Gemma Craven is one of our most versatile actresses. An award winning stage performer, she made her film debut opposite Richard Chamberlain in The Slipper and the Rose. On television her work has ranged from the part of Joan in Dennis Potter’s Pennies from Heaven to appearances on The Morecambe and Wise Show. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, she looks back over her life on stage and off, and chooses eight records to take to a desert island.

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

Favourite track: Boil The Breakfast Early by The Chieftans

The Right Honourable Michael Heseltine MP is often described as one of the new breed of Tory politicians and was widely tipped to be the next leader of the party. But that all changed dramatically in 1986 when he resigned his Cabinet post over the Westland affair. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he recalls his upbringing in South Wales, schooldays at Shrewsbury, undergraduate life at Oxford and his subsequent career in politics. He also chooses the eight records to take with him to the island.

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

Favourite track: We'll Keep A Welcome in the Hillsides by Morriston Orpheus Choir

Of Adele Leigh, a critic once said that she put paid to the myth that to be good, a soprano had to look like a Hoffnung cartoon. The youngest principal of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden when she joined in 1948, she became a television star in the 1960s with the show All Kinds of Music and appearances on Eric Robinson’s Music For You. After leaving Covent Garden she married a diplomat and settled in Vienna where she began singing the operetta roles that were to bring her fame at the Volksoper there. In conversation with Michael Parkinson she looks back over her life and her career in music.

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

Favourite track: Let's Do It by Noel Coward

Lew Grade has been at the centre of British show business for more than 50 years. Now into his 80s, he still has a dominant role as film and television mogul. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on his life and career and selects the music both to listen and dance to during his stay on the mythical island.

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

Favourite track: Lo! Hear The Gentle Lark by Sir Henry Bishop

The actor Anthony Sher became well-known to television audiences when he took the lead in The History Man and has established a special talent for Shakespeare, in particular Richard the Third. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he recalls his upbringing in South Africa and his subsequent career in the British theatre.

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

Favourite track: Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti

Vernon Scannell's colourful career has included prize-fighting, a controversial spell in the Army, confinement to a mental institution for insisting on becoming a writer and a subsequent award of a civil list pension for his services to literature. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on these aspects of his life and also selects the eight records to take to the mythical island.

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

Favourite track: St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach

Barry Cryer is one of our best-known comedy writers who has, for 30 years, survived the quick-fire world that he sums up with the phrase "We don't want it good - we want it Monday". In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on his career, both as performer and writer, and he also selects eight records to take to the mythical island.

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

Favourite track: Hoffnung by Hoffnung

As a restaurateur, broadcaster and writer, Robert Carrier's name has become synonymous with good food. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on a 25 year career and chooses music to remind him of some of the places he has lived during that time, including his native America, Paris, England and Morocco.

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

Favourite track: Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi

Sue Lawley admits to being the kind of person whose tummy goes ping when she hears a certain tune and thinks "Ah yes, I remember that, it brings back lovely memories." In conversation with Michael Parkinson, she looks back on her upbringing in Worcestershire, her early days as a journalist and subsequent career as one of our most popular television presenters. She also chooses her eight records to take to the mythical island.

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

Favourite track: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninov

"My wife and I are great opera buffs" says Bamber Gascoigne, who became a household name when he first became the question master of BBC television's University Challenge some 25 years ago. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on his career as a writer and broadcaster and reveals a novel approach to assembling his package of records to take to the mythical island.

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

Favourite track: Soave Sia Il Vento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart