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I'll Know by Julie Covington & Ian Charleson

Book: A book on astronomy

Luxury: Modelling clay and tools

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Imelda Staunton

[R4 BD=20050520

Winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for her work, her life seems a perfect reflection of the inter-relatedness of The Commonwealth. Born in Pakistan she was no more than a few months old when the family packed up their belongings and flew four thousand miles to start a new life - exchanging the blistering, dusty lanes of Lahore for the blustery, rain-slicked roads of Glasgow.

Her father worked hard and, from scratch, built a big, successful business and a comfortable life for his children. But the immigrant fairytale came undone when his restless, well-educated, westernised daughter married in secret, running away to Bombay. Her parents disowned her and she would never see her mother again.

Her work centres on themes of freedom, cultural intolerance, everyday life and gender politics.

Kirsty Young interviews the poet Imtiaz Dharker.

[R4 BD=20150717

She has been the CEO of Lloyd's of London since January 2014 and was the first woman to hold the post in the 325 years since the insurer was founded in 1688.

She is the middle child of a Norwegian mother and an English father and grew up in Newbury, Berkshire. Her career in insurance began in London in the early 1980s, but she tired of the predominantly male culture of the industry and left the City in 1989 to go travelling for a year. On her return she worked for the Prudential and then for GE Solutions, the insurance arm of General Electrics, where the work took her abroad.

She left GE in 2006 to turn around a failing Swiss company, before joining the Zurich Insurance Group. Her last role before joining Lloyd's as CEO in 2014 was as chief executive of Canopius, a privately held Lloyd's insurer.

In 2015, she topped a power list of the world's leading 100 LGBT executives. She is openly bisexual after coming out in 2008 and has been married to her husband since 2013.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews Inga Beale, CEO of Lloyd's of London.

[R4 BD=20160520

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Cosi fan Tutte Soave Sia Il Vento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Complete score of Fidelio by Mozart

Luxury: Teddy bear stuffed with tea and lily of the valley

Sue Lawley's castaway is radio personality Irene Thomas

[R4 BD=19970131

The adopted daughter of Michael Tree and Lady Anne Cavendish, Isabella grew up in Mereworth Castle in Kent, and then in Shute House, a vicarage in Dorset. Following her expulsion from two secondary schools, she attended Millfield School as a sixth former, where mutual friends introduced her to her future husband. After reading classics at the University of London, she went on to work as a journalist and travel writer for the Evening Standard and The Sunday Times. Her first book, The Bird Man, about the Victorian ornithologist John Gould, was published in 1991. She married Charles Burrell in 1993 and settled at Knepp, a dairy and arable farm in Sussex. She continued to travel, writing books about Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Mexico.

In 2000 Isabella and Charlie closed the farm business at Knepp, and turned the estate into a conservation project, letting the land develop on its own, and eventually introducing free-roaming animals - cattle, pigs, deer and ponies. Two decades later, the project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife, fungi, and vegetation with extremely rare species like turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons and purple emperor butterflies breeding there. The soil is richer in micro-organisms which help to recapture carbon from the air and promote a functioning ecosystem where nature is given as much freedom as possible.

She lives at Knepp with her husband Charlie and has two children, Ned and Nancy.

DISC ONE: ‘The Whole of the Moon' by The Waterboys

DISC TWO: ‘These Foolish Things' by Billie Holiday

DISC THREE: ‘Life's a Gas' by T. Rex

DISC FOUR: ‘Where's the Telephone Bill? by Bootsy's Rubber Band

DISC FIVE: ‘Three Little Birds' by Bob Marley

DISC SIX: Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, played by the Brindisi String Quartet

DISC SEVEN: BBC Sound recording of Nightingales And Bombers The Night Of The Mannheim Raid

DISC EIGHT: ‘Dancing in the Moonlight' by Toploader

BOOK CHOICE: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

LUXURY ITEM: Mask, snorkel and a neoprene vest

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: These Foolish Things by Billie Holiday

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Isabella Tree, conservationist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

[R4 BD=2000111

Comedian, actor and writer, his persona is that of the laconic miserabilist - his hit sit-com was called 'Lead Balloon' and his autobiography entitled 'Thanks For Nothing'. That is only part of the picture: even though show business was in the family - his great grandparents were in music hall - his early working life ranged all over the place. From grafting in the kitchens of The Ritz to working in an artificial leg factory - at one point he even seriously considered the priesthood.

He says his caustic, ironic, sarcastic comedy comes from 'a sort of realism. You can't escape the dark stuff in life ... and my way of dealing with that is to absorb it into my life so that it's no longer worrying for me.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to comedian, actor and writer Jack Dee.

[R4 BD=20140516

A chance encounter with one of his old teachers made him change his style and develop his characters more fully. He took on the pseudonym Jack Higgins and, in his mid-forties, wrote the book that made him a household name: The Eagle Has Landed. He's written more than sixty novels and sold hundreds of millions of books worldwide. He is one of the few British writers to be as successful in America as here and, at the age of 76, is still creating new plots and new characters.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Let's Face the Music and Dance by Fred Astaire

Book: Complete works by Charles Dickens

Luxury: Mobile phone

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Jack Higgins

[R4 BD=20060310

Jack started writing poems, inspired by his despair at the political woes besetting his country. Although his book, Of Chameleons and Gods, was only sold in one book shop in Malawi, it won considerable acclaim around the world and was awarded the Rotterdam International Poetry Prize. He was ambitious and set up a writers group within his own University and, although he knew it was dangerous, felt compelled to continue with his writing. He was arrested in 1987 while drinking in a bar. The World Service broadcast a news item about Mapanje's arrest the following day and his cause was taken up by writers' groups and activists across the world. Dr Mapanje was held without charge or trial in Mikuyu Prison for more than three years, scarcely aware of the international campaign to free him. When he was finally released, again it was without warning or explanation. Believing his life was still in danger, he fled with his wife and children to Britain. He has lived here ever since and now lectures at the University of Newcastle.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Ave Maria by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Luxury: A guitar

Sue Lawley's castaway is poet Jack Mapanje

[R4 BD=20041029

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor by Max Bruch

Book: Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce

Luxury: Clay for making sculpture

Sue Lawley's castaway is playwright Jack Rosenthal

[R4 BD=19980703

His theatre credits include the international hit play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which has won major awards in London and New York. For television, his recent successes include his adaptation of His Dark Materials, from the books by Philip Pullman, and The Virtues, co-written with Shane Meadows, and starring Stephen Graham.

Jack was born in Bristol in 1978. His mother was a care worker, and her experiences partly inspired his 2021 TV drama Help, set in a care home during the pandemic.

As a student at Cambridge University, Jack became involved in student drama, but had to halt his studies for a year when he became seriously ill with cholinergic urticaria, which he describes as an extreme form of ‘prickly heat... which feels like you're burning from the inside.' While he enjoys better health now, this experience informed his writing, and he has campaigned for more opportunities and better representation for disabled people, on both sides of the camera. In 2021 he gave the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival, in which he argued that TV has failed disabled people.

DISC ONE: Common People (At Glastonbury 1995) by Pulp

DISC TWO: Blah Blah Caf退 by Jean-Michel Jarre

DISC THREE: The Red Flag by Billy Bragg

DISC FOUR: Spasticus Autisticus by John Kelly and the Graeae Theatre Company

DISC FIVE: Lippy Kids by Elbow

DISC SIX: 54-46 That's My Number by Toots and the Maytals

DISC SEVEN: Skeleton Key by Audrey Nugent

DISC EIGHT: End credit music from the film E.T. by John Williams

BOOK CHOICE: Miller Plays: 1 by Arthur Miller

LUXURY ITEM: TV with Channel 4 archive only

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Skeleton Key by Audrey Nugent

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Jack Thorne, screenwriter, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Jack Vettriano is the painter of Britain's most popular work of art. More than a million prints and posters have been sold of his work The Singing Butler since the original was bought for just over £4,500 in 1991. It shows a glamorous couple dancing on the beach while a maid and butler hold umbrellas over their heads to shield them from the rain. The original is due to go under the hammer, once again, in April and this time is expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds. Vettriano has enjoyed painting since he was in his 20s after a girlfriend gave him a set of watercolours. But he did not devote himself full time to art until the late 1980s when he was nearly 40. Since then, his rise has been meteoric and the public have clamoured both for his romantic, nostalgic views of a world gone by and for his far darker works that depict the sexual tensions between men and women.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

Book: SUMO by Helmut Newton

Luxury: Triptych, May - June 1973 by Francis Bacon

Sue Lawley's castaway is artist Jack Vettriano

[R4 BD=20040402

He co-wrote and starred in the sitcoms Fresh Meat and Bad Education. He and his father launched their chat-show Backchat in 2013 and recently made a TV series together travelling around Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Jack played Paul Pennyfeather in a TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall in 2016 and has forthcoming roles in Good Omens and a film about Marc Bolan and David Bowie.

The son of the talent agent and television producer Michael Whitehall and the actress Hilary Gish, he grew up in Putney. Sent away to boarding school at 11, he performed his first comedy gig aged 16 while still a pupil. He briefly attended Manchester University before he decided to exchange lectures for laughs and make his way in stand-up: he won the King of Comedy award at the British Comedy Awards in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Jack Whitehall, comedian and actor, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

[R4 BD=20180209

This week's castaway, Jackie Charlton, recalls the match which was to bring him to his knees in relief and joy as England went on to win the 1966 World Cup. Just one of the crowning moments of a career that could so easily have ended down the pit, except for his talent with the ball. Nicknamed 'The Boss' because of his straight talking, Jackie describes his relationship with his brother 'Our Kid' Bobby Charlton and his success as manager of Ireland.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: September Song by Frank Sinatra

Book: Encyclopaedia of How To Survive

Luxury: Fishing rod

Sue Lawley's castaway is footballer Jackie Charlton

[R4 BD=19961025

Her first book of poetry, the partly autobiographical The Adoption Papers, was published in 1991 and won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award. She won the 1994 Somerset Maugham Award for Other Lovers, the Guardian Fiction Prize for Trumpet and in 2010 published Red Dust Road, an account of her search for her biological parents. She is now Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University and Chancellor of Salford University and was appointed Makar - Scotland's Poet Laureate - in March 2016.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Jackie Kay, poet and writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20161028

His one-man shows have been pulling in audiences for more than fifty years. Like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather before him, he trained initially as a rabbi - and quickly acquired a reputation for being very funny.

'The people who heard my sermons kept saying to me; 'Rabbi, why aren't you a comedian?' I said to myself, maybe I should take the hint.'

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

American comedian Jackie Mason is the latest castaway interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20120316

She was born Jacqueline Yu in Kent to a Chinese father and British mother, and moved to Swindon when her mother left the marriage. Jacqueline did well at school, particularly in languages, and went on to take a degree in European Business Studies, spending the first year of her course in Southern Germany. She is fluent in German and French.

She married after university and, despite dreams of becoming a BBC newsreader, she went to work for a tech recruitment company. After two years she moved to work for her largest client, the software company, Synon, using her German to manage the company's distribution in Germany. She has stayed in the tech industry ever since, primarily working for blue chip software companies. She became Managing Director of Informix in 1999, and her last managing director role was a seven month stint at Sage in 2016.

In 2013 Jacqueline joined the board of techUK, , becoming its President in 2015. A key focus of her tenure has been to make the case for greater diversity in an industry struggling fill the roles that it is creating, particularly in appointing women. She also works as a mentor for a number of organisations and has been an advisor to the Girl Guides since 2016, assisting them in helping to attract girls into STEM subjects.

She was appointed a CBE in 2018 for services to international trade in the technology industry.

BOOK CHOICE: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

LUXURY: Saxophone

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Jacqueline de Rojas shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Jacqueline's childhood was difficult after her parents divorced when she was 12. Although she was a shy child, she worked throughout her teens which brought her a degree of financial independence and resilience. Today she's a strong advocate of female empowerment, supports women in business and has set up the WOW incentive on Twitter.

Jacqueline was awarded a CBE in 2016 and was ranked as the 16th wealthiest female entrepreneur by The Sunday Times in 2017. Happily married for the second time, she and her husband Dan underwent several courses of IVF treatment, and she eventually conceived twins. One of the children, Alfie, only survived for eight months. Their daughter, Scarlett is now aged nine.

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wishin' On A Star - Rose Royce

BOOK CHOICE: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

LUXURY ITEM: Her own feather pillow

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Jacqueline Gold, business woman, is interviewed by Lauren Laverne for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20181102

But she was 50 before she devised her most famous creation, Tracy Beaker. Tracy is a streetwise, feisty girl growing up in the competitive world of a children's home, who never loses the hope that one day her mum will come back for her. The book was a breakthrough for Jacqueline and its subsequent television adaptation introduced her to a mass audience. In 2002 she was awarded an OBE for services to literacy.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 5 in E flat by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The collected works by Katherine Mansfield

Luxury: A fairground carousel

Sue Lawley's castaway is children's laureate Jacqueline Wilson

[R4 BD=20051021

As a child he longed to act - he found early success in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys and became a household name for the TV show he devised and co-wrote, Gavin and Stacey. These days he's starring in the West End in the comedy One Man, Two Guvnors. It is due to transfer to Broadway in the spring and he says: 'I'm well aware that this could well be the best part that I ever play on stage - it's a gift for any actor who has any interest in comedy. It feels like all my dreams come true.

Record: Days Like this - Van Morrison

Book: A book to learn the piano

Luxury: A piano

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Actor and writer James Corden is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20120217

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Slowdown by Wax On Wax Off

Book: Olives: The Life and Love of a Noble Fruit by Mort Rosenslum

Luxury: Olive Oil

Sue Lawley's castaway is inventor James Dyson

[R4 BD=19990625

His books have been translated into 30 languages and, according to the New York Times, he is the author of some of the most powerful crime novels ever written.

But the case that has dominated his life and much of his writing was the murder of his mother when he was just ten years old. In the years since, he has tried to find a way of getting to know and understand her.

Record: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 'Hammerklavier', Op. 106

Book: Libra by Don DeLillo

Luxury: Sun block.

[R4 BD=20100122

James was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire in 1982. He was a shy boy who was encouraged to perform in school plays by his teachers. He went on to study drama at Hull University where he wrote his first play Coal Not Dole! He took the play to the Edinburgh fringe and the reception it received from audiences encouraged him to carry on writing.

After graduating he worked as a stage doorkeeper at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham where one of his personal highlights was looking after Danny La Rue, the star of the Christmas panto. His first London premiere came in 2005 at the Finborough Theatre in London with Albert's Boy, which explored the arguments for and against nuclear weapons.

In 2020 James was awarded an OBE for services to drama and young people in British theatre.

DISC ONE: Disco 2000 - Pulp

DISC TWO: Chatanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller

DISC THREE: Up In Arms - Foo Fighters

DISC FOUR: Syncopes - Gabriel Yared

DISC FIVE: Your Disco Needs You - Kylie Minogue

DISC SIX: Where Are We Now? - David Bowie

DISC SEVEN: If You Came To See Me Cry - Katie Brayben (from Tammy Faye: The Musical)

DISC EIGHT: Going To A Town - Rufus Wainwright

BOOK CHOICE: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

LUXURY ITEM: A keg of Single Malt Scotch Whisky

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Where Are We Now? - David Bowie

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

James Graham, playwright, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

James Graham, playwright, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

His father was the headmaster of the local primary school and there was an expectation that his children would follow him to become teachers. But James was a keen actor and says it is only now, in his 40s, that he can look back clearly and see he always felt an affinity to being on the stage. The first role he was cast in was as the Artful Dodger in Oliver. It's a character, he jokes, that has stayed with him through many of the roles he has taken on since.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra

Book: Collected writings by James Lawton

Luxury: A bottle of chilled Sancerre for every night.

Kirsty Young's castaway is actor James Nesbitt.

[R4 BD=20081226

Born in Cumbria in 1974, he grew up venerating his grandfather, who taught him what he needed to know in order to take over the family farm from his father one day. He found school an irksome distraction, and left aged 15 with two GCSEs. It wasn't until his early 20s, after he'd developed an interest in reading and had met his future wife Helen, that he decided to return to study at a local college in the evenings. Encouraged by a tutor, he applied for a place at Oxford University, and graduated with a double first in History. After university, he worked in a number of white-collar jobs, in order to boost his income while ensuring he could continue to work on the farm.

He breeds two different types of sheep: Herdwicks, which are a native breed to his part of the world, and Swaledales, which he kept out of respect to his father who died in 2015, just before the publication of James's first book. He began chronicling his life as a shepherd on Twitter in 2012 but is currently taking a break from tweeting. He and Helen have four children.

BOOK CHOICE: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

LUXURY: Pen and Paper

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A New England by Kirsty MacColl

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

James Rebanks, shepherd and writer, shares his track choices with Lauren Laverne.

His interview was recorded in front of an audience at St George's in Bristol and launched Radio 4's More Than Words Festival. Despite failing his grade four piano exam and, by his own admission, barely being able to read music, Jamie Cullum has become hugely popular. He is particularly celebrated for his live shows and in this very special recording, he performed three of his musical choices.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20120330

Jamie was born in Holywood in County Down. At 10 he played Widow Twankey in the school pantomime - a defining moment for him when he experienced the thrill of playing to a live audience.

After dropping out of university Jamie became a model and worked on big campaigns for some leading fashion brands before landing his first acting part in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette in 2006. His role in the Fall was his big break and the Fifty Shades films catapulted him to movie star status.

In 2021 he played Pa in the film Belfast which was written and directed by Kenneth Branagh about his own childhood, growing up at the beginning of the Troubles.

Jamie is married to the musician and composer Amelia Warner and they have three children.

DISC ONE: Caravan - Van Morrison

DISC TWO: Violin Concerto No. 1: II. Composed by Philip Glass and performed by Adele Anthony (violin) and Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Takuo Yuasa

DISC THREE: Hoppípolla - Sigur Rós

DISC FOUR: Bridge over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

DISC FIVE: Metarie - Brendan Benson

DISC SIX: Forever – The Beach Boys

DISC SEVEN: Something - The Beatles

DISC EIGHT: The Whole of the Moon – The Waterboys

BOOK CHOICE: Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

LUXURY ITEM: A golf club and balls

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Forever – The Beach Boys

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Jamie Dornan, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Jamie Dornan, actor, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles

Book: Audiobook of Martin Jarvis reading Just William by Richmal Crompton

Luxury: Large supply of moleskin sketch books.

Kirsty Young's castaway is illustrator Jan Pienkowski.

[R4 BD=20091023

One of only 200 Masters of Wine in the world, she recalls how her passion was first aroused by a full-bodied Chambolle-Musigny. It was, she says, the first time she realised that wine was an intellectual experience and not just for lubrication. A familiar face on television for her Matters of Taste and Wine Course series, she also edited the prestigious Oxford Companion to Wine. But her main occupation is tasting, and she can sip and spit more than a hundred varieties at a sitting.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Sabat Mater Inflammatus Et Accensus by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Book: Middlemarch by George Eliot

Luxury: Cellar of wines and a corkscrew

Sue Lawley's castaway is wine connoisseur Jancis Robinson

[R4 BD=19961101

Born in 1928, she grew up in North Yorkshire where her father was a schoolmaster at a small independent boys' school. Her mother wrote sermons and was an inveterate letter-writer. After graduating, Jane had a number of literary jobs, but gave up working to raise her three young children. Although she wrote poems as a young girl, her writing career didn't begin in earnest until the day her youngest child started school when she began to write her first book.

Since then, she has published more than 30 books, including novels for children and adults as well as short stories and a non-fiction volume about the Yorkshire of her youth.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Jane Gardam, novelist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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The film had parallels with Jane's own life - as a shy school-girl, she too had discovered her facility for copying voices and would entertain family and friends with her portrayals of Shirley Bassey and Julie Andrews. She says that as soon as she found her gift she used it to win friends - and knew she had discovered her niche in life.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Miss You by Bj怀rk

Book: Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver

Luxury: The Essential Family Cookbook

Kirsty Young's castaway is actress Jane Horrocks

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Now an Emeritus Professor in her discipline at Imperial College London she's gained a worldwide reputation for her pioneering work on congenital heart disease.

She began studying medicine in the early 1950s when only a very few women were admitted through the doors of medical school. Since then she's been responsible for ground-breaking advances in cardiovascular treatment and founded the World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology.

She had something of a role model in her mother, a hard-working, clever, successful woman too. Her early years as a pupil at a boys' school in Wales must also have prepared her for making her way in such a heavily male-dominated profession.

She has a reputation for being straight-talking, and her late husband used to urge her to be more 'prudent', but, she says, 'it wasn't fun to be prudent: it was much more fun to be mafioso and naughty.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Emeritus Professor and cardiologist Jane Somerville is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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In this personal interview, she describes how, as she gets older, she can't bear to look in a mirror and see traces of her mother; how her shyness can make it difficult for her to walk into a room full of strangers and that what she likes best is to be walking in the hills, in the rain and sleet, mulling over ideas for her next project. She may be a pensioner with a good body of work behind her, but, she says, her mind is on the career that lies ahead.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Always on My Mind by Pet Shop Boys

Book: Larousse Gastronomique by Hamlyn

Luxury: Notebook and Pens.

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster and journalist Janet Street-Porter.

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He was born in Boston in 1937 to a physician father and a mother who was a teacher and a concert pianist. She taught him to read when he was three and he also learned to play the piano and developed a love of languages. Thinking his professional life would be in science, he decided to focus on the humanities at school, including Latin and Greek. After graduating from Harvard, he moved to England to pursue a PhD in physiology at Cambridge and became an expert on salt absorption in the gall bladder. He returned to the USA, and then his travels took him to New Guinea where he developed a passionate interest in ornithology and a lifelong love of the island which he's continued to visit for the past 50 years.

He has learned 12 languages, speaking several of them fluently, and has published six books and hundreds of articles. His most recent book, Upheaval, examines how nations cope with crisis and change.

Jared lives in Los Angeles with his wife Marie, a clinical psychologist. They have grown-up twin sons.

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

LUXURY ITEM: Six cases of Scharzhofberger Kabinett, a Riesling wine from the Saar Basin

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bach's Cantata 50: 'Nun ist das Heil

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Jared Diamond, academic and writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne

She has counselled government and travelled widely advising on how to put a stop to forced marriage and so called honour violence.

At 14, Jasvinder was shown a picture of the stranger thousands of miles away she was to marry and in the face of intimidation she fled her family, chose her own husbands and gained a first class degree. Her books have shone a piercing light on the veiled world of shame, brutality and coercion that some young women endure whilst Karma Nirvana, the pioneering charity she set up and runs, offers refuge and practical help.

She says, 'my life has had to take paths where responsibility was the key thing. Now I'm at a point in my life where I'm more content than I've ever been. I've reconciled the disownment.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews Jasvinder Sanghera, campaigner against forced marriage.

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Jay grew up in Hackney in East London and was brought up by his mother Barbara. He struggled to read as a young boy which held him back at school and he left at 16. Years later, after he got a place to study criminology and philosophy at university, he was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 31.

He worked as a community worker for many years and co-founded charities which helped disadvantaged young people learn new skills. One of his charities was based in High Wycombe - an area famous for its historic furniture trade - and Jay learned how to restore furniture alongside the teenagers he was helping.

Later he started his own furniture restoration business and in 2017 he started presenting the Repair Shop. He recently set up his own television production company and has written books about DIY and his experiences on the Repair shop. In 2021 he was awarded an MBE for services to craft.

DISC ONE: Help Me Make It Through the Night by John Holt

DISC TWO: The Night I Fell In Love by Luther Vandross

DISC THREE: Revolution by Dennis Brown

DISC FOUR: Battle by Wookie

DISC FIVE: Love You Anyway by Cameo

DISC SIX: Baby I'm A Fool by Melody Gardot

DISC SEVEN: Kisses Don't Lie by Evelyn `Champagne` King

DISC EIGHT: Take Me To The Alley by Gregory Porter

BOOK CHOICE: The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X with Alex Haley

LUXURY ITEM: A reclining massage chair

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Help Me Make It Through the Night by John Holt

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Jay Blades, presenter, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

It's 30 years since they enthralled the world winning gold at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. So memorable, it was truly a 'where were you when' moment: the answer for most of us seems to have been in front of the television as 24 million people tuned in to watch their purple chiffoned, passionate, pitch-perfect display.

Their enduring partnership is the stuff of sporting legend - British, European, World and Olympic champions - their synchronicity on and off the rink is fascinating. Both brought up in Nottingham, both only children, they took to the ice within a couple of years of each other. Jayne grew up to work as an insurance clerk, Chris was a policeman. They always seemed so normal, so nice, so much like the boy and girl next door. What a neat trick - in reality their originality, training regime and relentless pursuit of perfection has seen them push the boundaries of their chosen sport to rank among the world's elite.

Part of our fascination with them also stems from the long scrutiny over their personal relationship. Never mind that over the decades they've both married other people and had children, as recently as last year they finally admitted to a brief teenage 'dabble'.

They say, 'It's an unusual relationship that we have. ... Of course we love each other. You wouldn't be able to do all that we do without love.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Olympic ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

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An only child, she was brought up first in the Midlands, then in East Anglia. She was one of very few girls to attend a newly co-educational boys' school where she was bullied. Following a year spent working in an unemployment office she went to Royal Holloway College in London where she met her future husband, Ash, to whom she's been married for 33 years. Earlier this year she published her autobiography.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, banker, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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His Italian parents moved to the UK after the Second World War and he was brought up in Cannock in the Midlands. Keen on science as a child, with dreams of becoming an astronaut, he studied medicine at Birmingham University. While there, he applied for the RAF medical doctor programme and learned to fly.

While he was working as a hospital doctor, he answered an advertisement in the British Medical Journal seeking advisors for a medical TV drama. Despite negligible writing experience, he went on to script the BBC medical drama Cardiac Arrest. Its continuing success led him to leave medicine and embark on a successful career as a scriptwriter. His chief works for TV are the series Line of Duty, Bodies, The Grimleys and Cardiac Arrest. He's also written books: Bodies; Ascent; American Adulterer, and for children, The Penguin Expedition.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Jed Mercurio, writer and director, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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Now through her characters Edina and Patsy, she has created a comedy classic. But as she tells Sue Lawley, Absolutely Fabulous came about because, having taken a year off from French and Saunders, the phone was ominously silent, and she had absolutely nothing else to do.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No by Blondie

Book: Traveller's Prelude by Freya Stark

Luxury: Tribute Heads By Elisabeth Frink

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian and actor Jennifer Saunders

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She was born in London, and her parents were both professional musicians who encouraged her to paint, draw and learn a musical instrument. After studying theatre design, she was invited at the age of just 21 to create the sets for a production of Carmen at the Royal Opera House, conducted by Sir Georg Solti. She also worked on the costumes, which eventually led to her current career.

Her credits now include more than 60 films and television series, including a long collaboration with the Merchant Ivory team, on titles such as Howards End and Remains of the Day, as well as Room with a View. Her costumes range from precise period recreations, in films such as The King's Speech, to the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max and the extravagant 1970s-inspired gowns for Emma Stone and Emma Thompson in Cruella. Along with her Oscars, Jenny has also won four Baftas and two Primetime Emmy awards.

She was appointed a OBE in 2017.

DISC ONE: Endure from Bach's St Matthew Passion. Performed by Hans Peter Blochwitz and the Chapelle Royale Orchestra, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe

DISC TWO: The Stately Homes of England - No뀀l Coward

DISC THREE: Bizet: Carmen / Act 2 - 'La fleur que tu m'avais jet退e' (The flower you threw at me) Performed by Plကcido Domingo and London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti

DISC FOUR: O Mio Babbino Caro. Composed by Giacomo Puccini and performed by Kiri Te Kanawa and The London Philharmonic Orchestra

DISC FIVE: Scream - Caitlin Albery Beavan and Jim Bell

DISC SIX: Parking Fines - Joe Lycett from his That's the Way, A-Ha, A-Ha tour

DISC SEVEN: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

DISC EIGHT: Radamisto, HWV 12, Act 2: 'Ombra cara di mia sposa' (Radamisto) (Beloved shadow of my bride) Composed by George Frideric Handel, performed by Em怀ke Barကth and Ensemble Artaserse, conducted by Philippe Jaroussky

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

LUXURY ITEM: A cello

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Endure from Bach's St Matthew Passion. Performed by Hans Peter Blochwitz and the Chapelle Royale Orchestra, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Jenny Beavan, costumer designer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Although he was born into a political family in Norway, he grew up thinking he would become a statistician, before turning to a career in politics.

He served as the Prime Minister of Norway twice. During his second term, Norway experienced one of the darkest days in its recent history, when 77 people were murdered in a bomb attack in Oslo and a mass shooting on a nearby island.

Before becoming the Secretary General of NATO, a post he has held since 2014, he spent time as a UN Special Envoy on climate change. His term in office as Secretary-General has been extended until September 2022.

DISC ONE: Lift Me by Madrugada and Ane Brun

DISC TWO: No Harm by Smerz

DISC THREE: So Long, Marianne by Leonard Cohen

DISC FOUR: Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen

DISC FIVE: Make You Feel My Love by Ane Brun

DISC SIX: Til Ungdommen by Ingebjørg Bratland

DISC SEVEN: Free Nelson Mandela by The Special A.K.A.

DISC EIGHT: From Up Here by Ingrid Olava

BOOK CHOICE: A statistics textbook

LUXURY ITEM: A pair of skis

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Til Ungdommen by Ingebjørg Bratland

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Photo credit: NATO

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Sec Gen, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Jeremy was born in Cardiff in 1960. His father was a journalist for BBC Wales, who covered the Aberfan disaster in 1966, and his mother was a press photographer. In 1984, after university, Jeremy joined the BBC as a news trainee and in 1989 he starting reporting from Afghanistan and El Salvador.

From 1995 to 2000 he was based in Jerusalem as the BBC's Middle East correspondent. During that time he reported on the assassination of the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. His coverage of the event won him the Royal Television Society's Award for Best Breaking News report.

In 2022 Jeremy started reporting on the ground in Ukraine and earlier this year he returned to Iraq to discover how the country was coping, 20 years after the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Jeremy lives in London with his partner Julia.

DISC ONE: Let's Stay Together - Al Green

DISC TWO: Symphony No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 63: II. Larghetto. Composed by Edward Elgar and performed by Hall退 Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

DISC THREE: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op 18. Composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff and performed by Vladimir Ashkenazi (piano) with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andr退 Previn

DISC FOUR: America - Simon & Garfunkel

DISC FIVE: La boh耀me: O soave fanciulla. Composed by Giacomo Puccini and performed by Plကcido Domingo, Montserrat Caball退, London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Georg Solti

DISC SIX: Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras. Composed by Johannes Brahms and performed by Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan

DISC SEVEN: In My Life - The Beatles

DISC EIGHT: Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Novels of George Orwell

LUXURY ITEM: A manual typewriter

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Symphony No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 63: II. Larghetto. Composed by Edward Elgar and performed by Hall退 Orchestra and Wiener Singverein, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Jeremy Bowen, journalist, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

He ended up presenting Top Gear for the BBC and stayed on the programme for nine years, kick-starting it into a brash, opinionated motor show with a large and loyal fan base. He has indulged his love of speed and risk-taking through programmes including Extreme Machines and Speed. He's hosted a chat-show, Clarkson, and, more recently, his razor-sharp tongue has turned on our fellow Europeans with Meet the Neighbours. But, although his public image is as a brash, opinionated and sexist boor, he claims that he's been misrepresented - he says he's always been a bit of a mother's boy: his mother describes him as a family man who has a softer side that the public never sees. Married to his agent-cum-manager Francie, the couple have three children and two homes.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Time by Pink Floyd

Book: Photograph album

Luxury: Jet ski

Sue Lawley's castaway is motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson

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Deller doesn't paint, draw or sculpt and his work encompasses film, photography and installations. At school his creative endeavours were not always appreciated, and at 13 he was asked to leave the art class.

His lifelong love of history was ignited by childhood trips to museums with his father, and is evident in the subjects he addresses, from Stonehenge, which he re-created as a giant bouncy castle, to William Morris. He managed to meet Andy Warhol in London in 1986 and went to spend two formative weeks at Warhol's New York City studio, the Factory. The experience crystallised in Deller the belief that art can come in many forms and that an artist can create their own world of ideas.

His memorial to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre will be unveiled in August 2019.

BOOK CHOICE: An A to Z London Street Atlas

LUXURY: A stretch of road over Hay Bluff between Hay-on-Wye and Abergavenny.

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Out of the Blue by Roxy Music.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Jeremy Deller, artist, is interviewed by Lauren Laverne.

His life spans eleven decades of British history and he has spent much of it at the very centre of the action. Born during the First World War, he was brought up in the company of some of the greatest artists and writers of the day.

In World War II, he escaped his bombed-out ship clinging to a life raft with Lord Mountbatten.

At the Bar he played a central role in many of the seismic trials of the day - among them defending the novel Lady Chatterley's Lover against obscenity charges and Christine Keeler in the Profumo Affair trial. His brilliance in cross-examination inspired John Mortimer's creation of the character Rumpole of The Bailey.

He enjoyed two long marriages - his first to the actress Peggy Ashcroft, his second, for 40 years, to June Osborn, and he spent 23 years as an active member of The House of Lords.

He says, 'I had the luck to live when the world of the Establishment was being dismantled. The whole of one's career was to do with what was going on in society.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Jeremy Hutchinson, former barrister and member of the House of Lords

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He made his name playing Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited in 1981 and became known for his quintessentially English roles. It was an image he later sought to discard and he certainly did so in the film Lolita, where his portrayal of Humbert Humbert reopened the controversy about the desires of a middle-aged man for a 14-year old girl. In the film The Mission he played a gentle Jesuit missionary and went on to act as his own stuntman, climbing a perilous waterfall. It was his performance in Reversal of Fortune that won him an Oscar for Best Actor as the real-life character Claus Von Bulow, accused and acquitted of the attempted murder of his wife. Later this month, he returns to the West End stage after almost 20 years to star in the play Embers, a story of friendship and betrayal.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: One step at a Time by Clifton Chenier

Book: Ashley Books of Knots by Clifford Ashley

Luxury: Rizla liquorice papers

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Jeremy Irons

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler

Book: Photo album of family & friends

Alternative to Bible: Torah

Luxury: A cheeseburger machine.

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster Jerry Springer.

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They were married for more than 20 years. Since his death in 1972, she has maintained her own acting career, continued raising their children - the acclaimed cookery writer Tamasin and Oscar-winning actor Daniel - and also worked hard to preserve his legacy.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Romanza: the 3rd movement of Symphony No 5 in D Major by Vaughan Williams

Book: The collected works by Thomas Hardy

Luxury: A barrel of Guerlain Jicky perfume.

Kirsty Young's castaway is actress Jill Balcon.

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Jill was born and brought up in Sunderland, and excelled in a range of sports from an early age. She won the London mini-marathon when she was 14 but her heart was in football. She played for a boys junior football team until she was asked to leave when she was nine years old. Fortunately her mother found a girls team for her.

She began her senior career when she was a teenager, initially playing for Sunderland before moving on to Everton and then Manchester City, where she won all the domestic trophies. She was renowned as a highly competitive midfield player, who scored 27 goals for England.

She lives in Manchester with her partner Shelly, where they co-own a coffee shop. .

DISC ONE: (Something Inside) So Strong - Labi Siffre

DISC TWO: So Good - Boyzone

DISC THREE: Step by Step - Whitney Houston

DISC FOUR: Sunday Morning - Maroon 5

DISC FIVE: The Climb - Miley Cyrus

DISC SIX: My Love is Your Love - Whitney Houston

DISC SEVEN: Mysterious Girl - Peter Andre

DISC EIGHT: Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond

BOOK CHOICE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend

LUXURY ITEM: A notebook and pens

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Climb - Miley Cyrus

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Jill Scott, footballer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Her long writing career spans newspaper columns for the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday, non-fiction books on class, marriage and animals in war and novels that sell in their millions. Her romances set in the late seventies - including 'Bella', 'Harriett', 'Imogen' and 'Prudence' - were followed by 'Riders' in 1985, the first of her Rutshire Chronicles. Set mainly in the Cotswolds, they are racy and raunchy page-turners exposing the scandalous - and often hilarious - goings on among the British upper classes.

Born in 1937 in Essex, she was brought up in Yorkshire and enjoyed a happy childhood surrounded by dogs and ponies. At boarding school she earned the nickname, ‘the unholy terror' and having failed to get into Oxford and being sacked from a number of jobs for her inability to type, she turned to journalism before publishing her first book, 'How to Stay Married' in 1969.

She married Leo Cooper in 1961 and, unable to have children of their own, the couple adopted Felix and Emily in the late 1960s. The couple were married for 52 years before his death in 2013.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

Jilly Cooper, writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

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He is the son of Irish immigrant parents and grew up in Berkshire.

Despite being dyslexic, he got good enough A levels to study at Cambridge University. After graduating with a degree in Political Science, and working for a major multinational company in London, Jimmy had what he calls an 'early midlife crisis', during which he lost his Catholic faith and was generally unhappy.

He attended lots of therapy courses in an attempt to find out what would make him happier and eventually set out on the road to becoming a comedian.

He quickly got a reputation for his fierce work ethic, heading up annually to the Edinburgh Fringe, touring with a new show virtually every year, and hosting many a Channel 4 panel show including 8 Out of 10 Cats and the Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

He has also made a name for himself by becoming what he has called 'the king of the inappropriate', drawing criticism for making jokes about sensitive subjects.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Jimmy Carr, comedian, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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He began his life in comedy as a performer and writer but success in front of the camera clearly wasn't enough - he set up the production company Hat Trick and has turned out a huge number of hits, including 'Have I Got News for You', 'Father Ted' 'Room 101' and 'Outnumbered'.

But he says that for many years he was a ticking time bomb - he became addicted to drugs and alcohol and, after triumphing over them, also fought cancer. These days, he is the father to four children and says he looks back with an overwhelming sense of gratitude at how his life has unfolded.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: In My Life - The Beatles

Book: The Complete works of P G Wodehouse

Luxury: A solar powered espresso machine.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedy producer, writer and actor Jimmy Mulville.

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In recent years he's returned to the stand up circuit and is a popular after-dinner speaker. He's also turned his passion for golf into a new venture with a series of videos on the world's best and worst courses.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Oh! My Beloved Father (O Mio Babbino Caro) by Giacomo Puccini

Book: The Essential Henry Longhurst by Henry Longhurst

Luxury: Own set of golf clubs and balls

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian Jimmy Tarbuck

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He is best known as the co-founder of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. He grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and was the eldest child of a grocery store manager and his wife who ran a primary school where Jimmy and his siblings were educated. After acquiring a degree in finance and working as a trader in Chicago, his first serious foray into the online world was with the web portal Bomis, before branching out with a project called Nupedia, an online encyclopedia with entries written by scholars and published after undergoing peer review.

Wikipedia launched in 2001 and now exists in 287 languages and is the 7th most accessed website in the world with over 20 billion page views per month. It can be edited by anyone though relies on a core of around 5,000 volunteers who are responsible for the majority of the content. It is Jimmy's aim to create 'a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Jimmy Wales, internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Wikipedia.

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Her first career was as a psychiatric nurse - and for several years she would spend the day working in a psychiatric unit before appearing at a comedy club in the evening. Both careers demand an ability to be calm in extreme situations and to display a confidence that is often not felt. Her extreme act meant that for many years she was labelled a man-hating feminist - but she confounded critics by getting married and having two children.

Elements of this programme may offend some listeners.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Oh England, My Lionheart by Kate Bush

Book: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

Luxury: A church organ.

Kirsty Young's castaway is comedian Jo Brand.

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Jo did not enjoy school, left at 16 with six O-levels and learned shorthand and typing at a secretarial college. She got a job with a magazine publisher and worked her way up through the features department to become the UK's youngest magazine editor at the age of 23.

Her move into chocolate came when she happened to try a couple of squares of a sample sitting on the desk of her future husband, Craig Sams, a health foods entrepreneur. Jo decided that it was the best she had ever tasted. She bought two tonnes of chocolate for £20,000, using all of the proceeds from the flat she had just sold. She and Craig launched Green & Black's in 1991 and sold the company to Cadbury's in 2005.

BOOK CHOICE: Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World's Food Plants by National Geographic

LUXURY ITEM: Her own pillow

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Wanna Be Like You by Louis Prima

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Jo Fairley, businesswoman, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

If her name automatically conjures the citrusy scents of lime, basil and mandarin or spicy notes of amber and lavender then you're doubtless one of the customers who flock into the eponymous stores to buy the products that have made her a household name.

Aged nine, she would grind sandlewood and strain juniper at the kitchen table. 17 years later fashionable London flocked to her little salon in Chelsea to be massaged with oils and unguents. In the 1990s the brand went international and the fragrance made her fortune when she sold the business.

If this all sounds like a fragrant little fairy tale, crisply wrapped in a signature black grosgrain bow, it isn't. Severely dyslexic she left school at 14. Her dad was a talented painter but a chronic gambler too, and home life was sometimes hand-to-mouth. Later, and at a time in her life when she should have been enjoying her success and her toddler son, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Finally fully recovered she decided to start again from scratch.

She says, 'I love sharing my story, and I'm not frightened of people seeing the cracks as well as the strengths. I think the things that are sad and difficult are just as important.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to businesswoman Jo Malone.

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Along with displaying a formidable comic talent, it was a role that toyed cleverly with her public persona, hinting at her own beginnings as a model at the precise moment in the 1960s when London really started to swing. As she contemplates being marooned, she abandons the make-up and glamour of her on-screen life and embraces island living - collecting firewood, eating from shells and preparing her evening fire before the moon rises and she chooses the eight tracks that she would like to hear during a single island day.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 7 in A Major by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: A huge atlas

Luxury: Video camera + film.

Kirsty Young's castaway is actress Joanna Lumley.

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The daughter of an English father and French mother, Joanne was born in Barnsley and her first few years were spent living above her grandparents' sweet shop. Her parents were both teachers, and her first language was French. She went on to read modern and medieval languages at Cambridge University and taught French for 15 years, writing fiction in her spare time.

Her first two novels were not successful and initially Chocolat looked set to follow suit: some publishers thought it was too indulgent to appeal readers in any great number, but the story's combination of food and magic won many fans and it became a word of mouth hit.

Since then, Joanne has written 18 more novels, along with novellas, short stories, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays and three cookbooks. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards.

Joanne lives in Yorkshire and works from a shed in her back garden.

DISC ONE: I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash

DISC TWO: Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis by Georges Brassens

DISC THREE: At Seventeen by Janis Ian

DISC FOUR: Here Comes the Flood by Peter Gabriel

DISC FIVE: Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits

DISC SIX: Letting You Go by Philip Quast

DISC SEVEN: When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease by Roy Harper

DISC EIGHT: Little Plastic Castle by Ani DiFranco

BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Works of Victor Hugo

LUXURY ITEM: Joanne's own shed

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Joanne Harris, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

But it was only after reading the classic account of attempted ascents on the Eiger - 'The White Spider' - by Heinrich Harrer that he developed an interest in his future passion. After a brief spell working at a saw mill and then at a quarry he studied English Literature at Edinburgh University. There he began climbing in earnest often attempting dangerous routes beyond his experience before tackling a previously unconquered route up Siula Grande - a peak in the Peruvian Andes. This climb was to make his name. He and his partner Simon Yates made the first successful ascent of the mountain's west face only to run into difficulties after Joe shattered his leg on their descent. After running out of resources and with no prospect of rescue Simon painstakingly lowered Joe towards shelter before being forced to cut the rope on his friend. Joe had inadvertently slid over an overhanging rock and was slowly pulling the two off the mountain. He landed in a crevasse and after being left for dead amazingly managed to crawl miles back to safety. Simon Yates was widely attacked for his actions in the climbing community leading Joe to write a defence of the rescue with his book 'Touching the Void', which has also been made into an award-winning film. Told he'd never climb again following the accident, Joe went on to climb many more mountains over the last two decades. He's worked as a mountaineering guide all over the world and written five more books.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I'm Not A Man You Meet Everyday by Cait O'Riordon and the Pogues

Book: Blank book and pen

Alternative to Bible: The Sutras - the teachings of Gautama Buddha

Luxury: A drink-making machine

Sue Lawley's castaway is mountaineer Joe Simpson

[R4 BD=20040924

Born in 1985, Joe's mother was nineteen when she gave birth to him while his father was in and out of his life with a heroin addiction. He was a hyperactive child whose salvation at school was channelling his excess energy into PE lessons.

With a Sports Science degree under his belt, he briefly became a teaching assistant himself, but found it wasn't for him and set himself up as a personal trainer instead, preaching the importance of combining training with the right nutrition. With the advent of the video function on Instagram, he started posting free 15-second recipes using the name The Body Coach, building up a following of first hundreds, then thousands and eventually millions.

His phenomenally successful business began when he created a commercial 90-day plan with workouts and meals. He published Lean in 15 in 2015 which became the bestselling non-fiction book of the year, and he has since written eight further cook books.

He married his wife, Rosie, in 2019 and the couple have two children, Indie and Marley.

DISC ONE: Shotgun by George Ezra

DISC TWO: Bright Side of the Road by Van Morrison

DISC THREE: Three Little Birds by Bob Marley And The Wailers

DISC FOUR: When You Were Young by The Killers

DISC FIVE: Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

DISC SIX: River by Leon Bridges

DISC SEVEN: Nothing Can Change This Love by Sam Cooke

DISC EIGHT: You're Welcome by Dwayne Johnson

BOOK CHOICE: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

LUXURY ITEM: An acoustic guitar

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: River by Leon Bridges

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Joe Wicks, fitness coach, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

His work is studied widely in British schools. He was the BBC's first poet in residence and along with WH Auden and Philip Larkin, he's a recipient of The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

Born in Guyana he arrived here in the mid-1970s already playing with words like some people play with musical notes. If his style is often satirical, his subjects provide wincing realism - examining the scars of slavery or the historical myopia of a shared past judged solely through European eyes.

He says he believes that 'the poet keeps us in touch with the vulnerable core of language that makes us what we are.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to poet and playwright John Agard.

[R4 BD=20141121

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No.9 - Adagio by Gustav Mahler

Book: Eternal Echoes by John O'Donohue

Luxury: Grand piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is composer John Barry.

[R4 BD=19990618

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Caravan by Duke Ellington

Book: Encyclopaedia of London by Ben Weinreb

Luxury: Mont Blanc pen, notebook and ink

Sue Lawley's castaway is editor of the big issue John Bird

[R4 BD=19980626

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Repons by Pierre Boulez

Book: The collected works by Wallace Stevens

Luxury: 2,000 soft loo rolls

Sue Lawley's castaway is satirist John Bird

[R4 BD=20000602

Growing up on a Merseyside council estate, his early ambition was to play football for Liverpool - otherwise, he thought he might find a way out by winning the Pools or joining a band. The youngest of four children, his family were, he says, the kind that filled factory floors rather than lecture halls. Now a hugely popular stand-up comedian, it was a failing marriage and a sense of desperation that led him, one night, to a comedy bar. He decided to give it a try - it turned his life, and marriage, around.

'There was a time where the stand-up was the thing that I think kept me sane - it was like therapy and if I stopped doing it, I would go backwards.'

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Comedian John Bishop is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20120629

John was born in Birmingham and grew up in Stoke-on-Trent. He came up with his first business venture when he was five - he sold his toys to the other children in his neighbourhood. After he left school he became an apprentice engineer at the Michelin Tyre Factory, but the hunger to have his own business drove him on. In his spare time he set up a variety of enterprises from a grocery store to a mail order business selling motorcycle clothing.

In 1980 he set up a car dealership with his brother Brian and a few years later spotted a mobile phone in use at a car auction. Although the phone was heavy and cumbersome, John saw the potential of cellular technology and set up his own retail business, starting off with 26 phones which took him almost a year to sell.

In 2000 he set up Caudwell Children, his charity which helps children with disabilities, and remains its largest single benefactor. He was one of the first people in the UK to sign up to Bill and Melinda Gates's Giving Pledge, vowing to give away 70% of his wealth during his lifetime. In 2006 John sold the Caudwell Group for £1.5 billion.

DISC ONE: Bennie and the Jets by Elton John

DISC TWO: She Loves You by The Beatles

DISC THREE: Bring Him Home by Alfie Boe and the cast and orchestra of Les Mis退rables

DISC FOUR: Maggie May by Rod Stewart

DISC FIVE: My Way by Frank Sinatra

DISC SIX: Bat out of Hell by Meat Loaf

DISC SEVEN: Fix You by Coldplay

DISC EIGHT: Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

Book: A Desert Island Survival manual

Luxury: Sunblock

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Fix You by Coldplay

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

John Caudwell, businessman, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

[R4 BD=1997011

John had various odd jobs after leaving school at 15 and by his mid-20s, he was reciting his poetry in clubs around Manchester. His entry into the punk scene was helped, he says, by `already looking like a punk`, and despite some initially hostile receptions from audiences waiting for the Sex Pistols or the Buzzcocks, he acquired a cult status, going on to release five albums of his poetry set to music by former Joy Division producer Martin Hannett.

By early 1980s, he was also in the grip of a heroin addiction which would see him write very little for over a decade. He cleaned up in the early 90s after marrying his second wife, Evie, and having a daughter, Stella. His star began to rise again in 2007 when one of his poems was used in an episode of The Sopranos and others were included on the GCSE syllabus, which led to collaborations with artists like Plan B and Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys.

BOOK CHOICE: Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans

LUXURY ITEM: A boulder of opium twice the size of his head

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: How Great Thou Art by Elvis Presley

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

John Cooper Clarke, poet, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Throughout his sixty year career he's worked with all the greats at the major opera houses of the world. He introduced Luciano Pavarotti to a London audience, charmed Georg Solti with his piano playing and was even called upon to stand in for Maria Callas. He was just ten years old when he first saw an opera and he loved it straight away; 'I caught opera,' he says, 'like the measles'.

Record: Janet Baker singing Handel's Ariodante

Book: Grove's Operatic Dictionary of Music

Luxury: My 49-year-old double bed.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Kirsty Young's castaway is opera director John Copley.

[R4 BD=20100606

John Fortune is one of Britain's most respected and enduring satirists. For the past 12 years he has been half of the award-winning double act, The Long Johns, with John Bird, that have brought a sharper political edge to Bremner, Bird and Fortune. As a result of the act, they have been named the Best Opposition by The Oldie Magazine and are Bafta award winners. It is a return to the forefront of political satire for John Fortune - he had joined Peter Cook in setting up The Establishment Club in the 1960s and had taken the review to America to widespread acclaim and returned to Britain to write for, among others, BBC Three and Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Sonata No 30 in E Major by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Leopard (In Italian & English) by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

Luxury: A rug made by the Baluch people from Afghanistan

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian John Fortune

[R4 BD=20041217

Now aged 90, he works under the name Araucaria and, for more than fifty years, has infuriated, intrigued and entertained with fiendish clues and mind-twisting anagrams.

Like his father and grandfather he became a vicar but, when divorce forced him to leave the church, crosswords provided an unlikely source of revenue.

Of the skills needed to dream up cryptic clues, he says: 'So much of it is something that goes on unconsciously. You see the word, you play with it in your mind, you don't actually think about the punters at all at that stage, you try and do it for yourself. I hope that it equips one for life in the sense that it makes one think more clearly and that can only be good.

Record: Haydn - The Heavens are Telling

Book: The complete works of Saki.

Luxury: A telescope

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Setter of crosswords John Graham joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20110715

Born in 1948 in South Shields, his father was a Tyneside dock worker, his mother a homemaker. A voracious reader as a child, and encouraged by his history teacher at his grammar school, he won a scholarship to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford. Initially of the political Left, he became an advocate of the policies of the Right before the advent of Thatcherism. He then moved again to the Left. He supported the Leave cause in the Brexit referendum.

John contends that history is not progressive, but cyclical, and that any improvements other than certain scientific discoveries can be easily lost or reversed. He cites the use of torture against terror suspects as an example.

John has written several influential books, including False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism (1998), which predicted the global financial crisis; Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals (2002), which attacked philosophical humanism; and Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia (2007), a critique of Utopian thinking in the modern world.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Philosopher and writer John Gray is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20180316

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Hunting Song by Pentangle

Book: The Aesthetics of Music by Roger Scruton

Luxury: Lute and strings

Sue Lawley's castaway is saxophonist John Harle

[R4 BD=19980529

Now, his life is dominated not only by the alarm bell - which is set for 3.58am - but by his youngest son, Owen. When John Humphrys describes the joy and warmth the seven-year-old has brought him, he becomes, if only temporarily, lost for words.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Opening of Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar

Book: Biggest poetry anthology possible

Luxury: A cello.

Kirsty Young's castaway is broadcaster and journalist John Humphrys.

[R4 BD=20080111

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Bassoon Concerto in B by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

Luxury: Laptop Computer

Sue Lawley's castaway is historian and television personality John Julius Norwich

[R4 BD=19971107

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: An die Musik by Franz Schubert

Book: The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

Luxury: French-speaking man robot

Sue Lawley's castaway is military historian John Keegan

[R4 BD=19981211

He was born John Stephens in Springfield, Ohio into a musical family. His father played drums in church, where his mother conducted the choir. John took piano lessons from an early age and soon became involved in arranging music for the church.

He attended university at the age of 16 and after graduating worked as a management consultant for four years, while pursuing his interest in music out of office hours. He signed his first record deal after working with Kanye West early in his career, and took on the stage name John Legend, releasing his first solo album in 2004.

Alongside his musical career, he has acted on TV and film, including a role in the highly successful La La Land. He has performed at three Presidential inauguration ceremonies - for President Obama in 2009 and 2013, and for President Biden in 2021.

John lives in the USA with his wife and their two children.

DISC ONE: Here Comes the Sun by Nina Simone

DISC TWO: They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) by Pete Rock & CL Smooth

DISC THREE: Day Dreaming by Aretha Franklin

DISC FOUR: Roc Boys (And the Winner i

[R4 BD=2001030

His work has been making us laugh for over thirty years: Spitting Image, Not The Nine o'Clock News, Blackadder and QI are just a handful of the programmes he's helped to create. If the comedy work ever dries up he could open a shop selling second hand Baftas - he's won a stack of them and a Grammy and an Emmy.

Which isn't to say it's been an easy ride - fall outs, multiple sackings and missed opportunities have peppered his stellar career in comedy. He says,

I like starting things ... there are starters and finishers in life, that's the great divide ... I like the fight and the passion and the difficulty - well I don't like it, but it's what I do'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Comedy producer John Lloyd is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20121123

In 1983 Malkovich made his New York debut in an off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's True West and won an Obie award for his performance. This led to the role of Biff in the 1984 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, in which Dustin Hoffman played Willy Loman. Their performances were captured for posterity in a film version a year later. John has received three Oscar nominations for Places In The Heart, The Killing Fields and In the Line of Fire.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Who Knows Where The Time Goes by Nina Simone

Book: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Luxury: A cappuccino maker

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor John Malkovich

[R4 BD=20021206

John McEnroe grew up in New York and didn't pick up a tennis racquet until the age of eight, but his talent was quickly spotted and he began to compete in junior tournaments. In 1977, aged 18 and between high school and university, he qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon and reached the semi-finals where he lost to Jimmy Connors. By the end of the tournament his on-court behaviour - shouting, haranguing umpires and abusing his racquet - earned him the nickname 'Superbrat'.

He made his first Wimbledon final against Bjorn Borg in 1980. In one of the finest matches in history, despite winning a tiebreak 18-16 to win the fourth set, he lost the match. He beat Borg the following year to win his first Wimbledon singles title. 1984 was the best year in John's career: he won 82 out of 85 matches he played, but it was also the year when he was beaten at the French Open by Ivan Lendl, who replaced him as number one.

John married the actress Tatum O'Neal in 1986. They divorced in the mid-1990s and he has been married to the singer Patty Smyth since 1997. Since retiring in 1992, in addition to his role as tennis commentator, he has been a coach and runs his own tennis academy. He still plays in tennis tournaments.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

John McEnroe, tennis player, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20170721

Known not only for his footballing knowledge and his voice, he is often recognised by his knee-length sheepskin coat. His passion for football was ignited by his father, a Methodist minister for 40 years, who on his one day off each week would take his only son to watch football. The first game John attended was at Charlton Athletic when he was seven, and the excitement of it inspired him to create scrapbooks of footballing facts and collect match programmes.

After five years at boarding school, where he wasn't allowed to play football, he left at 16 after one term doing A levels. He joined the Barnet Press as a trainee reporter and then moved onto the Sheffield Telegraph. When BBC Radio Sheffield, one of the first six local radio stations, came on air, he was one of the reporters pulled in to give match summaries. He then moved to the BBC as a sports assistant in radio, before joining the Match of the Day team on television.

He has been supported in his career by his solicitor wife, Annie, who meticulously kept details of every match in thick A4 books which John used for his preparation. He was awarded an OBE for services to football and in May 2018 he was honoured by BAFTA with a Special Award for his lifetime's work.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

John Motson, broadcaster, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20180622

Inspired and encouraged by his school education, he became Director of Music at Clare College, Cambridge, and then with a string of winning commissions already behind him, moved into full time composition. But his relationship with composition is a difficult one - it's a process he finds isolating and says that although it does not make him happy - he feels compelled to do it. However, once he has finished a work he says nothing in the world compares with the feeling he experiences when he conducts it for the first time. He says: 'I write music that people will enjoy singing. I'm not ashamed of that'.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Gloria in Excelsis Deo from B Minor Mass by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Teach yourself mathematics illustrated by voluptuous women

Luxury: Viola

Sue Lawley's castaway is composer John Rutter

[R4 BD=20051230

He had a cosmopolitan upbringing. The only child of Greek parents he was born in Alexandria but, from the age of eight, he mostly lived with his aunt and uncle in Cairo where he became a frequent visitor to the Cairo Museum. It was growing up among the teeming, richly scented streets and bone dry heat of Egypt that he became enraptured with architecture, artefacts and the transformative power of light.

On coming to England for the first time as a teenager he watched 12 plays in 10 days - and says in spite of the cold rooms and dripping walls of his halls at Oxford, he found the rain and green grass exotic.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Vissi d'Arte from Tosca by Giacomo Puccini

Book: Odyssey by Homer

Luxury: Sketch book with lots of pencils.

Kirsty Young's castaway is designer John Stefanidis

His father was killed in the war and he was brought up by his extended family in a peripatetic childhood. He joined the army but, with no war to fight, left his commission and went to university instead. He worked in Scotland and America but as his reputation grew, so did his dependence on alcohol. He finally hit rock bottom while in America and stopped drinking 23 years ago. Today he is a pre-eminent literary figure - combining erudition and historical research with a taste for the modern and the new.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Piano has been Drinking (Not Me) by Tom Waits

Book: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Luxury: iPod

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer and academic John Sutherland

[R4 BD=20060127

He is chairman of his eponymous high street retailers and the business is in his blood: started by his great-grandfather in 1865 it is now run by one of his sons.

Although he fulfilled his family's expectations by running the family firm, he's a man who ploughs his own furrow as all his staff are given the day off on their birthday, and can use the company's holiday homes for free. A proponent of what he calls 'upside down management', his employees, all of whom are called 'colleagues', enjoy an unusual degree of autonomy in the running of the individual shops and 10% of the company's employees have spent time in prison.

Married to his late wife Alex for over 47 years, together they fostered 90 children. He has written several books on leadership and pens a weekly business advice column.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews businessman John Timpson.

[R4 BD=20160401

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Concerto For Violin And Strings In D Minor Largo by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: Flora and Fauna of a Tropical Desert Island

Luxury: A box of lenses

Sue Lawley's castaway is bass opera singer John Tomlinson

[R4 BD=19980123

As a stand-up comic he made his name as one of the most brilliant and unpredictable acts on the circuit. His stage persona was a belligerent drunk who would heckle his own audience. But the more successful he became, the more the similarities between his own life and his stage character seemed to blur. 'I found popularity through self-destruction' he says, 'and that can be quite addictive'. In recent years, he has cut down on his drinking, lost weight and now got engaged - all part of a plan to ensure he reached his 40th birthday and could be a proper father to his young son. 'Life's actually turned around and been very good to me,' he says.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: Hurt - Johnny Cash

Book: The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.

Luxury: A Kiln.

Comedian Johnny Vegas joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20101008

Jon was born in Cardiff in 1967. He started a media studies degree at the Polytechnic of Central London but left after two years to become the keyboard player for the musician and comedian Frank Sidebottom's Oh Blimey Big Band. He also managed the Manchester indie band Man from Delmonte.

He worked as a presenter on KFM Radio with Terry Christian, Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash before moving back to London where he wrote for the listings magazine Time Out and later produced a weekly column about family life for the Guardian.

In 1993 he began his television career with a BBC series called the Ronson Mission which he describes as having little adventures and interviewing people who were classed as outsiders by the mainstream. He went on to make programmes about the Ku Klux Klan, the Jesus Christians cult and the First Earth Battalion about a secret New Age unit which was set up within the US Army in the late 1970s.

In 2012 Jon moved to New York. He became an American citizen in 2020.

DISC ONE: A Message to You Rudy by The Specials

DISC TWO: Cabaret sung by Jane Horrocks, from the Sam Mendes production of the musical Cabaret at the Donmar Warehouse, London in 1993

DISC THREE: Underground by Tom Waits

DISC FOUR: Drivin' on 9 by The Breeders

DISC FIVE: Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear by Randy Newman

DISC SIX: Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple

DISC SEVEN: America by Simon & Garfunkel

DISC EIGHT: Jersey Girl (Live at Meadowlands Arena, E. Rutherford, New Jersey - July 1981) by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

BOOK CHOICE: A Magnum photography book

LUXURY ITEM: Legal medical marijuana

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Jersey Girl by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Jon Ronson, writer and broadcaster, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

For the past 21 years he's been the face of Channel Four's nightly bulletins where, along with his patent enthusiasm and vigour for dissecting the day's stories, he's noted for his natty line in neckties and socks.

He's a highly experienced foreign correspondent too - he's reported from Haiti, New Orleans, Washington and East Africa among many locations. However it was in El Salvador that he found his name on the list of people who might be targeted by death squads. It was, he says, something of a 'badge of honour'. 'I cry on location', he says, 'and it's a good thing, because otherwise you bottle it up and come home bonkers.

Record: Petite Messe Solennelle

Book: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Luxury: A set of watercolours and an endless supply of paper

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Journalist and TV presenter Jon Snow joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20110204

Frequently referred to as one of the greatest singers of his generation, both his parents fled East Germany for Munich between the end of the war and the Berlin wall being erected. Jonas was brought up singing in choirs, playing the piano and listening to a range of classical music. When he was seven, he was enthralled by seeing his first opera - Madam Butterfly. He studied Maths at university, but soon changed to music and quickly started getting professional singing work.

Since then he has taken on many of the great roles for tenors, at opera houses around the world - Don Carlo, Don Jos退 (Carmen), Alfredo (La Traviata), and Cavaradossi (Tosca). He is also known as a singer of 'Lieder' & renowned not only for the beauty of his voice but for his musical range.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews opera singer Jonas Kaufmann.

[R4 BD=20150227

Known simply as 'Aggers' to the army of fans devoted to Test Match Special, his charm, knowledge and ready wit have gained him a place in the heart of anyone who loves the game.

His own infatuation began as a young boy at boarding school and along with his talent and determination it took him all the way to the top of the sport. He played for Leicestershire and England. His transition from the crease to the commentary box was cemented by one of the most memorable moments in broadcasting history - the notorious 'legover' comment that prompted the legendary Brian Johnston to dissolve into helpless, prolonged giggles live on air.

He says 'The great thing about our job is that you have no pre-conceived idea about what is going to happen - you have no script - the cricket is the script'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20130222

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: (We're Gonna) Jump For Joy by Big Joe Turner

Book: Four Books of Architecture by Andrea Palladio

Luxury: Piano

Sue Lawley's castaway is presenter Jools Holland

[R4 BD=19971010

But it was by no means a straightforward route to fame and fortune. She was born in Blackburn during World War II and grew up in dire poverty. As a child, she used to charge her school friends a penny for her to tell them a story, she and her siblings slept six to a bed, and they used to drink water out of jam-jars. One of her teachers recognised her talents and prophesied her future success as a writer. But it was only decades later when, convalescing after an illness, she had the time to pick up a pen and write. Her first book was accepted immediately and she has been writing two books a year ever since.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Imagine by John Lennon

Book: 'A book which is in my head about my brother

Luxury: Photo album of my family

Sue Lawley's castaway is novelist Josephine Cox

[R4 BD=20050722

[R4 BD=2002060

Her first big role came in 2002 singing Rosina in The Barber of Seville in Paris and she made her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2005 at the age of 36. Since then her star has shone brightly and she has performed across the operatic spectrum, from contemporary works, such as Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking to Strauss and Handel.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Joyce DiDonato is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20160930

Although The Ginger Man was banned in Ireland and expurgated in Britain and America it became a word-of-mouth success. But its publication plunged J P Donleavy into a legal battle that took 20 years to resolve. It was a legal struggle, though, that was worth fighting for - for the past 50 years it has never been out of print.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 2nd movement of Emperor Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: 1972 Social Registry of New York

Luxury: His own long-handled spoon to make dressings.

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer J P Donleavy.

[R4 BD=20070309

In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: In A Landscape by John Cage

Book: A specially commissioned complete history of art book, with sections by John Berger, David Hockney and Jeanette Winterson among others

Luxury: A notebook and pencil

Sue Lawley's castaway is director Jude Kelly

[R4 BD=20020510

A tennis coach since she was 17, she's the current British captain of the Fed Cup, the premier team competition in women's tennis, and was herself at one time ranked 8th in Britain - achievements worth celebrating.

But what she's best known for is being the ultimate tennis mum. Both her sons have reached the top flight of the game - one as Wimbledon mixed doubles champion, the other becoming the first Brit to win the men's singles in 77 years. In the moments after Andy Murray's heroic win on Centre Court last year it was to her he turned pumping his fists and roaring - as if to say 'we have done it'.

Judy's many followers on social media know how she spends her time - countless hours travelling up and down the country coaching and working to inspire children to take up the game.

She says, 'I've always been competitive. I'm like Andy, or maybe he's like me - I wear my heart on my sleeve. And when something is great, then yep, I am right into it'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Judy Murray, tennis coach and mother of Andy and Jamie, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

[R4 BD=20140627

As head of the charity, Business in the Community, she fine-tuned to perfection the art of persuasion. A phone call from her and many of the big beasts of the business world - the 'pinstripes' she calls them - stride from their boardrooms intent on giving something back to society. Her energies and endeavours have powered countless corporate social responsibility programmes.

In a life dedicated to public service, she has charmed not only chief executives but apparently royalty too - HRH the Prince of Wales is a long time supporter and collaborator.

She seems keenly aware that not everyone has her good fortune of a first class education and top drawer connections - when she's not harrying the blue chip brigade, she's inspiring young people from all sorts of backgrounds to follow her example and get involved in social action.

She says, 'one of the most important leadership roles is to grow people. It is very much like gardening. You tend them and apply fertiliser. But sometimes you have to prune them to make them grow stronger.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young interviews campaigner Dame Julia Cleverdon.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: An Die Music by Felicity Lott

Book: Poem for the day by Wendy Cope

Luxury: A piano.

Kirsty Young's castaway is children's author Julia Donaldson.

[R4 BD=20091120

Counsellor for Paediatrics at London's St Mary's hospital, Paddington, she works with parents whose children have died and children who've experienced loss themselves. She is a Vice President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, an Honorary Fellow of Imperial College and Founder Patron of The Child Bereavement Trust - now Child Bereavement UK.

One of five children, she was born into the banking line of the Guinness family. She describes her childhood as rather old-fashioned - her governess was an important figure in her life. As a young woman she worked in Paris and then set up her own interior decorating business. But it was her work with the charity, Birthright that lead to her finding her vocation as a counsellor. In the late 1980s she met and became close friends with Princess Diana who was both a supporter of the Child Bereavement Trust and godmother to her son. Today Julia Samuel is one of Prince George's godparents.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Psychotherapist Julia Samuel is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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In recent years, Julian has toned down the make-up and innuendo in order to take on a new role - Julian Clary, family favourite, star of prime time. Where once he had cult status, he now has serious mainstream appeal, recently presenting the new National Lottery show on BBC1 and reaching the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Garu Nanaka Ji Ki Jai Kar by Dana Gillespie

Book: Stop Thinking, Start Living by Richard Carlson

Luxury: All-purpose prosthetic arm

Sue Lawley's castaway is comedian Julian Clary

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He won an Oscar for his screenplay for Gosford Park and went on to write other feature films including The Young Victoria and Vanity Fair. Downton Abbey, which he created and writes, has been an enormous TV success with a huge audience. 'Of course' he says, 'if I had a clear understanding of why it had done so well, I would continue to write shows that attracted record viewers for the rest of my life.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Scriptwriter Julian Fellowes is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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The name change is surely a clue to the evolving nature of an organisation determined to be relevant and useful to girls in the 21st century. Indeed being relevant and useful is how Julie Bentley has spent her entire working life. From her early efforts at an HIV charity to running the Family Planning Association she says her passion lies with helping young people develop confidence and direction.

Never a Brownie or Girl Guide herself, she was brought up in what she describes as 'a happy working class family in Essex' and it took her a little while to find her own self assurance and sense of purpose. A painfully shy child, who was bullied at primary school, she later went on to become Head Girl, but left school with very few qualifications. In her 30s she used a bequest from her mother to fund her Master's degree.

She says of the Girl Guides, 'It is not about itchy brown uniforms and sewing and baking. It is a modern, contemporary, vibrant organisation.

Producer: Christine Pawlowsky.

Kirsty Young talks to Julie Bentley, CEO of Girlguiding.

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As a columnist and author she is a committed non-conformist - daring the world to take issue with her vociferous life and work and depending on whom you ask is either a 'Marxist critic' or 'a right wing columnist'.

As a child she used to hide away when potential playmates came to call, at 17 she was writing for the NME and in the decades since she's plied her trade at The Times, The Guardian and The Daily Mail amongst others. She's also written twenty odd books and her autobiography is entitled 'I Knew I Was Right'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young interviews columnist and author Julie Burchill.

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For a quarter of a century her Coronation Street character Bet Lynch set the gold plated standard for big, brassy, back chatting blondes. Behind the bar of the Rovers Return her bosom swathed in leopard-print and her head piled high with platinum curls she was Manchester's answer to Mae West. Her MBE was awarded for her services to drama - and when she left the series in 1995, her departure pulled in 19 million viewers.

Yet whatever the scriptwriters came up with it was never as dramatic as the life she's lived beyond The Street. She got pregnant at 17, her second husband abandoned her for their best man, and in 1979 she was diagnosed with cancer and told she'd a year to live. She's now married to her fourth husband.

She says, 'If anyone should be interested in an epitaph for my life, I would like them to consider, 'At least she tried.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to former Coronation Street actress Julie Goodyear.

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She celebrates her 90th birthday in February 2017 and has no intention of retiring as acting 'keeps her alive'.

June was born in Suffolk and brought up in a music-loving family. Towards the end of World War Two, she joined up, choosing the WRNS where she worked as a cinema operator showing training films and newsreels to the sailors.

She did some acting during that time and after a brief and unsuccessful job in an office, she was one of very few chosen to receive a classical training at the Old Vic Theatre School. From there she joined the Old Vic Theatre Company where she worked with such greats as Edith Evans, Laurence Oliver and Albert Finney. Her roles included Lady Macbeth and Ibsen's Hedda Gabler.

She had five children in relatively quick succession and continued acting on TV and the London stage, often putting her youngest in a pram and going in the guard's van on the train to the theatre.

Throughout her time on EastEnders she has occasionally ventured away to direct or take part in other television series. In 2009 she stripped down to nothing as Jessie in the stage production Calendar Girls. She was 82.

She was awarded an MBE for services to drama and charity in 2008.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

June Brown, actor, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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She is one of the best-loved matriarchs in broadcasting. As Peggy Woolley in The Archers, she's the only original member of the cast still in the show. It's 60 years this spring since the pilot episodes were first broadcast and, although she is now aged 90, June has no plans to retire. She says, 'It's a great bonus for me that The Archers has run as long as it has, and I've gone along with it.

Record: Concierto de Aranjuez played by John Williams

Book: Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K Jerome

Luxury: A Scrabble board.

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After Mao's death she came to Britain as a student. At the time, she says, she didn't want to think about the past - it used to give her nightmares and so she would pretend she was from Korea. But 10 years after her arrival in Britain, her mother came to visit. She told Jung the stories of her and her grandmother's lives and Jung decided their intimate, family history deserved to have a wider audience. Her book, Wild Swans, has sold more than 12 million copies and won a host of awards.

Investigating her own life and those of her mother and grandmother not only brought the suffering of a nation into sharp focus it was also a liberating experience - once the book was finished, she says, the nightmares stopped.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: But Thou Didst Not leave His Soul in Hell by George Frideric Handel

Book: First Love by Ivan Turgenev

Luxury: Snorkelling gear.

Kirsty Young's castaway is writer Jung Chang.

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She was brought up in Birmingham, but at the age of 17 she left her family to become a nun. She had hoped to become enriched by the contemplative life - but it left her feeling a failure, shamed by her inability to pray as the other nuns did. After seven years she turned her back on the convent and became a teacher. Then a chance opportunity to work in television led to her studying the world's religions - and becoming fascinated by the similarities between them. Now she is in great demand as a public speaker - and when she isn't touring the world she says she leads a nun-like life; living alone, contemplating God and thinking about the nature of faith and understanding.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 3rd movement of String Quartet in A minor by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: Complete Works by John Milton

Luxury: Continuous supply of very cold & dry white wine

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Karen Armstrong

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His first musical career was as a jazz musician - he won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival and played venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall and Ronnie Scott's. In the 1980s, he gave up life on the road and started writing advertising music and jingles. More awards followed, but he felt cramped by the nature of the work and wanted to write music that was more expansive. A track which he'd written for a minute long commercial went on to become the corner-stone of his most well-known work, The Adiemus Project.

He's said that it was only then that he realised his niche lay in composing work that was grounded in his classical upbringing but also benefited from his interest in jazz and world music. And, while critics have on occasion sneered at his work, he has collected countless gold and platinum discs and a worldwide audience.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Final trio from the third Act of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss

Book: The Michelin Guide to France by Michelin

Luxury: A piano

Kirsty Young's castaway is composer Karl Jenkins

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Along the way Karren has married one of her players, had two children and overcome a life-threatening brain condition. She has always, she says, relied on her enthusiasm, determination and strength of character to see her through.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler

Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Luxury: My own pillow.

Kirsty Young's castaway is businesswoman Karren Brady.

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Born in York in 1951, she was the only child of a couple who ran a medical and surgical supplies shop. She began to write after she had failed her doctorate at Dundee University and had given birth to two daughters. She took on a wide range of jobs while writing short stories for women's magazines, and did not publish her first book until she was in her early 40s.

Her mid-career reinvention as a writer of detective fiction has seen her publish four novels starring her sleuth Jackson Brodie, with another one in the pipeline. She lives in Edinburgh, has two grown-up daughters, and two grandchildren.

BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Poems and Letters of Emily Dickenson

LUXURY ITEM: A 500 year old, mature oak tree

FAVOURITE TRACK: Beethoven's Symphony no. 5

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Novelist Kate Atkinson is interviewed by Lauren Laverne

Kate was born into a diplomatic family and her early childhood years were spent in France and Belgium. In 1976, when she was eight years old, her father Christopher Ewart-Biggs was appointed British ambassador to Ireland. Two weeks into his new job, he was killed by an IRA landmine. Kate's mother Jane moved the family back to London and began to campaign for peace and reconciliation in Ireland: she became a life peer in 1981.

After studying anthropology at university, Kate worked on charity projects for street children in Brazil and South Africa before joining the British Council. Her career has taken her all around the world including postings in Uganda, Tanzania and Indonesia.

She lives in London with her daughter.

DISC ONE: I Could Have Danced All Night by My Fair Lady Orchestra, My Fair Lady Chorus, Marni Nixon (soprano), Andr退 Previn (conductor), Mona Washbourne (played Mrs. Pearce), My Fair Lady Original Motion Picture Cast and Warner Brothers Studio Orchestra

DISC TWO: Et Si Tu N'existais Pas by Joe Dassin

DISC THREE: Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

DISC FOUR: I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats

DISC FIVE: Lambada by Kaoma

DISC SIX: Namagembe by Madoxx Sematimba

DISC SEVEN: I And Love And You by The Avett Brothers

DISC EIGHT: American Pie by Don McLean

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Novels of Jane Austen

LUXURY ITEM: An asthma inhaler

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Kate Ewart-Biggs, deputy CEO of the British Council, shares the soundtrack of her life.

Kate was born in Croydon in 1974. When she was 14, she was spotted at JFK airport by Sarah Doukas who signed her to her modelling agency. Two years later Kate was on the cover of the style magazine the Face - one of a series of photographs shot on Camber Sands by Corinne Day. The images were raw and natural and Kate's slight, delicate build, in stark contrast to the curvaceous supermodel silhouette that had defined the decade, heralded a new era in modelling.

Kate moved on to high profile campaigns for the designers Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs. In 1993 she appeared on the cover of British Vogue for the first time. Later her waif-like figure attracted criticism from some commentators who thought some of her photographs glamorised thinness.

In 2013 Kate received a Special Recognition award at the British Fashion Awards, acknowledging her 25-year contribution to fashion. Kate set up her own talent agency in 2016 and one of the agency's first signings was her daughter Lila.

DISC ONE: Back to Life by Sunday Service and Jazzie B (Soul II Soul mix)

DISC TWO: A Whiter Shade of Pale (Live) by King Curtis

DISC THREE: Harvest Moon by Neil Young

DISC FOUR: Life on Mars by David Bowie

DISC FIVE: Oh! Sweet Nuthin' by The Velvet Underground

DISC SIX: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones

DISC SEVEN: My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

DISC EIGHT: Madame George by Van Morrison

BOOK CHOICE: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exup退ry

LUXURY ITEM: A cashmere blanket

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Kate Moss, model, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Born in Chichester, she studied English at Oxford University and had a very successful career in publishing before writing her first book about pregnancy. Her novel, Labyrinth, published in 1995 and set in Carcasonne, became an international bestseller which enabled her to give up her publishing job and write full time.

Kate lives in Chichester with her husband, Greg Mosse, and her mother-in-law, Grannie Rosie. She is a Visiting Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, a Patron of the Chichester Festival for Music, Dance and Speech, and President of the Festival of Chichester.

She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to literature and women.

DISC ONE: Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens

DISC TWO: These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra

DISC THREE: Station to Station - David Bowie

DISC FOUR: Walls Come Tumbling Down - The Style Council

DISC FIVE: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

DISC SIX: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83. Composed by Maurice Ravel. Performed by Martha Argerich and London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado

DISC SEVEN: Dancing Queen - Abba

DISC EIGHT: La chanson des vieux amants - Jacques Brel

BOOK CHOICE: Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot

LUXURY ITEM: A jukebox

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83, composed by Maurice Ravel and performed by Martha Argerich and London Symphony Orchestra

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Kate Mosse, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life. With Lauren Laverne.

She came to journalism through a circuitous route that took in Picture Post, Woman's Own and The Spectator, but it was on the Observer - where she worked for more than 30 years - that she really made her mark. She was at the vanguard of a generation of women who were told they could 'have it all' and she may even be the only one to have managed it - a successful, well-paid career, a happy marriage and complete family. While at the Picture Post she met Gavin Lyall - who went on to become a successful novelist - they had two sons and were married for 45 years until his death in 2002. She is now the agony aunt for Saga Magazine.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Slow movement of Double Violin Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach

Book: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Luxury: A machine to distil whatever is there

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist Katharine Whitehorn

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Katherine was born in Sarnia in Ontario where she attended a local French-speaking primary school. The school celebrated the arts and Katherine became a musical theatre enthusiast who could sing, dance, write and act.

Later she moved to Toronto where she studied city planning and worked for a branch of the restaurant chain Hooters. She credits the latter with teaching her the value of being entertaining and smart.

In 2008 she relocated to London with her boyfriend and a few years later she got her big break as a comedian, performing on the panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats. By now a single mother to daughter Violet, she developed a rapport with audiences by sharing stories from her own life - both funny and sad. She describes her tendency to connect with her fans in this way as her `language of love`.

In 2019, while filming an episode of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are in Canada, she met up with her high school boyfriend, Bobby. They hadn't seen each other for 20 years but the spark was still there and later that year they married in Denmark and went on to have two children together.

The programme was recorded on September 6th.

DISC ONE: Spice Up Your Life - The Spice Girls

DISC TWO: The Real Slim Shady - Eminem

DISC THREE: La Isla Bonita - Madonna

DISC FOUR: Soul One - Blind Melon

DISC FIVE: 22 - Taylor Swift

DISC SIX: Psychic City (Classixx Remix) - Yacht

DISC SEVEN: Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band

DISC EIGHT: 16 Shots - Stefflon Don

BOOK CHOICE: The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler

LUXURY ITEM: A hat and skincare set

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Spice Up Your Life - The Spice Girls

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Katherine Ryan, comedian, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Marriage and motherhood introduced stability into her life, but boredom with the children's books then on offer led her to create Orlando - the cat who went on to star in 18 beautifully-illustrated and charmingly-written books - considered by many to be the epitome of good children's literature.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: La Sardana De Les Monges by La Principal De Perelada

Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust

Luxury: A gilabra (cloak of gold)

Sue Lawley's castaway is children's author Kathleen Hale

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Piano Concerto No 1 in B flat minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Book: Emma by Jane Austen

Luxury: Roses

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Kathleen Turner

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She became a household name for her comedy performances, working with Harry Enfield to create the characters Kevin and Perry. She won critical acclaim for serious roles and picked up the Best Actress award at Cannes for her portrayal of an abused wife in the film 'Nil By Mouth'.

Kathy's early life had been tumultuous - her mother died before she was two and her father was often drunk, leaving her older brother to run the family home. She was a teenager when she discovered acting and, she says, it was the saving of her.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.

From Lady Gaga to The Specials, comic actor Kathy Burke shares her castaway choices.

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Kay was born in Leeds and has lived there all her life. It's also the home of her production company. Her highly successful career now seems worlds away from her early life, when she became pregnant and got married at the age of 16, curtailing her dreams of going to drama school. Later, whilst enjoying motherhood, she decided to return to education, studying for a degree in drama at Bretton Hall College.

Upon graduation, she worked in theatre, then at Granada TV as a scriptwriter on Coronation Street before embarking on her own prolific writing career for TV and theatre.

She celebrates her Golden Wedding anniversary later this year.

Presenter: Kirsty Young

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kay Mellor, writer and producer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Trying To Get To Heaven by Bob Dylan

Book: Collected short stories by Anton Chekhov

Luxury: Big roll of paper

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Kazuo Ishiguro

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Keith was born in Dartford and grew up as an only child. He and Mick Jagger went to the same primary school, but then lost touch until meeting again at Dartford train station in 1961 and discovering they shared a taste in blues music. Keith picked up his love of the guitar from his grandfather and honed his skills whilst at art college.

If one single, living person could be said to personify rock n' roll then it is surely him. He's been making music and causing havoc for over half a century and counting. His song writing, singing and guitar playing have helped to make The Rolling Stones a stratospherically successful group and his early and single minded dedication to the triumvirate pursuits of sex and drugs and rock and roll made him a counter-culture icon.

No surprise then that as a boy he would go to sleep at night with his arm around his first guitar.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Keith Richards is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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As a teenager she witnessed Sebastian Coe's Olympic success in 1984 and that was the inspiration behind her own career in athletics. Early on her trainers recognised she had the natural talent - and determination - to succeed. But her career has been blighted by injury - she bowed out of the 1996 Olympics due to injury; won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics despite considerable physical pain; and several times had appeared close to the end of her career as a result of a series of health problems.

Now retired from athletics, she says she wants to inspire other schoolchildren to take up sport - and make sure that the whole of Britain feels the Olympic spirit by the time it comes to host the games in 2012.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys

Book: A Set of Encyclopaedias

Luxury: Large supply of chocolate

Sue Lawley's castaway is athlete Kelly Holmes

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Born in the Virgin Islands, he was brought up by his mother and maternal grandparents in Florida, after his parents divorced. He studied drama at the Julliard School in New York but left before the end of the second year. He got his big break when he joined the cast of Cheers in 1984.

In his personal life Grammer has experienced a great deal of loss - his much-loved grandfather died when he was 12 and his 18 year old sister was murdered when he was 20. His struggles with drink and drugs, now behind him, are well documented. Married four times, he is the father of seven.

The winner of multiple awards, he is also a TV producer, director, writer, and known for his voice work: among others he was Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons and Stinky Pete in Toy Story 2. He is currently on stage in London.

Presenter Kirsty Young

Producer Cathy Drysdale.

Kelsey Grammer, star of Frasier, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Beginning of Violin Concerto No 3 in G Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein

Luxury: Entire cellar of a great collector of French wine

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Ken Follett

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[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Opening of the 4th Movement by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics by Francis Palgrave

Luxury: Radio (for football results)

Sue Lawley's castaway is director Ken Loach

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After retiring from playing, he switched codes and is currently part of the coaching staff at Leicester Tigers rugby union team. Off the pitch he has made headlines as a fundraiser. After his former team-mate Rob Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019, Kevin began a series of epic fundraising challenges. He completed seven marathons in seven days in 2020, and then in 2021 he ran 101 miles in 24 hours, raising millions for MND research and support.

He lives in Oldham with his wife, Jane and his two sons.

DISC ONE: Parry: Jerusalem by The Honley Male Voice Choir & The Band of HM Royal Marines

DISC TWO: Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners

DISC THREE: Someone Like You by Van Morrison

DISC FOUR: 7 Days by Craig David

DISC FIVE: I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany

DISC SIX: Baker Street by Undercover

DISC SEVEN: Last Request by Paolo Nutini

DISC EIGHT: Fix You by Coldplay

BOOK CHOICE: The Edge: The Guide to Fulfilling Dreams, Maximizing Success and Enjoying a Lifetime of Achievement by Howard E. Ferguson

LUXURY ITEM: A Self-propelled treadmill

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Last Request by Paolo Nutini

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Kevin Sinfield, rugby player, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne

He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his boyhood in a remote part of Cumbria, his bold but inspired decision to chuck in accountancy in favour of the stage and his time busking at Oxford Circus to pay his way through drama school.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 1 by Jean Sibelius

Book: The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie

Luxury: Northumbrian pipes

Sue Lawley's castaway is actor Kevin Whately

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Born in 1975 to an African-American father and a North Korean mother, she grew up in a poor neighbourhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where hers was the only mixed-race family - and the only family with two parents. Education was very important to her parents, who sent their four children to private schools and also paid for extra tutoring.

After completing degrees in Criminal Justice and Law, Kimberley spent five years working as a Public Defender before taking up the opportunity in 2008 to go to Afghanistan for a year to train local lawyers. Her husband, Claude, stayed in the US to take care of their three children. When her one-year contract in Afghanistan came to an end, she decided to stay and started her own private legal practice.

Initially she only took on foreign clients, but once she had familiarised herself with the intricacies of local laws and customs, she accepted her first Afghan client. She has gone on to build a thriving practice, with a 70-30% ratio of paid to pro-bono work. Her practice now extends to other parts of the world including Uganda, Ghana and the UAE and earlier this year she published a book about her working life.

DISC ONE: Will Smith - A Nightmare on My Street

DISC TWO: Elton John - I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues

DISC THREE: LL Cool J - I'm Bad

DISC FOUR: KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See

DISC FIVE: Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me

DISC SIX: Ed Sheeran - I See Fire

DISC SEVEN: The Black Eyed Peas - Pump It

DISC EIGHT: Kendrick Lamar - DNA

BOOK CHOICE: 1984 by George Orwell

LUXURY ITEM: Business card holder with photo of her children

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Pump It by Black Eyed Peas

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Kimberley Motley, lawyer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Kirsty was born in East Kilbride in Scotland. After a chance meeting with a freelance TV cameraman, she became interested in a media career, and worked as a runner and then a researcher for an independent production company, before joining BBC Radio Scotland as a trainee news and continuity announcer, beating 700 other applicants.

She moved to Scottish Television in 1992, and five years later she was part of the launch of Channel 5, presenting its main news programme while famously perching on the studio desk rather than sitting behind it. She also presented the BBC's Crimewatch for many years.

In 2018, Kirsty had to step back from broadcasting, to undergo treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. After four years away from the microphone, she returned to present coverage of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June this year.

She is married to Nick Jones, CEO of Soho House and they have four children.

DISC ONE: Cello Suite No.1 in G Major, BWV1007: I. Prelude [J.S.Bach] performed by Steven Isserlis

DISC TWO: My Baby Just Cares for Me by Nina Simone

DISC THREE: Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

DISC FOUR: Caledonia by Dougie MacLean

DISC FIVE: I Happen to Like New York Bobby Short, performer. [Cole Porter, composer]

DISC SIX: Songbird by Fleetwood Mac

DISC SEVEN: O Magnum Mysterium by [Tomကs Luis de Victoria] sung by The Voices of Ascension choir, directed by Dennis Keene

DISC EIGHT: Count Me Out by Kendrick Lamar

BOOK CHOICE: The Most of Nora Ephron by Nora Ephron

LUXURY ITEM: A cinema and film archive

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Cello Suite No.1 in G Major, BWV1007: I. Prelude [J.S.BACH] performed by Steven Isserlis

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Kirsty Young, broadcaster, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

On leaving school she didn't go to drama school, but took up a teaching course instead. When she tried to move over to the acting course she was told the only way she'd get to play Lady Macbeth was if she joined an amateur dramatic society. Stung, she moved to Paris where she was encouraged by the family she was working for to enroll at a Parisian drama school, which she did. She has worked almost constantly since, in France, England and America, on stage, television and film.

Her first starring film role was opposite Prince in his film Under the Cherry Moon and others soon followed. Among her most famous roles are Lady Brenda in A Handful of Dust, Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Katherine Clifton in The English Patient. She has lived in Paris ever since moving there at the age of 19 and is married to a French obstetrician, Francois Olivennes. The couple have three children aged 14, 10 and two. Kristin Scott Thomas is in London to appear in Chekov's Three Sisters at the Playhouse in the West End. This is her first British stage appearance.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Morgen, Op.27.No 4 by Richard Strauss

Book: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Luxury: A pair of mules by Christian Louboutin

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Kristin Scott Thomas

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His creative output spans both high art and popular culture. He became a household name starring in BBC One's Casualty, but at the same time he was pursuing a career in writing and his award-winning plays have been staged at the National Theatre. He's just finished a stint as the artistic director of The World Festival of Black Arts in Senegal and his next posting is to the US, where he's taking over a theatre in Baltimore. Throughout his life, he says, he continues to be inspired by the joyful atmosphere he grew up in. 'My home was so warm, so full of life and noise. Most of my theatre I call the theatre of my front room. My memory was just this citadel to love and joy.

Record: Fight the Power

Book: The complete works of August Wilson

Luxury: A basic word processor

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Actor and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island discs

[R4 BD=20110520

With seven number ones and ten million singles sold in the UK, she is the third-biggest selling female artist in Britain and has sold around 70 million records worldwide.

Born in Melbourne in 1968, Kylie and her sister Dannii began their careers as child actors on Australian television. At 17, Kylie landed the role of Charlene Mitchell in the soap opera Neighbours and her on-screen wedding to Jason Donovan's character Scott Robinson was watched by twenty million people in the UK alone.

Her recording career began after she was spotted singing at a charity event in 1987. Within months she had released a cover version of 'Locomotion' which became the biggest-selling Australian single of the decade. Following the single's success, her first hit with record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman was 'I Should Be So Lucky': her debut album sold seven million copies.

At the age of 21, a romance with INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence led to a change in her image. In 2000, inspired by 1970s disco and assisted by gold hot pants, her single 'Spinning Around' became her first British number one for a decade. She also sang to an estimated global audience of 3.7 billion at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.

In May 2005 she was diagnosed with breast cancer: following treatment she resumed the tour 18 months later.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to pop star Kylie Minogue.

[R4 BD=20151218

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Nocturne by Evert Taube

Book: Hillier's Dictionary of Plants by Hillier

Luxury: An endless team of Man Fridays

Sue Lawley's castaway is wife of Norman Tebbit - Lady Margaret Tebbit

[R4 BD=19960705

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: 1st movement of String Quintet in G Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Desert Islands: An Anthology by Walter de la Mare

Luxury: Her grand piano.

Kirsty Young's castaway is pianist Natasha Spender.

[R4 BD=20080201

He was five years old when he gave his first public recital in front of an audience of 800 people. It was a pivotal moment and from that point on it was clear where his future lay. His parents were both musical too but, during the cultural revolution, had not been able to pursue their own ambitions. Lang Lang was born under the one-child rule and so he was, he says, their only chance. Their aim was that he should become the No.1 pianist in China and in the years that followed, family life was sacrificed to that end.

Still only 28 years old, he is a phenomenon in the classical music world - he played to a global audience of four and a half billion people for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and, when he returns to China, he says he is mobbed in the streets.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: The Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 played by Vladimir Horowitz

Book: The Analects of Confucius.

Luxury: Two feathered pillows.

Chinese pianist Lang Lang joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20101105

They've been at the rock-face, mining for laughs, for over 40 years and they've given us plenty of gems ... amongst them monologues in the '70s for Frankie Howerd, the era-defining character Alan B'Stard MP, star of The New Statesman, and now the successful revival of their long running and much loved sitcom 'Birds of a Feather'.

Grammar school boys from North London they first met as ten year olds at a youth club, growing up to have 'real jobs' in the civil service and journalism, before finally embarking on the precarious business of making a living from putting words into other people' mouths.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to comedy writing partners Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.

[R4 BD=20151002

He was capped 85 times for England, played in three Lions tours and led his club side, Wasps, to the top of the premiership five times.

Yet, he says, he only started playing rugby seriously after the death of his sister, Francesca. She died in the Marchioness disaster on the Thames when he was 16 and her death, he says, blew his world apart.

'Losing my sister was devastating. It made me more determined to do something to bring my parents together. When I first took up rugby, I took it up not for sporting reasons, I needed something to grab onto, I needed an olive branch.'

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Lawrence Dallaglio joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20110225

She was born in Manila in the Philippines, where she made her professional stage debut in 1978 at the age of seven in a production of The King and I. Further roles in musicals followed, and she recorded a best-selling solo album when she was 10.

Lea planned to become a doctor before she was invited to audition for Miss Saigon, and her immediate success launched a performing career in which she has made history many times. She was the first Asian woman to win a Tony for an acting role, the first Asian actor to star in Les Misérables, the first Filipino artist to sign a record deal with an international label and the first person to voice two different Disney princesses - Mulan and Jasmine in Aladdin, in which she sang A Whole New World, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. She has appeared in numerous international stage productions, as well as television shows, films and singing tours.

Earlier this year she starred in and made her debut as a producer on the musical Here Lies Love on Broadway: written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, it focuses on the life of Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

In September, Lea returned to the London Stage in 'Old Friends' , a musical tribute to Stephen Sondheim.

She has performed for six Filipino and four American presidents.

DISC ONE: Feed The Birds (Tuppence a Bag) - Julie Andrews, The Disney Studio Chorus

DISC TWO: Days and Days -Judy Kuhn

DISC THREE: Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

DISC FOUR: Tsismis - Ryan Cayabyab

DISC FIVE: Gymnopédie No. 1. Composed by Erik Satie and performed by Philippe Entremont

DISC SIX: Intro: Singularity - BTS

DISC SEVEN: Baby Mine - Betty Noyes

DISC EIGHT: Snooze - Agust D ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto & WOOSUNG

BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson

LUXURY ITEM: A typewriter

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Snooze - Agust D ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto & WOOSUNG

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Lea Salonga, singer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Lea Salonga, singer, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

He writes and stars in the BBC One hit show 'Not Going Out'. His stand-up tours do great business and his lightening sharp comedy reflexes are also put to good use on a number of prime-time panel shows.

His first ever performance was doing impressions for his school mates, but it took him more than ten years to pluck up the courage to step on stage. Leaving school with two O'levels and a cheeky grin, he had a stint as Red Rum's stable boy and a bash at being a professional darts player.

He says of his comedy career 'I'm the kind of person that, if I don't think it's hard work, I worry that it's not worthwhile. I have to feel as if I've struggled a bit.

Producer: Isabel Sargent.

Kirsty Young talks to comedian Lee Mack.

[R4 BD=20131004

As a poet, writer and playwright, much of his work tells the story of his search for his birth parents. Born to a young Ethiopian woman who wanted him temporarily fostered while she completed her studies, he was with a family until he was 12. He would spend the next five years in a number of children's homes where he began to write. On leaving care at 17, he self-published his first book of poetry while on the dole.

Several poetry collections, plays and programmes for radio and TV followed and his work has taken him around the world. He was the first poet to be commissioned to write for the 2012 London Olympics and his success has also brought him two doctorates and an MBE for services to literature. He is about to be installed as Chancellor of the University of Manchester, an elected post he will hold for the next seven years. He takes writers' workshops for care-leavers and set up Culture World, the first black writers' workshop.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to writer, poet and playwright Lemn Sissay.

[R4 BD=20151016

He became a star of Strictly Come Dancing and the US show Dancing with the Stars, after a forty year career as a ballroom dancer and judge. Born in London's east end, as a kid he was a barrow-boy, selling fruit and veg on his grandfather's stall. He went on to work on the docks as a welder. But come Saturday night he would don his best threads and head for the Embassy ballroom in Welling.

He was in his sixties when he found international fame and it was, he says, perfect timing. 'If it had happened when I was thirty, I'd have been one these people that would be seen rolling out of nightclubs drunk, with a couple of dolly-birds on my arm. The pilot was on my sixtieth birthday and I think it was the perfect age because I was sensible by then, my feet were planted firmly on the ground.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Dance judge Len Goodman joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20110624

After the war Leonard went back to teaching, first in London then to Edinburgh College of Art in 1948, and later on to the Royal College of Art where he met his most memorable student - David Hockney: 'I didn't find him at all difficult, but it was a little bit scary because if anybody ever had something written on his forehead, he had. Every single member of that staff pretty well guaranteed that when David left, he would be a success of some kind. He was a very rare bird - he had a quality of understatement - rare and important in its way.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Got A Gal in Kalamazoo by Glenn Miller & his Orchestra

Book: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Luxury: A sloping lawn

Sue Lawley's castaway is World War II artist Leonard Rosoman

[R4 BD=20020614

Renouned for his championing of both the American and British cannons, his aim has always been to demystify music of all kinds. He has spun discs on a pirate radio station and played honky tonk piano in a jazz bar. His parents' Hollywood String Quartet was the best known band in town and the Slatkin household was often filled with film stars. From these two influences he developed his love of chamber music and a passion for Doris Day. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he talks about his life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Danny Boy by Percy Grainger

Book: Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

Luxury: Wine

Sue Lawley's castaway is conductor Leonard Slatkin

[R4 BD=20000428

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: La Valse a Mille Temps by Jacques Brel

Book: Blank, lined book

Luxury: Marble four-poster bed

Sue Lawley's castaway is poet Les Murray

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She was born in Brighton and first enjoyed performing as a singer, winning competitions with her sister. When she was 15, she commuted daily to the Italia Conti stage school in London. Her first professional role was in a West End musical, and in 1974 she joined the cast of the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm. After two years she decided to leave, even though the work was well paid, and return to the stage.

At the Royal Court in London she appeared in some of the most critically acclaimed new plays of the 1980s including Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, and Andrea Dunbar's Rita, Sue and Bob Too. She has also enjoyed a long collaboration with the film director Mike Leigh, memorably playing the alcoholic Mary in Another Year.

Her recent TV roles include starring as Cathy in the popular BBC Two sitcom Mum, for which she won a Royal Television Society Award in 2019. She has also played Princess Margaret in The Crown, including a scene in which Margaret shares her favourite records on a BBC radio progamme.

She was appointed a CBE in 2021.

DISC ONE: Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy

DISC TWO: My Brother Jake - Free

DISC THREE: O Soave Fanciulla, composed by Giacomo Puccini, performed by

Jose Carreras, Richard Stilwell and Teresa Stratas and Metropolitan Opera Chorus, conducted by James Levine

DISC FOUR: Sugar on the Floor - Etta James

DISC FIVE: You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield

DISC SIX: Not While I'm Around - Barbra Streisand

DISC SEVEN: Make You Feel My Love - Adele

DISC EIGHT: Phantom Thread III - Jonny Greenwood

BOOK CHOICE: A Botanical Encyclopedia

LUXURY ITEM: A bed with linen, duvet and pillows

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Over The Rainbow - Eva Cassidy

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Sarah Taylor

Lesley Manville, actor, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She was born in Paris in 1931 and started ballet lessons at 11 to please her mother, a dancer herself who had performed on Broadway. Her early childhood was marred by the war and growing up in occupied Paris, but when she was 16 she joined Roland Petit's Ballets des Champs-Elys退es which opened up a new world of possibility. A year later she was spotted during a performance by a member of the audience - Gene Kelly. He lobbied MGM to cast her as his leading lady in An American in Paris, which launched her Hollywood career.

Leslie played the tile role in Gigi both on stage in London in a production directed by Peter Hall, who she married, and in the feature film directed by Vincente Minelli. The film won all nine of its nominations at the 1959 Academy Awards - a record at the time.

Leslie went on to star in the L-Shaped Room and later played roles in the films Chocolat and Damage. In 2006 she won an Emmy Award for her part in the television series Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. More recently she was on our TV screens playing the Countess Mavrodaki in the drama series The Durrells.

She was awarded the Commandeur de la L退gion d'honneur in 2013 and the JF Kennedy Gold Medal in the Arts two years later.

Leslie lives in London and describes herself as `almost retired.`

DISC ONE: L'Accordeoniste by ɀdith Piaf

DISC TWO: S쀀, Mim쀀 chiamano Mimi, composed by Giacomo Puccini, performed by Maria Callas and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Tullio Serafin

DISC THREE: Ne me quite pas by Jacques Brel

DISC FOUR: Miss Otis Regrets by Ella Fitzgerald

DISC FIVE: One for My Baby (from The Sky's The Limit) by Fred Astaire

DISC SIX: Requiem in D minor (Introitus: Requiem) Composed by Mozart, performed by Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Singverein, conducted by Herbert Von Karajan

DISC SEVEN: Burn On by Randy Newman

DISC EIGHT: Les Feuilles Mortes by Yves Montand

BOOK CHOICE: The Sixth Sense of Animals by Maurice Burton

LUXURY ITEM: A cutlass

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: S쀀, Mim쀀 chiamano Mimi, composed by Giacomo Puccini, performed by Maria Callas and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Tullio Serafin

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Paula McGinley

Leslie Caron, actress, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

His business success began following an appearance on BBC Two's Dragon's Den in 2007. With guitar in hand, he sang about his 'Reggae reggae sauce' which he had been selling for years at London's Notting Hill Carnival. Both Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh invested in the business and within six weeks, his sauce was bottled and on supermarket shelves. Recipe books, TV shows and a restaurant, or 'rastaurant' followed.

He is the youngest of five children born in Jamaica. When he was four, his parents went to build a new life in the UK. Each year one of his siblings came to join the family in Britain. When Levi was 10, he left his much loved grandmother behind, never to see her again. Unable to read or write when he started school, he caught up quickly. He became a Rastafarian as a teenager. Following school, he became an apprentice engineer but left that to pursue a career in music.

In his late twenties, he went to prison for five years. His time inside would prove to be a turning point for him. Music continued to play an important part in his life and he was nominated for a Best Reggae Act MOBO award in 1998.

A father of eight, he lives in Brixton, London.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Levi Roots, entrepreneur, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

[R4 BD=20160722

His career started in the 1920s when he was a child actor in silent movies. Over the next seven decades, he went on to direct Hollywood blockbusters as well as landmark British films. His directing credits include Reach for the Skies, Alfie, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine - as well as three Bond films. Depite his numerous successes, though, he remains haunted by the film he didn't make: he spent years working with Lionel Bart and planning how Oliver! might look... only for the project to slip through his fingers.

Record: I'll String Along with You

Book: A book of poems

Luxury: A football

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

[R4 BD=20100625

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding and The Principles of Morals by David Hume

Luxury: Bicycle

Sue Lawley's castaway is Professor Lewis Wolpert

[R4 BD=19961011

Less than a decade ago she dipped her toe in musical waters by releasing her demos on social media, this summer she's one of the headline acts at Glastonbury. It's 29 years since she first appeared at the festival; back then she was a new-born being carried through the crowd in swaddling. Indeed, she was as good as baptised at the font of celebrity culture - her dad, Keith, is an actor and writer, her mum, Alison, is an award-winning film producer - for a time her step-dad was Harry Enfield. So, it seems almost inevitable that she's ended up at the centre of a media-saturated life.

Except that in all likelihood she would have been propelled there entirely by her own endeavours: her lyrics are witty and wise-ass and capture concisely what it is to be a savvy, young woman today.

She says, 'the only thing I can do really is write lyrics and the only way I know how to do that is by being honest and doing it with integrity because otherwise there's no point'.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Singer-songwriter Lily Allen is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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Lin-Manuel was brought up in New York by his Puerto Rican parents, and his creativity and sensitivity to music began when he was a child: he performed in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance as a teenager and created films using his father's camcorder. He attended the elite Hunter school for gifted children and spent his summer holidays in Puerto Rico with his extended family.

His first musical, In the Heights, opened on Broadway in 2008, directed by his long-time collaborator, Thomas Kail. It received four Tony Awards including Best Score as well as a Grammy Award for its Original Broadway Cast Album. Among his TV and film acting credits are Fosse/Verdon, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Mary Poppins Returns, and he is currently filming the second series of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials for the BBC. He recently collaborated with J.J. Abrams on the song Dobra Doompa, for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and he contributed music, lyrics and vocals to several songs in the Disney animated feature film Moana.

Lin-Manuel supported the relief efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in September 2017, performing Hamilton there and raising funds for arts and culture on the island. He co-founded the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme in 2003 and they have just begun a debut run on Broadway.

He lives in New York City with his wife, sons and dog.

DISC ONE: Liza Minelli - Cabaret

DISC TWO: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife Part 2

DISC THREE: Rub退n Blades and Seis del Solar - El Padre Antonio y el Monaguillo Andr退s

DISC FOUR: The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By

DISC FIVE: Ali Dineen - What You Know

DISC SIX: Regina Spektor - On the Radio

DISC SEVEN: Gilberto Santa Rosa - D退jate Querer

DISC EIGHT: Outkast - Rosa Parks

BOOK CHOICE: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

LUXURY ITEM: Coffee

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: What You Know by Ali Dineen

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

In 1963, when he was eleven years old, Linton came to live in England. It was a huge contrast: 'I had this childhood idea that literally the streets of London would be paved with gold and everybody living affluent lifestyles. So it was a bit of an eye-opener for me when I came and saw all these grey buildings with chimneys and smoke coming out of them and to see a white person sweeping the street!' He experienced racism at school, from peers and teachers alike, and became interested in the black movement. He joined the British Black Panthers in his teens, discovered black literature and began to write poetry of his own. He gained a sociology degree in the mid-1970s and had poems, inspired by politics and the Black movement, published in the journal Race Today. He soon became known for his poetry written in dialect and would often use reggae music to accompany it. He still tours with his band and can command stadium-size stages. Linton Kwesi Johnson became one of only two living poets to be published in a Penguin Modern Classic in 2002. He says 'I've made a small contribution to bring poetry back to the people.

During the interview, Linton Kwesi reads extracts from the following poems: 'Sonny's Lettah' taken from Inglan is a Bitch, 'Five Nights of Bleeding (for Leroy Harris)' from Things an Times and 'New Craas Massahkah (to the memory of the fourteen dead)'.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Embraceable You by Charlie Parker

Book: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Luxury: A bass guitar

[R4 BD=20021213

Historian, biographer, public thinker, mathematician - her proclivities are wide ranging and well regarded with prize winning books on subjects as diverse as Sir Christopher Wren, Seventeenth century Holland, Erasmus and women in the time of Shakespeare.

Her current day job is leading the Department of Renaissance Studies at University College London, she's also a prolific writer and broadcaster. If that all seems a little ivory tower for your tastes think again; as Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for many years she was at the sharp end of the complex conundrums and high emotion that surround the artificial creation of life, leading the world in developing the legal framework that governs IVF treatment.

Her rigour and originality, then, are greatly admired and both seem to have been in evidence since the beginning - her schoolgirl contemporaries had pictures of Elvis by their beds. Lisa had other ideas, as a teenager she gazed lovingly at a photo of a brilliant mathematician.

She says: 'I only do things I love, and I love everything I do ...

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Professor Lisa Jardine, academic and biographer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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Liz was brought up in Bebington, Merseyside. One of her early stage roles was as the Cowardly Lion in a primary school production of The Wizard of Oz. She became a wheelchair user at the age of 11, after a protracted illness.

She studied Law at Nottingham University and after graduation worked as a disability rights adviser. She also became a disability rights activist, and more recently has been a campaigner against the legalisation of assisted dying.

When she was 30, Liz decided on a career change after taking part in a drama course with the Graeae Theatre Company. She became a stand-up comedian and a member of various comedy groups, and moved on to theatre and television work, including recent roles in the TV dramas The Witcher and Good Omens.

Liz lives in London with her wife.

DISC ONE: Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland

DISC TWO: Beautiful Dreamer - Sheryl Crow

DISC THREE: Sit Down - James

DISC FOUR: Rollin' Thunder - Ian Stanton

DISC FIVE: 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

DISC SIX: Something Good - Julie Andrews

DISC SEVEN: Palliative Clare (from Assisted Suicide The Musical) - Claire Willoughby

DISC EIGHT: I Feel Love - Donna Summer

BOOK CHOICE: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exup退ry

LUXURY ITEM: A pair of ruby slippers

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Sit Down - James

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Liz Carr, actor and activist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She was the Makar, the Scottish national poet, between 2011 and 2016.

Liz was born in Motherwell, not far from Glasgow, in 1947. She was always drawing at school and so decided to study at the Glasgow School of Art, where she didn't enjoy the drawing, but did start writing.

After winning a poetry competition, she started performing her poems at readings in Scotland. She published her first pamphlet of poetry, Memo for Spring, in 1972, after a publisher heard her at a reading.

After her second volume of poetry was published in 1978 and she won the first Scottish/Canadian Writers' Exchange Fellowship which took her to Toronto for a year, she was able to give up her job as an art teacher and start writing full time.

From the early 1980s, she started writing plays as well as poetry, and has also adapted classic Greek and French plays for the stage.

She was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2015.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Liz Lochhead is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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She won critical acclaim and was later awarded a Bafta for her appearance in Alan Bennett's A Private Function and finally, when she was in her 70s, she became a household name through her roles in The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family. She's now 86 years old and, although she concedes the characters she plays have a habit of dying on screen, she isn't planning to retire any time soon.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Only The Lonely by Roy Orbison

Book: A very large catalogue

Luxury: A complete artist's set.

Kirsty Young's castaway is actress Liz Smith.

[R4 BD=20080314

Almost 10 years ago, he said that oil companies must take seriously the threat of global warming and take measures to tackle the issue. He was knighted in 1998, and created a life peer in 2001 as Lord Browne of Madingley.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: An extract from the end of Act 1 of Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Other Men's Flowers: An Anthology of Poetry by Lord Wavell

Luxury: A lifetime's supply of great cigars

Sue Lawley's castaway is Chief Executive of BP Lord Browne

[R4 BD=20060707

It is more than a quarter of a century since his rivalry with fellow middle-distance runner Steve Ovett enraptured the nation.

After retiring from the racetrack, he enjoyed a career in politics. Now, though, his focus is on the Olympics once again - not on individual medals this time, but ensuring the 2012 games in London are a success.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Record: The Closest Thing to Crazy, Katie Melua

Book: Such Sweet Thunder: Benny Green on Jazz

Luxury: A piano and guide to playing it.

Kirsty Young's castaway is Lord Coe, chairman of the 2012 Olympic organising committee.

[R4 BD=20091218

He was just 32 years old when he took over the ancestral pile Knebworth House and he succeeded in turning a crumbling corner of the establishment into one of the best rock concert venues in the world. Over the past forty years, everyone from Led Zeppelin to Paul McCartney to Robbie Williams has played there. The concerts have not only allowed him to keep the house in private hands, but have also given him a front-row seat to some of the most celebrated performances in rock history.

Record: Pink Floyd - Brain Damage

Book: Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Luxury: A fishing rod

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Kirsty Young's castaway is Lord David Cobbold, founder of the Knebworth rock festivals.

[R4 BD=20100813

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: God Bless Africa by George Fenton/Janas Gwangwa

Book: Original Prayer Book without any amendments

Luxury: Mister Trumper's aftershave

Sue Lawley's castaway is journalist Lord Deedes

[R4 BD=20010810

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Cavatina from String Quartet No.13 in B flat Major by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Faber book of English verse

by John Hayward

Luxury: Very big box of chocolates including nougat.

Kirsty Young's castaway is former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Healey.

[R4 BD=20090619

Creator of The Sikh Messenger newspaper and co-founder of the Inter Faith Network he also has the distinction of being the first member of the House of Lords to wear a turban. He was appointed as a crossbench life peer in 2011.

He has contributed to Radio 4's Thought for the Day from a Sikh perspective for more than thirty years and arrived in Britain in 1933. He began his career as a mining engineer and in later life has been involved in inter-faith community work.

In the New Year Honours 2009 he was awarded the CBE for services to inter-faith and community relations.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to broadcaster and religious leader Lord Indarjit Singh

In 1963, Joel Joffe was a young defence solicitor, so dismayed by the apartheid system of his native South Africa that he was on the brink of emigrating. Then he was asked to take over the defence of a group of ANC activists including Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Nelson Mandela.

The trial gripped the world and was all the more extraordinary because, far from aiming to secure his clients' freedom, Joel Joffe was simply fighting for them not to receive the death penalty. He tells Kirsty how, even in his prison clothes, Nelson Mandela was a figure of calm authority, who guided them through the trial.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Under Milk Wood by Richard Burton

Book: A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Luxury: Wind-up radio.

Kirsty Young's castaway is Nelson Mandela's former lawyer Lord Joffe.

[R4 BD=20071102

During his tenure as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, between 1995 and 2000, Bob May gained a reputation for speaking his mind on subjects ranging from GM foods to embryology. He chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Parsifal by Richard Wagner

Book: Capablanca's Hundred Best Games of Chess by Hans Golombek

Luxury: Isle of Lewis chess set from The British Museum

Sue Lawley's castaway is President of the Royal Society Lord May

[R4 BD=20020308

In this frank interview, he describes life in the highly political home where he grew up, the impact that failing the school 11+ exam had on him and the gradual kindling of his own ambitions. He speaks of his debt to his wife Pauline and how for many years of their marriage he underestimated her. He describes, too, the inferiority complex which dogged him for much of his adult life:

'All the attacks on me because of my grammar and kind of background, aggressive style - it used to ruff up a few feathers and whilst I would never let it show, certainly deep inside me I felt a bit inferior.'

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

The former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

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He was a soldier for 42 years, rising through the ranks to the very top becoming the principal military advisor to government. Shrewd, swashbuckling and outspoken, he is now retired from one of the most successful military careers of modern times: so illustrious he's been knighted twice.

The campaigns he led in East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan are well documented and most recently his counsel against military intervention in both Libya and Syria helped guide the Government through the most complex of international strategic defence decision-making.

He is possibly less well known for his private passions - tennis, skiing, sailing and the action man credentials must surely be further boosted by the fact that he once spent an evening as Joan Collin's bodyguard. He's also partial to a spot of karaoke.

Born in Egypt into a military family he grew up with some understanding of the very particular strain that comes with a life in the forces. Just as well because in 35 years of marriage he and his wife have moved home 29 times.

He says: 'I see myself as a moral soldier. I do not associate the military with wars and bloodshed in the narrow sense. I associate the military with doing good, bringing down tyrants, with releasing people's ambitions for their children.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Kirsty Young talks to Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, former Chief of the Defence Staff.

[R4 BD=20140314

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Love by Nat King Cole

Book: Encyclop怀dia Britannica

Luxury: A proper orthopaedic cushion.

Kirsty Young's castaway is actor and campaigner Lord Rix.

[R4 BD=20090306

Now in his 90s, Eric Roll is enjoying his third career as an investment banker. As a young man he was a talented academic, but he left university life in the 40s to join the civil service. There he was regarded as one of the cleverest negotiators of his generation, working with Ernest Bevin on the Marshall Plan, Edward Heath on EEC membership and Harold Wilson on the Department of Economic Affairs. Lord Roll chooses eight records to take with him to the mythical island.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Clarinet Quintet in A major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Book: Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Luxury: Cassette recorder and cassettes

Sue Lawley's castaway is academic and public servant Lord Roll

[R4 BD=20010831

His first beat, more than forty years ago, was on Tottenham Court Road in London. He soon moved over to CID and earned the nickname 'Swifty Stevens' for his impressive arrest record. When he took over at the Met in 2000, it had just been branded 'institutionally racist' and the morale and reputation of the force was at rock bottom. He's credited with turning it around and regaining public confidence. Even in his retirement, he's continuing to head two major investigations - one into the circumstances around the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and the second into football bungs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Reach for the Sky by Central Band of the R.A.F.

Book: Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader by Paul Brickhill

Luxury: Cellar of champagne

Kirsty Young's castaway is former head of the Metropolitan Police Lord Steven

For the past decade, when not in the House of Lords, he has devoted his time to overseeing services for people who are homeless, suffer from drug or alcohol addiction and have mental health issues or learning disabilities. To many, they are the most disadvantaged people in society, but he says that's not a term he finds useful: 'I find it very difficult when people use words like 'bottom of the pile' and 'disadvantaged' - you'd be amazed that the veneer that separates people who don't think they're at the bottom of the pile from people who are is quite thin.

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Lord Victor Adebowale is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

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Lord Woolf's appetite to see justice done was sharpened as a wartime school boy and the only Jew at Fettes College in Edinburgh - he developed an early antipathy towards any perceived unfairness. His school master's contention that being a barrister wasn't the profession for a boy with a stutter only made him more determined to succeed.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Prisoner's Chorus from Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven

Book: The Koran

Luxury: A happy photograph of the whole family including the latest grandchildren.

Kirsty Young's castaway is former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf.

[R4 BD=20080606

He was a child prodigy whose career as a conductor has survived, and thrived, beyond his early precocity. His musical talent became apparent at the age of five, when he began playing the violin, while at seven he was discovered conducting a piece by Haydn playing on his parents' record player. He was the first American and youngest conductor, at the age of 30, to conduct Lohengrin at Bayreuth. After a career which has included prestigious posts at the Vienna State Opera and the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, he is currently Musical Director of the New York Philharmonic. In May this year, Lorin Maazel's first opera, an adaption of George Orwell's 1984, will he performed at the Royal Opera House in London.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Quartet No 14 'Death and the Maiden' 4th Movement by Franz Schubert

Book: Pens退es by Blaise Pascal

Luxury: Vermeer Painting - The Piano Lesson

Sue Lawley's castaway is Lorin Maazel, director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra

[R4 BD=20050408

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

Book: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Luxury: Fishing rod

Sue Lawley's castaway is television presenter Loyd Grossman

[R4 BD=19971205

Lubaina was born in Zanzibar in 1954. Her mother was from Britain and her father was originally from the Comoros Islands. He died from malaria when Lubaina was just a few months old, and so she and her mother returned to England. She studied Theatre Design at the Wimbledon College of Art and began organising exhibitions of works by fellow black women artists in the early 1980s as part of the Black Art Movement.

Her own work focuses on black identity, often shining a light on the slave trade and the contribution made by the people of the black diaspora. She was the first black woman to win the Turner Prize, and was also its oldest winner, at the age of 63. She was appointed an MBE in 2010 and a CBE in 2018. She lives and works in Preston.

BOOK CHOICE: Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

LUXURY ITEM: An endless supply of self-ironing Japanese shirts

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Suzanne by Nina Simone

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

Lubaina Himid, artist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne

Lucinda was born in Edinburgh in 1966. Although she didn't come from a racing background - her father ran the family's whisky business - she was obsessed with horses from a very young age. After many years of pleading, she finally got her first pony at the age of 10. A few years later the family moved from Edinburgh to Arlay Farm near Milnathort in Kinross-shire, where she still trains her horses today.

After studying psychology at the University of St Andrews, Lucinda began riding competitively, which she funded by buying and training horses before selling them on. She took out her professional trainer's licence in 1995 and built up her stables on the family farm.

Lucinda's first success at the Grand National was in 2017 with One for Arthur, ridden by Derek Fox. She had helped buy the horse for the owners, two self-described ‘golf widows'. She was awarded an OBE for services to horseracing in the Queen's Birthday Honours the following year. Then in 2023 she won again with Corach Rambler.

Lucinda runs her stables with her partner the former National Hunt jockey Peter Scudamore.

DISC ONE: Some Nights - Fun.

DISC TWO: Forever Young - Alphaville

DISC THREE: Wand'rin' Star - Lee Marvin

DISC FOUR: Piano Man - Billy Joel

DISC FIVE: This Is The Day - The The

DISC SIX: To Win Just Once -The Saw Doctors

DISC SEVEN: Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams

DISC EIGHT: Andante, Andante - ABBA

BOOK CHOICE: Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery by Andris J. Kaneps, Kenneth William Hinchcliff, and Raymond J. Geor

LUXURY ITEM: A camper van

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams

Presenter Lauren Laverne

Producer Katy Hickman

Lucinda Russell, horse trainer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

She started writing by chance when she entered a competition and won first prize - writer in residence at the RSC.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Best by Tina Turner

Book: The Faber Book of Reportage by John Carey

Luxury: Jaguar XK8

Sue Lawley's castaway is playwright and screenwriter Lucy Gannon

[R4 BD=1998090

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn

Book: The Proper Study of Mankind by Isaiah Berlin

Luxury: To be missed by the people she loves

Sue Lawley's castaway is actress Luise Rainer

[R4 BD=19990402

A master of the profile interview, her razor-sharp observations have earned her the nickname the Demon Barber and won her a stack of awards. Although critics say her articles are hatchet jobs, she disagrees: 'I think that people are well served by quite blunt or quite rude questions because it forces them to fight back and come back strongly,' she says.

Producer: Leanne Buckle

Record: Macushla sung by John McCormack

Book: The Complete F Scott Fitzgerald

Luxury: A cyanide pill.

[R4 BD=20100730

Lyse was born in Bathhurst, New Brunswick, in eastern Canada and after graduating with a master's degree from the University of Toronto she set her sights on becoming a journalist. She took her first step by signing up with the volunteer agency Canadian Crossroads International which offered her a placement in Ivory Coast, West Africa.

In 1982 the BBC set up a West Africa office and Lyse began filing reports as a freelance journalist. After stints working in London and Pakistan she made her first visit to Kabul in 1988 and covered the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. This trip was the beginning of her long association with the country - a country she now calls her ‘second home'.

In 1989 she became the BBC's Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent and later on in her career she reported from India and Indonesia in the aftermath of the tsunami. In 2011 she played a leading role in the BBC's coverage of the Arab Spring, reporting from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

She was appointed an OBE in 2014 for services to British broadcast journalism and in 2019 she was admitted to the Order of Canada.

DISC ONE: Habibi Nour Al Ain by Amr Diab

DISC TWO: Passionate Kisses by Mary Chapin Carpenter

DISC THREE: Searching for Abegweit (Live) by Lenny Gallant

DISC FOUR: Annie's Song by John Denver

DISC FIVE: Bi Lamban by Toumani Diabate and Ballake Sissoko

DISC SIX: L Einaudi: Elegy For The Arctic, composed and performed by Ludovico Einaudi

DISC SEVEN: Here and Now by Derek Roche, featuring Kathy Evans

DISC EIGHT: Dawn by The Orchestra of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music

BOOK CHOICE: A Persian language book

LUXURY ITEM: Essential oils

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Searching for Abegweit (Live) by Lenny Gallant

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Lyse Doucet, journalist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Above all else, she is known as a painter of people. Over the past 30 years she has painted George Melly, Stephen Fry and Michael Gambon among many others. But in the early years, her subjects were not well known; instead they were characters she saw on the streets or in the bars of South London. People whose faces she would commit to memory so that she could draw them when she returned to her studio.

She was the first artist to be given a residency at the National Gallery and in 1995 won the Jerwood Prize. But although she remains in great demand as a portrait painter, her work provokes controversy too - her tribute to Benjamin Britten, an enormous scallop shell standing on the shore at Aldeburgh, continues to divide opinion in the town.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Runnin' Wild by Marilyn Monroe

Book: The Complete Works of Just William by Richmal Crompton

Luxury: A wine cellar from All Soul's, Oxford

Sue Lawley's castaway is artist Maggi Hambling

[R4 BD=20051223

She has, she says, a special relationship with the moon, one that started when she first saw The Clangers as a small child. As a teenager she made her own telescope so she could study the moon more closely. Now she makes highly technical optical equipment for satellites, but says she still harbours desires to go into space - her dream job is building a telescope on the moon. She says: 'From the age of three, I wanted to get into space and I still do. It's been the driving force of my life really, that desire to get out there one day.

Record: As by Stevie Wonder

Book: Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

Luxury: A telescope.

[R4 BD=20100312

Maggie was born in Northern Ireland. Her parents moved around during her childhood, and she grew up in Wales and Scotland. As a young girl, she was very ill and almost died from encephalitis. She says her lifelong love of reading comes from her long stay in hospital followed by an extended convalescence, when she missed a year of school. Her illness also left her with a stammer, which she believes has profoundly affected her relationship with language.

She studied English at Cambridge University, and then looked for work as a journalist, writing poetry in her spare time. When she chanced upon a discarded computer, she decided to write a novel. She attended a creative writing course, where her tutors encouraged her to get her first manuscript published.

She lives in Scotland with her husband, the writer William Sutcliffe, and their three children.

DISC ONE: Elephant Gun by Beirut

DISC TWO: Sit Down By The Fire by The Pogues

DISC THREE: Lovesong by The Cure

DISC FOUR: Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31, composed by Fr退d退ric Chopin, performed by Martha Argerich (piano)

DISC FIVE: The Bends by Radiohead

DISC SIX: Little Star by Stina Nordenstam

DISC SEVEN: Feeling Good by Nina Simone

DISC EIGHT: Prophet (Better Watch It) by Rizzle Kicks

BOOK CHOICE: Selected Stories by Alice Munro

LUXURY ITEM: National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Elephant Gun by Beirut

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Sarah Taylor

Maggie O'Farrell, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Her most famous creation is a little red-haired character called Katie Morag who - in wellies and a kilt - has skipped her way through fourteen books and a 26-part TV series. Katie lives on the imaginary Isle of Struay with her parents, siblings, cousins, granny and prize-winning sheep Alecina. Like her creator she relishes the rhythms and freedoms particular to life on a wee Scottish island. But that's where the similarities end - the author was born and brought up an only child on the mainland of the lowlands. She lost her father when she was just twelve and says she was never part of a close-knit family.

As a grown-up, all she wanted was to quit the rat race and be an island crofter, but after a decade she left her dream behind in favour of a more stable income and a secondary school for her children.

She says, 'I have a notion that children's writers explore unresolved questions in their own childhoods. I certainly do.

Producer: Christine Pawlowsky.

Kirsty Young talks to author and illustrator Mairi Hedderwick.

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She was born in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan where her father Ziauddin was a prominent activist who believed boys and girls should sit side by side in the classroom and co-founded a school which Malala attended. After the Taliban began to establish its presence in the Valley, day-to-day life became synonymous with danger and fear - people were taken from their homes and killed for speaking out against the regime. Education for girls was forbidden and schools were shut down or bombed.

In 2009 Malala began writing an anonymous blog for BBC Urdu in which she spoke out about what was happening in Swat Valley. This made her a target. In 2012 she was shot by a Taliban gunman as she sat on the school bus. Two girls sitting alongside her were also shot. What Malala calls ‘the incident' generated headlines around the world. Her injuries were severe and she was airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. After a long and painful recovery she settled in Birmingham with her family.

Now 23, Malala graduated from the University of Oxford last year and continues to campaign globally for girls' education through the Malala Fund which she co-founded with her father.

DISC ONE: Rang by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan & Amjad Sabri

DISC TWO: Shinwari Lawangeena by Zarsanga

DISC THREE: Never Say Never by Justin Bieber

DISC FOUR: Hum Dekhen Ge by Iqbal Bano

DISC FIVE: All I Ask of You by Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton

DISC SIX: Kaari Kaari by Qurat Ul Ain Balouch

DISC SEVEN: Love Always Comes as a Surprise by Peter Asher

DISC EIGHT: Bibi Sherina by Sardar Ali Takkar

BOOK CHOICE: Plato: Complete Works

LUXURY ITEM: Lip balm

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Hum Dekhen Ge by Iqbal Bano

Presenter: Lauren Laverne

Producer: Paula McGinley

Malala Yousafzai, activist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Always concise, frequently counterintuitive and unexpectedly beguiling, his work orders the world in a way that gives fresh insights into human behaviour.

He believes that a knowledge of people's backgrounds is necessary to understanding their success; his own achievements may presumably then be attributed, not just to his keen mind and polished prose, but also to his parents - an English mathematician and a Jamaican psychotherapist.

He says, 'I am the bird attached to the top of a very large beast, pecking away and eating the gnats.... I am someone who draws inspiration from the brilliance of others and repackages it ... I am a populariser, a simplifier and a synthesizer.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Kirsty Young talks to writer Malcolm Gladwell.

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A prolific and multi-award winning author she has powered her way to success not just through talent but determination and perseverance. From the careers mistress who told her, 'black people don't become teachers,' to the 82 rejection letters she received before she was published, significant parts of her life seem to have been spent proving people wrong. A technology wiz, her first career was in computing. As a writer her books have tackled challenging themes: bullying, teenage pregnancy, racism and terrorism.