Desert Island Discs

By BBC Radio 4

Personal Journals Society & Culture

What's Desert Island Discs about?

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

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Lea Salonga, singer and actor

12.03.2023

Lea Salonga was just 18 when she became an international theatre star, taking a leading role in the world premiere production of the musical Miss Saigon in 1989. Her performance - first in London, then on Broadway - won her ...

Desert Island Discs episodes:

12.03.2023 Lea Salonga, singer and actor Lea Salonga was just 18 when she became an international theatre star, taking a leading role in the world premiere production of the musical Miss Saigon in 1989. Her performance - first in London, then on Broadway - won her ...
11.26.2023 Professor Dame Lesley Regan, obstetrician and gynaecologist Professor Dame Lesley Regan is the Government’s first Women’s Health Ambassador for England. She is one of the main drivers behind the upcoming Women’s Health Strategy which aims to tackle the gender health gap and improve services for women. As ...
11.19.2023 Patrick Grant, designer and broadcaster Patrick Grant is a designer, clothing entrepreneur and a judge on the BBC TV programme The Great British Sewing Bee. Patrick was born in Edinburgh in 1972. His interest in clothes and in making things was evident from a very ...
11.12.2023 Dame Donna Langley, film studio executive Dame Donna Langley is chairman and chief content officer for the NBC Universal Studio Group, the first British woman in history to run a major Hollywood film studio. She green lit Christopher Nolan’s latest film Oppenheimer and was one of ...
11.05.2023 Greg Jackson, entrepreneur Greg Jackson is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy. The company is the UK’s second largest domestic energy provider with over five million customers and is one of Europe’s leading investors in renewables. Greg was born in Germany in ...
10.29.2023 Katherine Ryan, comedian Katherine Ryan is a Canadian comedian and writer. Her edgy and provocative routines have led to sell-out tours, comedy specials on television and her sitcom series The Duchess. Based on her experience at the time, the Duchess tells the story ...
10.22.2023 Lucinda Russell, horse trainer Lucinda Russell is a Scottish racehorse trainer. Her stables in Kinross have sent out almost 900 winners, including two Grand National champions. She is one of only two Scottish trainers and four women to have celebrated a Grand National win ...
10.14.2023 Adrian Edmondson, actor, writer Adrian Edmondson first shot to national fame in 1982, playing the studded punk Vyvyan in the TV sitcom The Young Ones, set in a seedy student flat. The cast largely came from the developing alternative comedy scene, and included Rik ...
09.02.2023 Shirley Collins, folk singer Shirley Collins first enjoyed success as one of the leading figures in the British folk revival of the 1960s. She initially performed with her sister, Dolly Collins, and also collaborated with other folk luminaries to create some of the era’s ...
08.27.2023 Toto Wolff, Formula 1 executive Toto Wolff is CEO and Team Principal of the Mercedes Formula 1 motor racing team. He has led the team to an unprecedented seven consecutive drivers’ championships – six with Lewis Hamilton - and eight consecutive constructors' championships. He is ...
08.20.2023 Simon Woolley, crossbench peer Simon Woolley, Lord Woolley of Woodford, is principal of Homerton College at Cambridge University. He is the first black man to head an Oxbridge college. He is a co-founder of Operation Black Vote, which campaigns for greater inclusivity in politics, ...
08.12.2023 Jill Scott, footballer Jill Scott is the second most capped England footballer ever, playing for her country 161 times. Before her retirement last year, she played in ten major international tournaments and was part of the England team who beat Germany to win ...
08.05.2023 Peter Doig, artist Peter Doig is one of Britain’s most successful living artists. His paintings have been exhibited at major galleries around the world, winning wide critical acclaim and selling for tens of millions of pounds at auction, setting sales records. Peter was ...
07.30.2023 Stanley Tucci, actor Stanley Tucci is an actor, director and writer who is known for his roles in a broad range of feature films including the Devil Wears Prada, Julie and Julia and the Hunger Games. More recently he has whetted the appetites ...
07.22.2023 Kate Mosse, writer Kate Mosse OBE is a British novelist and broadcaster. She is the author of ten novels and short story collections, including The Joubert Family Chronicles and the best-selling Languedoc Trilogy. She has also written four works of non-fiction including her ...
07.16.2023 Adam Kay, writer Adam Kay is a writer whose memoir This is Going to Hurt; Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor won the Book of the Year prize at the National Book Awards and has sold over three million copies. It was adapted ...
07.09.2023 Claudia Rankine, poet Claudia Rankine is a poet, essayist and playwright. She is best known for her book Citizen: An American Lyric which combines short stories about everyday injustices experienced by people of colour with poems telling the stories of black men who ...
07.02.2023 Jeremy Bowen, journalist Jeremy Bowen is the BBC’s award-winning international editor. He has been reporting from the world’s conflict zones, including Iraq, Bosnia, the Middle East and Ukraine, for more than 30 years. Jeremy was born in Cardiff in 1960. His father was ...
06.24.2023 Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan OBE is currently ranked the number one snooker player in the world, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the history of the sport. He has won the Masters a record seven times and ...
06.18.2023 Professor Sharon Peacock, scientist Professor Sharon Peacock is professor of public health and microbiology at Cambridge University. In March 2020 she set up the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium to map the genetic sequence of the virus as it spread and mutated. Within a ...
06.11.2023 Simon Pegg, actor Simon Pegg is an actor and screenwriter who became a household name after appearing in two of Hollywood’s most successful film franchises – Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. He also won many fans for co-creating the so-called Three Flavours Cornetto ...
06.04.2023 Professor Peter Hennessy, historian Professor Peter Hennessy is one of the UK’s leading contemporary historians. He has written acclaimed and important books about politics, the civil service, the intelligence agencies and the British constitution on which he is an expert. Peter was born in ...
04.23.2023 Dara Ó Briain, comedian and television presenter Dara Ó Briain has toured the world as a stand-up comedian, and hosted the BBC’s satirical series Mock the Week for 17 years. A science graduate with a love of astronomy, he co-presented the BBC series Stargazing Live with Professor ...
04.19.2023 Liz Carr, actor and activist Liz Carr is most widely known for her role as the forensic examiner Clarissa Mullery in the long-running BBC TV drama Silent Witness. She appeared in more than 70 episodes, from 2013 until 2020. Last year she won the Olivier ...
04.09.2023 Amanda Blanc, businesswoman Amanda Blanc is the group CEO of the insurance company Aviva. She is one of a handful of women at the top of FTSE 100 companies and has spoken out against the sexism and misogyny many – including herself - ...
04.01.2023 Robert Webb, comedian Robert Webb first reached a wide audience as the co-star of Channel 4’s longest running sitcom, the BAFTA-award winning Peep Show. With his long-standing comedy partner David Mitchell, he also created That Mitchell and Webb Sound for BBC Radio 4, ...
03.26.2023 Sonia Boyce, artist In 2022 Sonia Boyce became the first Black British woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale exhibition. She also took home the coveted Golden Lion Award for her installation Feeling Her Way, which combined video and collage with improvised ...
03.19.2023 Jenny Beavan, costume designer Jenny Beavan has won three Oscars for her costumes for the films Room with a View, Mad Max: Fury Road and Cruella, and has received nine further Academy Award nominations. She was born in London, and her parents were both ...
03.12.2023 David Sedaris, writer David Sedaris is a writer whose humorous stories and wry takes on everyday encounters have led to 13 bestselling books and many radio programmes including Meet David Sedaris on BBC Radio 4. His work is based on his own life ...
03.05.2023 Lesley Manville, actor Lesley Manville made her debut on the West End stage as a teenager in 1972, and since then has taken on a wide range of roles on stage and screen, including an Oscar-nominated performance in the film Phantom Thread. She ...
02.26.2023 Professor Corinne Le Quéré, climate scientist Corinne Le Quéré is the Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia where she studies the way marine ecosystems respond to climate change. She uses computer simulators of the ocean to assess how ...
02.19.2023 Michael Pollan, writer Michael Pollan’s award-winning writing about plants, nature and food combines anthropology and philosophy with culture, health and natural history. Time Magazine has named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world and his maxim to ‘Eat food. ...
02.12.2023 Gabby Logan, broadcaster Gabby Logan presents a range of popular BBC sports programmes and hosts high-profile sporting events including the Olympics, Premiership football and the World Cup. Gabby was born in Leeds and her father Terry Yorath is a former footballer and manager ...
02.05.2023 Sir Malcolm Walker, retailer Sir Malcolm Walker is the chairman and co-founder of the frozen food supermarket chain Iceland. He was brought up in Grange Moor, West Yorkshire. He was just 14 when his father died, and he helped his mother run a smallholding, ...
01.22.2023 Kirsty Young, broadcaster Kirsty Young was the award-winning presenter of Desert Island Discs between 2006 and 2018, interviewing 496 castaways. Her TV work includes BAFTA-winning coverage of events marking the centenary of World War One, and memorable live presentation from Windsor of the ...
01.15.2023 Steven Spielberg, director Steven Spielberg is the most successful director of his generation and the highest-grossing director of all time: his films have taken more than $10 billion worldwide. From Jaws to E.T. and Jurassic Park to Schindler’s List, his storytelling has captivated ...
01.08.2023 Cate Blanchett, actor Cate Blanchett is arguably the most celebrated Australian actor ever, winning two Academy Awards, three BAFTAs, three Golden Globes and dozens of other honours around the world. She grew up in Melbourne, and although she enjoyed music and drama at ...
01.01.2023 Edward Enninful, editor Edward Enninful is the editor-in-chief of British Vogue and the editorial director of Vogue in Europe. Edward was born in the port city of Takoradi in Ghana in 1972. His father was a major in the Ghanaian army and, following ...
12.25.2022 Baz Luhrmann, director Baz Luhrmann is an Australian director whose debut film, Strictly Ballroom, became one of Australia’s most successful releases, and also inspired the title of the BBC’s popular Saturday night dance show. He went on to direct Romeo + Juliet, Moulin ...
12.18.2022 Barry Hearn, sports promoter Barry Hearn is a promoter who has been at the forefront of some of the biggest snooker, boxing and darts events in the last 40 years. He played a central role in turning snooker into a television phenomenon, and as ...
12.11.2022 Professor Jean Golding, epidemiologist Professor Jean Golding is an epidemiologist who is best known for founding the Children of the Nineties study - more formally known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The most detailed project of its kind anywhere in ...
12.04.2022 Richard E Grant, actor Richard E Grant was born in Swaziland, now Eswatini, one of the smallest countries in Africa, and took his first steps as an actor as a teenager in the local amateur theatre company. He studied Drama and English at Cape ...
11.27.2022 Professor Angela Gallop, forensic scientist Professor Angela Gallop is a forensic scientist who has helped solve some of the most notorious violent crimes in recent British history including the killings of Stephen Lawrence, Damilola Taylor and Rachel Nickell. After completing a degree in botany and ...
11.20.2022 Rick Rubin, music producer Rick Rubin is a multiple Grammy-winning record producer who has worked with a wide range of artists including Adele, the Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He also reinvigorated the career of Johnny Cash in the 1990s, with ...
11.13.2022 Maxine Peake, actor Maxine Peake is an actor and writer who first came to public attention in 1998 as Twinkle in the Victoria Wood sitcom Dinnerladies. She went on to play Veronica in Paul Abbott’s series Shameless and later became known for playing ...
11.06.2022 Kevin Sinfield, rugby player Kevin Sinfield OBE is one of the most decorated players in the history of English rugby league. He captained Leeds Rhinos and the England team, and was runner-up in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year poll in 2015. He ...
10.30.2022 Dr Waheed Arian, doctor Dr Waheed Arian is a radiologist who set up a charity called Arian Teleheal in 2015. The charity enables volunteer doctors in the west to advise colleagues in conflict zones using smartphone technology. The charity has helped save many lives ...
10.23.2022 Jay Blades, presenter and furniture restorer Jay Blades is a furniture restorer who is best known for presenting the Repair Shop on BBC One. The programme, which attracts many millions of viewers, brings old and damaged family treasures back to life and has been praised for ...
10.16.2022 Sue Barker, presenter and tennis player Sue Barker is a television presenter and former professional tennis player. She presented the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage for nearly three decades, before stepping down this year, when she received a standing ovation. Sue was born in Devon in 1956, and ...
10.14.2022 Dame Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova was born Lilian Alice Marks in December 1910, in a two-bedroom flat in Finsbury Park, London. She began ballet classes because she was flat footed and knock kneed. Her natural talent, when she was ten, was spotted ...

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Desert Island Discs

What's Desert Island Discs about?

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Desert Island Discs episodes:

Lea Salonga, singer and actor

Professor Dame Lesley Regan, obstetrician and gynaecologist

Patrick Grant, designer and broadcaster

Dame Donna Langley, film studio executive

Greg Jackson, entrepreneur

Katherine Ryan, comedian

Lucinda Russell, horse trainer

Adrian Edmondson, actor, writer

Shirley Collins, folk singer

Toto Wolff, Formula 1 executive

Simon Woolley, crossbench peer

Jill Scott, footballer

Peter Doig, artist

Stanley Tucci, actor

Kate Mosse, writer

Adam Kay, writer

Claudia Rankine, poet

Jeremy Bowen, journalist

Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker player

Professor Sharon Peacock, scientist

Simon Pegg, actor

Professor Peter Hennessy, historian

Dara Ó Briain, comedian and television presenter

Liz Carr, actor and activist

Amanda Blanc, businesswoman

Robert Webb, comedian

Sonia Boyce, artist

Jenny Beavan, costume designer

David Sedaris, writer

Lesley Manville, actor

Professor Corinne Le Quéré, climate scientist

Michael Pollan, writer

Gabby Logan, broadcaster

Sir Malcolm Walker, retailer

Kirsty Young, broadcaster

Steven Spielberg, director

Cate Blanchett, actor

Edward Enninful, editor

Baz Luhrmann, director

Barry Hearn, sports promoter

Professor Jean Golding, epidemiologist

Richard E Grant, actor

Professor Angela Gallop, forensic scientist

Rick Rubin, music producer

Maxine Peake, actor

Kevin Sinfield, rugby player

Dr Waheed Arian, doctor

Jay Blades, presenter and furniture restorer

Sue Barker, presenter and tennis player

Dame Alicia Markova

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