Desert Island Discs

Another chance to hear Lemn Sissay's Desert Island Discs from October 2015. Interviewed by Kirsty Young.

As a poet, writer and playwright, much of his work tells the story of his search for his birth parents. Born to a …

Another chance to hear Judith Kerr, interviewed by Sue Lawley. From February 2004.

A writer and illustrator known to generations of children both for …

Another chance to hear Daniel Kaheneman, interviewed by Kirsty Young in August 2013.

Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most influential living …

Another chance to hear Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University, interviewed by Kirsty Young in July 2015.

…

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 …

Jo Fairley is a businesswoman and writer. She co-founded the Green & Black’s chocolate company with Craig Sams, her husband, and has launched …

Sir Tim Waterstone is the founder of the bookshop chain that bears his name. Born in May 1939, he was the youngest of three children. His father, who worked for a tea company all his life, served in the Royal Army …

Dame Sally Davies is the outgoing Chief Medical Officer for England. She will take up her next post as Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, later …

John Cooper Clarke first achieved fame with his poetry during the punk rock era of the late 1970s. Born in Salford in 1949 to Hilda and George, he …

Marcus Wareing is a prize-winning chef, restaurateur, TV presenter and cookery book writer, who gained his first Michelin star at the age of just 26.

He grew up in Southport, and by the age of 11 was helping out in his …

Sue Biggs is the Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society.

She’s been at the helm of the RHS since 2010 and during that time, its …

Jared Diamond is Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, although his interests and expertise range far wider, from …

Emily Eavis is co-organiser of the Glastonbury Festival. Together with her husband and her father, she masterminds the booking of bands and oversees the setting up of what is the largest greenfield festival in the …

Nitin Sawhney is a composer, musician and producer working in the worlds of music, film, video games, dance and theatre. He has released 10 studio albums, scored over 50 films and television programmes, and is known for …

Professor Monica McWilliams is an academic, peace campaigner and former politician.

In 1996, she was the co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s …

Lubaina Himid is a Turner Prize-winning artist, curator and Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire.

Lubaina was born in Zanzibar in 1954. Her mother was from Britain and her father was …

Derren Brown, illusionist and mentalist, chooses the eight tracks, book and luxury he want to take with him if cast away to a desert island.

BOOK …

Pat McGrath is a renowned make-up artist. She works with the world’s top designers, photographers, editors and models, creating images for the pages of the world’s most glamorous magazines. She and her team also work at …

Louis Theroux is a television documentary maker. He has received two BAFTAs and a Royal Television Society Award for his work which includes the series Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends and When Louis Met…

Another chance to hear artist Tracey Emin's Desert Island Discs, with Sue Lawley, first broadcast in November 2004.

Tracey Emin is one of the most …

Another chance to hear Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell choose her Desert Island Discs, with Sue Lawley. First broadcast 24th December, 2000.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell was only twenty-four when she made the discovery of a …

Another chance to hear Mary Berry's Desert Island Discs with Kirsty Young from 2012.
Mary Berry is one of the UK's best-known and respected cookery …

Another chance to hear Paralympian and broadcaster Ade Adepitan interviewed by Kirsty Young in 2012.
When he's not stuck in a studio explaining the intricacies of Goalball he's reporting from the rainforests of Nicaragua …

Another chance to listen to the comedian, Ricky Gervais speaking to Kirsty Young in 2007.
In just twelve episodes, his show The Office changed the face of British television comedy. At its centre was the comic monster, …

Martin Freeman is a multi-award winning actor, best known for his roles as the lovable Tim in BBC Two’s The Office and as Dr Watson to Benedict …

Lauren Laverne’s castaway this week is Jacqueline de Rojas, the President of techUK, the body that represents 900 companies in the technology sector. …

Marlon James is a writer who won the Man Booker Prize in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings, a novel which centres on an attempt to assassinate Bob Marley. Marlon was the first Jamaican to win the Prize.

He was …

Dame Esther Rantzen is best known as the presenter of the long-running TV series That’s Life, which began on BBC One in 1973. She was both presenter …

Trevor Sorbie is known as an innovative hairdresser and is the founder of the charity, MyNewHair.

Born into a family of hairdressers – both his father and grandfather were barbers – he spent the first decade of his life …

Professor Margaret MacMillan is a Canadian historian, author and broadcaster. In 2018 she delivered the Reith Lectures on BBC Radio 4, in which she examined the tangled history of war and society.

She was born in …

Ann Cleeves is a crime writer best known for two series of novels, both of which have been adapted for television. Vera, for ITV, features her detective Vera Stanhope, and Shetland, for the BBC, focuses on DI Jimmy …

Cressida Dick is Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

She was born in 1960, the youngest child of two university professors. Her parents divorced …

Bob Mortimer is a comedian best known for his work with his comedy partner Vic Reeves.
For 30 years, he and Vic have appeared in numerous TV series together, including Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, Shooting Stars and The …

Wendy Cope is one of England’s most popular and widely-read contemporary poets.

Wendy was born in Erith, Kent. Her father was 29 years older than her …

James Rebanks is a shepherd and the best-selling author of The Shepherd’s Life.

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 …

Ruth Jones is an actor and writer. She co-created and starred in the award-winning TV comedy series Gavin and Stacey, and also wrote and took the …

The Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller is perhaps best known for We’re Here Because We’re Here, a moving and powerful memorial to the Battle …

Alan Carr, comedian and chat show host, is known for his love of silliness, dressing up and camp daftness. His stand-up shows have filled arenas, and on TV he co-hosted the Friday Night Project and then his own show - …

As one of the Guardian’s first female foreign correspondents, Hella Pick reported on events that shaped the world in the second half of the 20th century, from Martin Luther King's civil rights activism to Watergate, the …

Professor Mariana Mazzucato is an economist, who focuses on value and innovation.

Born in Italy, Mariana moved to America as a child, when her father accepted a post at Princeton University. She has lived in the UK for …

Gary Barlow, musician and Take That lead singer, has written more than a dozen chart-topping songs, and has received six Ivor Novello awards including the award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

Born in …

Tom Kerridge is a chef, restaurateur and TV presenter.

Tom made his name with his Buckinghamshire pub The Hand and Flowers, which he opened with his wife in 2005. It is the only British pub with two Michelin stars.

Tom …

Kate Atkinson won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award for her 1995 debut novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum, and has won the Costa Novel Award twice, for Life After Life in 2013 and for A God in Ruins two years …

Tracey Thorn, musician and writer, is best known as one half of the duo Everything but the Girl. Brought up in Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire, she …

Vanley Burke is a Jamaican-born photographer often described as the Godfather of Black British Photography. His body of work is regarded as the greatest photographic record of African Caribbean people in post-war …

Jacqueline Gold is the CEO of the retail brands Ann Summers and Knickerbox. She joined the business at the age of 19 for work experience, and faced …

Venki Ramakrishnan is a Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist.

He is most renowned for his research into the atomic structure of the ribosome - a …

Nile Rodgers is a Grammy-winning composer, musician, and producer. With his own band, Chic, he's been enticing people on to the dance floor since the mid-1970s with hits like Le Freak and Good Times. With over 200 …

Composer Thea Musgrave celebrated her 90th birthday this year, an event marked by celebrations and concerts around the world, including the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. She has published more than …

Tom Daley started diving aged seven and by the age of 14 was representing Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He has won six British Championships, three European Championships and won the World Championships …

Henry Marsh is a neurosurgeon, who pioneered a technique of operating on the brain while the patient is under local anaesthetic. The procedure is now standard practice. He is also an acclaimed writer.

He was born in …

Danielle de Niese is a soprano who has taken starring roles with leading opera companies around the world. She was born in Melbourne, Australia, to …

Another chance to listen to the writer speaking to Kirsty Young in 2013. A prolific and multi-award winning author, Malorie Blackman has powered her …

Another chance to listen to the founder of the Hospice Movement speaking to Sue Lawley in 1995. Dame Cicely Saunders talks about her schooldays at …

Another chance to listen to the singer and television presenter speaking to Sue Lawley in 1988. Cilla Black reveals her three remaining burning ambitions in life: to make a number-one record, to become a grandmother and …

Another chance to listen to the journalist and broadcaster speaking to Michael Parkinson in 1986. Brian Redhead presented the Today programme for almost 20 years. He talks about his appearance on Children's Hour as a …

Another chance to listen to the composer speaking to Roy Plomley in 1985. Sir Michael Tippett is regarded as one of the foremost composers of the twentieth century. Other than a period as Director of Music at Morley …

Pam Ayres is a poet and broadcaster.

Pam was born in the Vale of the White Horse and retains her characteristic Berkshire burr. She is the youngest of six children, and grew up in the company of her four brothers and a …

Marianne Elliott is the first woman to win two Tony awards for theatre direction: the first for War Horse and the second for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Both transferred to Broadway from the …

Baroness Newlove is the Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales. She became a campaigner after her husband, Garry Newlove, was murdered by several youths in 2007. Born in Salford in 1961 she grew up in a working …

Billie Jean King won 39 Grand Slams and a total of 20 Wimbledon titles and is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Born in California in 1943, she was the eldest daughter of Bill and Betty …

Philip Treacy is one of the most prolific and acclaimed hat designers working in the UK.

His work was very much in evidence at this year's Royal …

Guy Singh-Watson is an organic farmer and founder of Riverford, a major British supplier of organic vegetables through a box delivery scheme. Born in 1960 and the youngest of five children, his parents became tenant …

Martina Cole is a British crime writer, known to her fans as the Queen of Crime.

Martina has written 24 novels, 15 of which have topped the original …

John Walker Motson, OBE, also known as Motty, has been commentating on football since 1971. He covered more than 2000 games on television and radio, including all the major football championships, 29 FA Cup finals (with …

Professor Carlos Frenk is a cosmologist and one of the originators of the Cold Dark Matter theory for the formation of galaxies and the structure of …

Gillian Reynolds spent 42 years as the radio critic of the Daily Telegraph before she was headhunted by the Sunday Times at the age of 82. Born into …

David Baddiel is a comedian and writer. Known both for his solo work and for his comedic collaborations with, among others, Rob Newman and Frank …

Dr. Sue Black is a computer scientist, academic and social entrepreneur. She was instrumental in saving Bletchley Park, the home of vital codebreaking during the second world war. Currently an honorary professor at UCL, …

Sir Peter Lampl is a philanthropist who has given over £50 million and worked for 20 years to combat educational inequality. In 1997 he founded the Sutton Trust with the aim of improving social mobility. The Trust has …

Abi Morgan is a screenwriter and playwright best known for TV dramas The Hour, River and The Split and the films Shame, Suffragette and The Iron Lady. She won two Emmy Awards for The Hour, as well as two BAFTAs for Best …

Another chance to listen to the writer speaking to Sue Lawley in 1991. Her most famous creation was Adrian Mole, and, in many respects, his life …

Another chance to listen to the singer-songwriter speaking to Kirsty Young in 2008. Her extraordinary voice has captivated us for decades and, as one …

Another chance to listen to the theoretical physicist speaking to Sue Lawley in 1992. Stephen Hawking wrote the best-selling A Brief History of Time …

Another chance to listen to the comedian speaking to Kirsty Young in 2007. For decades she was one of our best-loved writers and performers. The television series she made - including Acorn Antiques, Dinnerladies and …

Another chance to listen to the world famous musician speaking to Sue Lawley in 2004. As a boy growing up in the impoverished townships of South Africa, he was inspired to learn the trumpet after seeing Kirk Douglas …

Anne-Marie Duff is a stage and screen actor.

Born in 1970 to Irish parents, she grew up in a working class household in west London. A shy child and a …

David Byrne was a founding member of the band Talking Heads. Born in Dumbarton, Scotland, he emigrated first to Canada and then to the USA before the …

John Gray is a philosopher. His academic career included professorships at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, and visiting …

Matt Smith is best known as the eleventh Timelord in the BBC One series, Doctor Who. At 26, he became the youngest actor to take the part.

His future looked set to be in football: he played at youth level for …

Dame Minouche Shafik is the director of the London School of Economics and a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England.
She was born in Egypt but …

Christopher Nolan is best known for reviving the Batman film franchise and for directing the blockbusters Inception and Dunkirk. His films have taken …

Chi-chi Nwanoku is a double bass player and founder of Europe's first professional majority black and minority ethnic orchestra, Chineke!.

Chi-chi is the eldest of five children, born to a Nigerian father and an Irish …

Jack Whitehall, stand-up comedian, actor, sit-com writer and producer is Kirsty Young's castaway.

He co-wrote and starred in the sitcoms Fresh Meat and Bad Education. He and his father launched their chat-show Backchat …

Garry Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, who became the youngest ever world champion at the age of 22. He is also a writer and a political …

Christina Lamb is chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times and travels the world reporting from war zones and hot spots, speaking not just to key protagonists but also seeking out and detailing the daily impact …

Angela Hartnett is a chef, TV presenter and cookery writer. She holds a Michelin star and runs her own restaurants.

Angela was born in 1968 to an …

Charlie Brooker is a satirist, broadcaster and writer. He created the Emmy-award winning series, Black Mirror, and presents Screenwipe and Newswipe which won Best Comedy Entertainment Show award at the British Comedy …

75 Years of Desert Island Discs - Kirsty Young ends the programme's anniversary year with some gems from the archive, including the creator of the format, Roy Plomley, actress Bebe Daniels, broadcaster Richard Dimbleby, …

Bruno Tonioli, dancer, choreographer and a judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, is Kirsty's guest.
He was brought up in Ferrara, Northern Italy, …

Christine McVie enjoyed huge success with Fleetwood Mac, penning many of their signature songs including You Make Loving Fun, Oh Daddy, Little Lies, …

Kelsey Grammer is best known for his two-decade-long portrayal of psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane which began on the NBC sitcom Cheers. He continued …

Tim Martin is the chairman and founder of the pub company JD Wetherspoon. He opened his first pub, Martin's Free House, in 1979 in North London. Now the chain employs 37,000 people, in 891 pubs of which 54 are hotels. …

The writer and activist Naomi Klein reached an international audience with her first book, the best-selling No Logo, a rallying cry against the power of corporate brands and the replacement of traditional manufacturing …

Micky Flanagan found mainstream success as a comedian in 2007 with his autobiographical 'What Chance Change?' show at the Edinburgh fringe, where he was nominated as best newcomer.

Raised in the East End of London, he …

Anna Pavord, writer & gardener, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Professor Phil Scraton is Professor Emeritus at the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast. A criminologist and author, he's director of the …

Kay Mellor, OBE, is an English screenwriter and director best known for TV drama series including Band of Gold, Playing the Field, Fat Friends and …

Edna Adan Ismail is a midwife and campaigner. As a 12 year old growing up in British Somaliland, her dream was to build her own hospital. It took her …

Jane Gardam is best known for her trilogy of novels about an ex-colonial QC nicknamed Old Filth. A writer for both adults and children, she has won …

Sir James MacMillan is a Scottish composer and conductor. He's one of Britain's most successful living classical composers, with his percussion …

Siddhartha Mukherjee is a cancer specialist. His biography of the disease, The Emperor of All Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010. A …

Professor Dame Jane Francis is the Director of the British Antarctic Survey.

She is no stranger to surviving in extreme conditions, because for much …

Paul Greengrass has directed three Jason Bourne films, starring Matt Damon, Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks in the title role, and the 9/11 film …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Dr. Kevin Fong. He is a consultant anaesthetist at University College Hospital London, and an expert on space medicine. He …

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, is Kirsty Young's castaway. She worked for Google at the beginning of the tech boom before joining Facebook in 2008. Raised in Miami Beach, Florida, she studied …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive of Virgin Money. She is currently the government's Women in Finance Champion. She worked for Fred Goodwin at RBS just prior to the financial crisis before …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the tennis player and commentator, John McEnroe. He won three singles and five doubles Wimbledon titles, four singles and four doubles at the US Open and was ranked number one in the world for …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and TV presenter Sue Perkins.

She and her friend Mel Giedroyc first appeared as a comedy duo at the Edinburgh Fringe over 20 years ago and together they presented the first seven …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the theoretical physicist, Professor Carlo Rovelli. His book 'Seven Brief Lessons on Physics' became one of the …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the fashion designer Stella McCartney.

Born the middle child of Paul and Linda McCartney, Stella's early years …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Jed Mercurio. Creator of Line of Duty, and an award-winning TV writer, producer, director and novelist, he is one of the few British script-writers to work as an American-style show-runner. A …

Rick Wakeman, musician and composer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the theatre producer, Sonia Friedman.

Acclaimed as the most influential producer in British theatre today, she has produced over 160 new shows. They include Funny Girl with Sheridan Smith, …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Turkish writer Elif Shafak.

Elif Shafak has published ten novels and several volumes of non-fiction and her …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Dr Demis Hassabis. An artificial intelligence researcher and co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, he is also a neuroscientist, a computer games designer, an entrepreneur, and in his youth, a …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer and poet Liz Lochhead.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Ed Sheeran. His songs have brought him two Grammys, four Brit awards and global success. Shortly after the release of his latest album, Divide, tracks from it occupied nine of the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, Arundhati Roy. She won the Booker Prize for her first novel, The God Of Small Things, which has been translated into 40 languages and became the best-selling book ever by a …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the architect Amanda Levete. She won the Stirling prize in 1998 for the Media Centre at Lord's Cricket Ground which she designed with then husband, the late Jan Kaplicky. Later this …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Marian Keyes.

Her twelve novels to date have sold 35 million copies and are published in 33 languages. Some of …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian and television presenter Jimmy Carr.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Olympian and rower, Dame Katherine Grainger. A six-time rowing World Champion across a variety of classes, her silver …

Kirsty Young's castaway is military historian, Sir Antony Beevor. His books about some of the key battles of the Second World War are best-sellers …

Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster and writer Clive James.

Favourite track: Baby Love by Diana Ross and The Supremes
Book: Book about how to build a plane out of palm fronds and coconut fibre by Willy Messerschmitt
…

June Brown is best known today for her role as the long-suffering chain-smoking Dot Cotton (now Dot Branning) in the BBC TV soap EastEnders. She …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the rugby union referee Nigel Owens.

His steely authority and quick wit on the field have won him worldwide praise - he's widely regarded as one of the best referees in the business …

David Beckham is Kirsty Young's guest as Desert Island Discs celebrates its 75th Anniversary.

As a professional footballer he's the only Englishman to win the league titles in England, Spain, the US and France. He spent …

Kirsty Young celebrates 75 years of Desert Island Discs with some of the wonderful voices in the archive and chooses some of her favourite interviews …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Caitlin Moran.

A columnist for The Times newspaper for 25 years, she's published five books and …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the choreographer Wayne McGregor.

Despite his background in contemporary dance, he has been resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet - the first from outside the company - for the past ten …

Pinky Lilani, who was awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to women in business, is the founder of the annual Asian Women of Achievement Awards and the Women of the Future Awards. She also runs her own company, which uses …

Sir Kenneth Grange is a designer. He's been designing elements of our everyday lives for the past six decades. Born in London in 1929, he went to …

Gareth Malone is a choirmaster who has coaxed and cajoled people from nervous adults to reluctant teenagers to open their mouths and sing for the …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Bruce Springsteen.

His career has brought him 20 Grammys, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award and his albums sell …

Sir Philip Craven is the President of the International Paralympic Committee and a former wheelchair basketball athlete.

Craven represented Great Britain in wheelchair basketball at five editions of the Paralympic Games, …

Davina McCall is an English television presenter. She began her career on MTV before moving to Channel 4 with the cult hit Streetmate.

She was the …

Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramic designer and businesswoman. She set up her pottery business in 1985 in Stoke-on-Trent, when many other manufacturers in the city were either closing down or going overseas. Her …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Nicola Adams. She made history when she won the first ever Olympic gold medal in women's boxing at London 2012, retaining …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the cookery writer and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi. His food mixes the flavours of the Middle East and the Mediterranean …

Ali Smith is a Scottish writer. Born in Inverness in 1962, the youngest of five children by seven years, she says, "I grew up completely alone but with all the comforts of knowing I had a cushioning family structure …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer, Michael Bublé. Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, as a young boy he spent hours listening to his grandfather's …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the poet and writer Jackie Kay. Born in Edinburgh in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father, she was adopted as a baby by a white Scottish couple, Helen and John Kay, and grew up in …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the scientist Dr Robert Langer. Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he is the most cited …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the concert pianist and composer Stephen Hough.

He discovered he liked playing the piano when he went to visit his aunt's …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the journalist and broadcaster Christiane Amanpour. Her career as a reporter was forged in some of the world's most hostile environments from Bosnia to Rwanda and Iraq to Israel. From the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Winner of two Grammy Awards, she is best known for her interpretations of Handel, Mozart …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the baker and winner of The Great British Bake Off in 2015, Nadiya Hussain.

One of six children born to Bangladeshi parents in Luton, it was her father - a restaurateur - who encouraged her to …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the cartoonist Michael Heath.

He's been working for newspapers and magazines for sixty years and sold his first drawing to …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Jilly Cooper.

Her long writing career spans newspaper columns for the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday, …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the engineer and international expert on aircraft noise reduction, Professor Dame Ann Dowling.

The first female president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one of her passions is …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the entrepreneur, Levi Roots.

His business success began following an appearance on BBC Two's Dragon's Den in 2007. With …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the designer and sculptor Nicole Farhi.

Born into a Turkish family in France, Nicole's interest in fashion was present from …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Matthew Barzun.

Born in New York City as the second of four children to Roger Barzun, a lawyer, and his wife Serita Winthrop, he was brought up in the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sara Khan.

A British Muslim human rights activist, she's the director of Inspire, a counter-extremism and women's rights organisation which she co-founded in 2009.

Born in Bradford in 1980 to …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor and theatre director Barrie Rutter.

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

There was nothing in his background to suggest he'd …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor Warwick Davis.

His career began thanks to his grandmother who heard a radio advert calling for short people to be in the latest of George Lucas's Star Wars films.
He played his first …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the surgeon, David Nott.

He works across three London hospitals performing general, vascular, trauma & reconstructive …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the political scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University Professor Louise Richardson.

She was born in Ireland, is …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the producer Berry Gordy.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the business woman, Inga Beale.

She has been the CEO of Lloyd's of London since January 2014 and was the first …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Tom Hanks.

From 'Big' to 'Sleepless in Seattle', 'Captain Phillips' to 'Apollo 13', his long and distinguished film-making …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the businessman, John Timpson.

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.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, feminist & activist, Gloria Steinem.

At the forefront of the second wave of feminism, she came to prominence after publishing an article entitled "After Black Power, Women's …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the artist Yinka Shonibare MBE.

His work has populated museums around the globe, with a vivid, subversive and often …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the engineer and nuclear scientist Dr Dame Sue Ion.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Hugh Bonneville.

Known around the world for his portrayal of Lord Grantham in ITV's hugely popular Downton Abbey, he made …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the architect, Dame Zaha Hadid.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the polar adventurer Ben Saunders. In his own words he "specialises in dragging heavy things around cold places".

He's one …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Professor Dame Carol Black.

She is Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, and is a special adviser to the Department of …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Bill Gates.

He sat at his first computer while still at school in Seattle, wrote his first computer programme aged just 13 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the philanthropist and publisher Sigrid Rausing.

Founder of one of the UK's largest philanthropic foundations, her trust has given away around £230m to human rights causes since it began.

…

Kirsty Young's castaway is the educationalist and writer, Sir Anthony Seldon.

Now Vice-Chancellor of Buckingham University, he was the Master of …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Sky TV news correspondent Alex Crawford.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Colm Toibin.

Best-known for his novels "Brooklyn" - now made into a film - "Nora Webster" and "The Master," he …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Patricia Greene.

For nearly sixty years she has played the role of Jill in Radio 4's The Archers which celebrates …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Chris Hadfield.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Kylie Minogue.

With seven number ones and ten million singles sold in the UK, she is the third-biggest selling female …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the surgeon, author and former Reith lecturer, Atul Gawande.

A general and endocrine surgeon in Boston, he is professor in …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Sandi Toksvig.

Host of BBC Radio 4's News Quiz until June 2015, she is also a writer and comedian and recently …

Kirsty Young's castaway is filmmaker Gurinder Chadha.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Right Honourable Nicola Sturgeon, MSP.

Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the fifth First Minister of …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster and religious leader, Lord Indarjit Singh.
Creator of The Sikh Messenger newspaper and co-founder of the Inter Faith Network he also has the distinction of being the first …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the mental health campaigner and Chief Executive of SANE, Marjorie Wallace.

After leaving University College London with a …

Keith Richards, member of the Rolling Stones, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Keith was born in Dartford and grew up as an …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Professor Sue Black.

She is Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee, founder and past …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Lemn Sissay.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the musician, Alison Balsom.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaways this week are the comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.
They've been at the rock-face, mining for laughs, for over 40 years and they've given us plenty of gems ... amongst them …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Dame Judi Dench.

Born into a family with dramatic leanings, she followed one of her older brothers, Jeffery, to …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Dr Bill Frankland.

Frequently referred to as the "grandfather of allergy", his achievements include the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the chef and restaurateur, Ruth Rogers.

Born in America, she has become one of the UK's most celebrated cooks. Despite not being a trained chef, she set up The River Café with her business …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University.

Well-known in scientific circles, at NASA and the European Space Agency, she came to the attention of the general …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the musician, Noel Gallagher.

He was the principal songwriter of the band Oasis - his younger brother, Liam was the lead singer. Born to Irish parents, as a child he spent his summers …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the poet and artist, Imtiaz Dharker.

Winner of the Queen's Gold Medal for her work, her life seems a perfect …

Kirsty's castaway this week is the former England cricketer Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff.

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 …

Kirsty's castaway this week is the conductor and composer Harry Rabinowitz.

His list of credits and collaborations read like a Who's Who of 20th …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Stephen Fry.

Comedian, actor, writer, director, presenter & award-ceremony host - his list of accomplishments is long, varied and impressive. His younger years were troubled and …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Rebecca Adlington - Britain's most successful female swimmer.

A multiple medal winner and record breaker she's …

Professor Lisa Jardine, academic, biographer and public thinker, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Historian, biographer, public thinker, mathematician - her proclivities are wide ranging and well …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Pamela Rose.

Now aged 97, she was a Bletchley Girl who spent her war years working in total secrecy, painstakingly indexing …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the farmer, and Chief Executive of the Soil Association, Helen Browning.

Born and brought up on the farm in Wiltshire she …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins.

Winner of four Olympic gold medals, six track World Championship gold medals and the first …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Paul Hollywood.

One of the UK's leading artisan bakers, he's a judge, together with Mary Berry, on BBC One's the …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the designer Pat Albeck.

Born in Hull, Pat went to art school there when she was 16. In 1950, she earned a place …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the record producer, Robin Millar.

One of the UK's most successful record producers with over 160 gold, silver …

Kirsty Young's guest this week is Bryan Stevenson.

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, …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the psychotherapist, Julia Samuel.

Counsellor for Paediatrics at London's St Mary's hospital, Paddington, she …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the tenor, Jonas Kaufmann.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor, Mark Rylance.

Born in Kent and brought up in America where his father was a teacher, Mark played …

Kirsty Young's guest this week is the garden designer, Dan Pearson.

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, …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield - a role which has brought …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Director of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor Peter Piot.

As a microbiologist he is known for …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the campaigner, Dame Julia Cleverdon.

As head of the charity, Business in the Community, she fine-tuned to …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the business woman, Jo Malone.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the scientist, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, who is best known for her work in the field of neuroscience and stroke research. She is now President and Vice-Chancellor of Manchester …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor Ray Winstone.

Nil By Mouth, Sexy Beast, Vincent, The Sweeney - he's probably best known for totally authentic tough-guy, geezer-parts. But his work has more range and …

Kirsty Young's castaway for Christmas week is The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.

Ordained as a priest in 1993, 19 years later he was appointed to lead the Anglican communion of over 77 million …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the comedian, Sarah Millican.

Her every woman yet no-holds-barred style of comedy has brought her sell-out tours …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Chief Executive of the Guide Association, Julie Bentley - or, more accurately, Girlguiding.

The name change …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor, Damian Lewis.

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. …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Right Honourable Theresa May MP - the longest serving Home Secretary in fifty years.

For those who think her political …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the poet John Agard.

His work is studied widely in British schools. He was the BBC's first poet in residence and …

Kirsty Young's guest is former Royal Navy test pilot Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown - the programme's 3000th edition.

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

Landing on a …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the fashion designer, Professor Wendy Dagworthy.

During her time as Head of Fashion at both Central St Martins …

Kirsty Young's guest is filmmaker and criminologist, Roger Graef.

Pioneering in his chosen subjects and style, for the past fifty years he has shone a …

Kirsty Young interviews the composer Debbie Wiseman.

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, …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the historian, gardener and diarist Sir Roy Strong.

He stormed the establishment in the 1960s - a proto-meritocrat, in possession of a sharp mind, fizzing ambition and a brown velvet …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Sally Wainwright.

TV is her chosen medium and Last Tango In Halifax, Happy Valley or Scott & Bailey are watched by millions of viewers. Her ear for dialogue and talent …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the conductor, Marin Alsop.

Music Director of both The Baltimore Symphony and The Sao Paulo State Symphony …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the artist and director Steve McQueen.

These days his talents are well recognized - his art has won The Turner Prize and his most recent movie, "12 Years A Slave" scooped an Academy Award, a …

The writer Malcolm Gladwell is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Always concise, frequently counterintuitive and unexpectedly …

Guy Garvey, musician and frontman of Elbow, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert island Discs.

Front man of the group "Elbow" his voice and lyrics have helped the band win pretty much every music prize going ... …

Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society, Dame Wendy fought long and hard to prove that her type of web science was …

Doug Allan is Kirsty's castaway this week.
He's spent thirty-five years capturing unique footage of animals in some of the most remote and least …

Actress Anne Reid is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

For a long time the bedrock of Anne Reid's successful career seemed to be …

Professor Sir Michael Marmot is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs. He's an epidemiologist who has spent his career studying what …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the singer-songwriter Lily Allen.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Judy Murray.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Palestinian author and human rights activist, Raja Shehadeh.

Born in Ramallah in the West Bank, his life and writing has been dominated by displacement, struggle and a search for …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the ballerina Tamara Rojo.

On stage she is a principal dancer for the English National Ballet and when the …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the TV producer and former Blue Peter editor Biddy Baxter.

In charge of Blue Peter for 23 highly successful …

Rene Redzepi, Danish chef, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

His restaurant, Noma, in Copenhagen has been named 'best in the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the singer, Alison Moyet.

She's won three Brit awards, sold tens of millions in record sales and her career has spanned …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the comedian, Jack Dee.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Professor Sir Andre Geim.

Born in the Soviet Union, his early years were spent in Sochi …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the nurse & humanitarian Dame Claire Bertschinger.

She's worked for The Red Cross in over a dozen countries including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Liberia amid the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the broadcaster Murray Walker

His commentating career began in 1948 and he finally hung the lip mic at the end of 2001. His trousers-on-fire style of delivery brought excitement, emotion and …

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, former Chief of the Defence Staff, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

He was a soldier for 42 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the author and illustrator Mairi Hedderwick.

Her most famous creation is a little red-haired character called Katie Morag who - in wellies and a kilt - has skipped her way through …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Professor Hugh Montgomery.

His area of academic specialism is intensive care medicine and he's also known for his pioneering genetic research into the ACE fitness gene - which …

Kirsty Young's castaways this week are the ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

It's 30 years since they enthralled the world winning gold …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the lawyer Dame Elish Angiolini.

The first woman to become both Scotland's Solicitor General and Lord Advocate …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the broadcaster, Bob Harris.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the sailor Sir Ben Ainslie.

Eleven times World and 9 times European Champion he's also the most successful sailor …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin.

The first black woman to be chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen and also to the Speaker of the House of Commons, she's also kept busy with her work in …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the violinist, Nicola Benedetti.

She had her first violin lesson at the age of four, and by the age of eight, she was …

Kirsty Young's castaway is woodsman Ray Mears.

A traveller to the world's remotest corners and a renowned expert in bushcraft, wild cooking and …

Kirsty Young's castaways are the TV presenters Ant & Dec - Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

The kings of Saturday night prime time, their careers and firm friendship spans twenty-odd years beginning as child …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Miranda Hart.

She writes and stars in the hit sitcom "Miranda" and has congaed her way to the top of TV comedy by exploiting the universal truth that awkwardness lies at the heart of the human …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Gillian Clarke.

Wales's National Poet, she has received the Queen's Gold Medal for her work. She writes about everything …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Barbara Hulanicki, designer and creator of Biba.

Today her creativity spans fashion, illustration, interior design and …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the broadcaster Clare Balding.

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 …

Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Labour Party, joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs.

He's been in charge of his party for three years and was the youngest leader they'd ever elected. But that fact got …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Malorie Blackman.

A prolific and multi-award winning author she has powered her way to success not …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the classical pianist, Alfred Brendel.

A performer of world renown, his career spans seven decades, and he is particularly …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the educationalist Sir Ken Robinson.

Creativity - how to nurture it, develop it and marshal its power - is his preoccupation. He believes that too many people have no sense of their true …

Professor Tanya Byron, clinical psychologist and TV presenter, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Tanya has spent the last twenty …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the former barrister and member of The House of Lords, Jeremy Hutchinson.His life spans eleven decades of British history and he has spent much of it at the very centre of the …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the naturalist, Chris Packham.TV presenter, filmmaker, writer, photographer, every bit of his work revolves around …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is businesswoman Carolyn McCall.Currently Chief Executive of easyJet, she's one of only three women in Britain in …

Kirsty Young interviews the comedian Lee Mack.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the novelist and critic, Zadie Smith.

First published at just twenty four her debut novel "White Teeth" garnered …

The psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who won the 2002 Nobel Prize for Economics, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Widely …

Kirsty Young's castaway is BAFTA award-winning production designer, Eve Stewart.

Her big screen credits include Les Miserables, The King's Speech and Vera Drake and for TV The Hour, Upstairs Downstairs and Call The …

Kirsty Young's castaway is Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and ex-UN Commissioner for Human Rights.

Her professional life has been defined by public service at the very highest level and she appears the …

Russell Brand, comedian & actor, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Actor, comic, writer, Russell Brand is a compelling …

The writer, Val McDermid, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Crime fiction is Val's chosen genre and the millions of novels she sells examine and dissect the darkest recesses of human behaviour. …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the cardiologist Jane Somerville.

Now an Emeritus Professor in her discipline at Imperial College London she's …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker.

An author and Harvard professor he's been named by Time Magazine as one of …

Kirsty Young's castaway is the actor, Hugh Laurie.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman.

In spite of being in charge of one of our leading 'style bibles' …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the mountaineer Conrad Anker.

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 …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the out-going Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King.

He has been in charge during a period of unprecedented global financial turmoil yet under his leadership the Bank of …

Kirsty Young's guest this week is the ballerina, writer and broadcaster Deborah Bull.

The Royal Ballet, where she was a principal dancer for almost …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Pulitzer Prize winning writer Alice Walker.

Author, poet, feminist and activist, it was her novel The Color …

Kirsty Young's guest this week is the artist Damien Hirst.

Life, death, desire, fear, beauty, horror - his creative preoccupations are standard fair; his art - using sharks, maggots, butterflies, glass, formaldehyde and …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Sir Sydney Kentridge QC.

Widely regarded as a leading advocate of the 20th century, he continues to make his mark in the 21st; he recently appeared for the first time in the European …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer and campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera.

She has counselled government and travelled widely advising on how …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actress Julie Goodyear.

For a quarter of a century her Coronation Street character Bet Lynch set the gold …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer David Almond.

Most of his work is for children but the adults who populate the juries of heavyweight …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the photographer Rankin.

He started out doing fashion shoots and is very good at making pretty young things look even prettier. But his work and influence have spread well beyond the …

Professor Uta Frith, developmental psychologist, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

Uta Frith's groundbreaking work on autism has …

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew.

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 …

This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the cricket commentator Henry Blofeld. Blofeld's become known as much for his musings on pigeons, planes, double …

Sue Lawley's guest this week is Colin Montgomerie.

One of the biggest earners in the history of golf, he's ranked number three in the world. Despite …

The castaway this week is Kenneth Williams who, for 40 years, has occupied a unique place on stage, screen and radio. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he recalls his long career which has ranged from working on …

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Lauren Bacall.

Favourite track: My Mistress' Eyes (Sonnet 130) by William Shakespeare
Book: Collected Short Stories …

Roy Plomley's castaway is cellist Jacqueline Du Pré.

Favourite track: Piano Quintet In A Major by Franz Schubert
Book: Thesaurus by Roget
Luxury: Pencils and paper