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BBC Radio 4


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


Desert Island Discs

In 2013 the Scottish writer Val McDermid was cast away by Kirsty Young.

Crime fiction is Val's chosen genre, and the millions of novels she sells examine and dissect the darkest recesses of human behaviour. Val spoke to Kirsty about her childhood love of libraries.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Val McDermid on her childhood love of libraries

The activist Malala Yousafzai was cast away by Lauren Laverne in 2021.

Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when she was 17, becoming the youngest winner in its history. She spoke to Lauren about why equal access to education for girls matters so much to her and her family.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Malala on campaigning for equal access to education

In 2016 the novelist Jilly Cooper was cast away by Kirsty Young.

Jilly is perhaps best known as the author of Rivals but her writing career also spans newspaper columns, non-fiction books on class, marriage and animals in war, and novels that sell in their millions. Jilly told Kirsty Young about her theory on what makes a successful marriage.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Jilly Cooper on the secret to a successful marriage

The former footballer and pundit Ian Wright was cast away by Lauren Laverne in 2020.

Born to Jamaican parents in south-east London, Ian grew up with his mother and stepfather. His biological father had left the family before Ian was two years old. Things at home were difficult, and Ian spent as much time as possible outside playing football. Ian spoke to Lauren about his childhood love of football and how one inspirational teacher, Mr. Pigden, changed everything.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Ian Wright on his inspirational teacher

Maggie Alphonsi is a broadcaster and former rugby player. She was part of the England team which took home the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup and by the time she retired she’d won 74 caps for her country.

Maggie was brought up in north London and when she was 14 her PE teacher suggested she give the sport of rugby union a try. Maggie joined her local amateur club Saracens and relished the freedom she felt at being able to capitalise on her power and strength on the pitch.

Her first chance to play for England came when she was 19. Maggie started out as a number 12 and then later changed position to become a number seven or openside flanker. This role allowed her to showcase her tackling skills. She was part of the England team which won seven consecutive Six Nations tournaments and retired shortly after winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

She became the first female former player to commentate on the men’s game and to join the Rugby Football Union’s Council. In 2012 she was appointed an MBE for services to rugby. She is part of the BBC’s commentating team for this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Maggie lives in High Wycombe with her wife Marcella and their two children. 

DISC ONE: Fast Car - Tracy Chapman 
DISC TWO: They Live in You - Samuel E. Wright (Mufasa) Ensemble - The Lion King, conducted by Joseph Church
DISC THREE: Stand by Me - Ben E. King 
DISC FOUR: Woman - Andreya Triana 
DISC FIVE: Wake Me Up - Avicii 
DISC SIX: You Gotta Be – Des’ree
DISC SEVEN: World in Union - Kiri Te Kanawa 
DISC EIGHT: I’m Coming Out - Diana Ross 

BOOK CHOICE: The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on life's journey by Hana Yasmeen Ali and Muhammad Ali 
LUXURY ITEM: A family photo 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Fast Car - Tracy Chapman 
 
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley

Maggie Alphonsi, broadcaster and former rugby player

Professor Dame Carol Robinson is a scientist who was the first female professor of Chemistry at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities. She has been awarded scientific prizes from all over the world for her pioneering work studying complex macromolecules using an instrument called the mass spectrometer.

Carol was drawn to science as a child growing up in Folkstone where she started collecting flowers and shells before moving on to breeding mice because she was fascinated by their genetic makeup. She grew to love chemistry in particular and pored over the periodic table in her bedroom.

She left school at 16 and joined Pfizer, the pharmaceutical and biomedical company, as a laboratory technician. At Pfizer she began working with the mass spectrometer which measures the mass of all the atoms in a particular sample. She studied for an ONC and HNC in Chemistry in the evenings and at weekends and later gained a PHD in Chemistry from Cambridge University.

She was appointed DBE in 2013 for services to science and industry. In 2021 she founded the Kavli Institute for NanoScience Discovery, an interdisciplinary science institute dedicated to studying structures and materials at an ultra-small scale.

Carol has three children from her first marriage and lives in Oxfordshire with her second husband David. 

DISC ONE: Girl on Fire - Alicia Keys 
DISC TWO: She’s Leaving Home - The Beatles 
DISC THREE: Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2, Op. 64b: I. Montagues and Capulets - Dance of the Knights. Performed by London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado 
DISC FOUR: Sonnet - The Verve 
DISC FIVE: Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones 
DISC SIX: Golden Brown - The Stranglers 
DISC SEVEN: Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin 
DISC EIGHT: The Scientist - Coldplay 

BOOK CHOICE: The Herbal Apothecary: 100 Medicinal Herbs and How to Use Them by JJ Pursell
LUXURY ITEM: A portable mass spectrometer 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley

Professor Dame Carol Robinson, scientist

Harry Hill is a comedian, writer and broadcaster best known for presenting popular television shows including You’ve Been Framed, Junior Bake Off and the multi award-winning TV Burp.

He was born Matthew Hall in Surrey and brought up in Kent. He became a Cub Scout and got a taste for performing when he was nine after playing Widow Twankey in the Christmas pantomime.

In 1983 he started studying medicine at St George’s Medical School in London and began work as a trainee doctor in 1988. He wrote and performed in medical revues during this time and comedy became his true passion. In 1990 he made the decision to follow his heart and leave medicine to try his luck as a stand-up.

In 1993 Harry got his first show on BBC Radio 4 – Harry Hill’s Fruit Corner. Four years later he starred in his own television series on Channel 4 which allowed him to channel his off-the-wall humour in a series of wildly unpredictable comedy sketches.

In 2001 he started writing and presenting Harry Hill’s TV Burp on ITV which looked back at the week’s television output in a series of comedy sketches and inventive parodies. The show won three BAFTAs, three Royal Television Society awards, a Rose d’Or and Seven British Comedy Awards.

Harry lives in London with his wife Magda. They have three children. 

DISC ONE: Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) - Benny Hill 
DISC TWO: Have I The Right - The Honeycombs 
DISC THREE: Grandad’s Flannelette Nightshirt - George Formby 
DISC FOUR: Gay Bar - Electric Six 
DISC FIVE: Life During Wartime - Talking Heads 
DISC SIX: Hey Bulldog - The Beatles 
DISC SEVEN: Never Give Up on Love - Steve Brown 
DISC EIGHT: Life Is The Name Of The Game - Bruce Forsyth 
 
BOOK CHOICE: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
LUXURY ITEM: A bucket and spade
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Never Give Up on Love - Steve Brown 

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley

Harry Hill, comedian

Monica Dolan is a BAFTA and Olivier award winning actor. She is equally at home playing a wrongfully accused postmistress in Mr Bates Vs the Post Office as she is playing the serial killer Rosemary West. 
Alongside her many roles in TV, stage and screen, Monica has also written and performed in her award winning one woman play B*easts.

Born in 1969, Monica was the youngest of four children and was brought up in Woking. Her parents were Irish and had studied science and came to the UK in the early sixties. It was a very academic family and Monica found her passion for drama when she joined a teenage acting group. She went on to study drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 

Since leaving drama school, she has had a very successful career and is known for her ability to master different accents and dialects. When she played the press officer, Tracy Pritchard in the comedyW1A, her Welsh accent was so convincing viewers thought she really was Welsh. 

Her critically acclaimed career on TV stage and screen has seen her portray the fictional evil Anne Branson in BBC 1’s Sherwood, which earned her another BAFTA nomination. During the COVID pandemic, she gave a mesmeric performance as a grieving widow in The Shrine by Alan Bennett and because of restrictions at the time was her own makeup artist and costume designer. 

Monica lives in London with her beloved husky, Velma. 

DISC ONE: The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) - The Banana Splits 
DISC TWO: That's Entertainment - The Jam 
DISC THREE: Nothing - Priscilla Lopez (as Diana Morales), A Chorus Line Orchestra, conducted by Don Pippin 
DISC FOUR: Love and Affection - Joan Armatrading 
DISC FIVE: MacArthur Park - Richard Harris 
DISC SIX: The Night - Diane Chorley 
DISC SEVEN: Us Amazonians - Kirsty MacColl 
DISC EIGHT: South American Getaway (From "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid") - Burt Bacharach 
 
BOOK CHOICE: Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna 
LUXURY ITEM: A walk-in wardrobe 
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Love and Affection - Joan Armatrading 

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Monica Dolan, actor

Gustavo Dudamel is a Venezuelan conductor, violinist and composer. He is known for bringing humour and joy to the podium. He is currently director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and in 2026 will take up the post of music director of the New York Philharmonic, following in the footsteps of Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein. 
 

Gustavo was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela in 1981, the son of a trombonist who played in a salsa band, and his mother who was a singing teacher. Growing up in a musical household, young Gustavo used to gather his toys together and put them on the floor in the shape of an orchestra, put a record on and conduct.

His parents enrolled five year old Gustavo in the El Sistema music programme and he learned the violin. After showing a flair for conducting he eventually became the conductor of the Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra. 

After winning the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Germany in 2004, his talent was spotted on a global stage. He was appointed the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2008.
 
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Ash Atalla is a television producer whose first hit was the BBC sitcom The Office, starring Ricky Gervais. He followed it up with the IT Crowd, People Just Do Nothing, Big Boys and Stath Lets Flats. His haul of awards from these programmes include six BAFTAs, four Royal Television Society awards, a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
 
Ash was born in Cairo and when he was six months old he contracted polio. He has been a wheelchair user all his life and believes the challenges he faced in his early life ignited his drive and ambition.

Ash graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in Business Administration and became a stockbroker for an investment bank. It was a fleeting career as he soon realised he wasn’t a natural when it came to numbers. His next stop was the BBC where he eventually joined the comedy department.

Ash produced both series of The Office and, after leaving the BBC, moved on to the award-winning Channel 4 comedy series the IT Crowd and later the BBC’s People Just Do Nothing, the sitcom about a London pirate radio station. 

He co-founded the production company Roughcut TV in 2007 and recently produced the six-part drama series Little Disasters, starring Jo Joyner and Diane Kruger.

Ash lives in London.

DISC ONE: Everything She Wants - Wham! 
DISC TWO: Enta Omri (“You Are My Life”) - Umm Kulthum 
DISC THREE: At Night - Shakedown
DISC FOUR: Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) - Phil Collins
DISC FIVE: My Ever Changing Moods - The Style Council
DISC SIX: Handbags and Gladrags – Rod Stewart
DISC SEVEN: The Universal - Blur 
DISC EIGHT: The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

BOOK CHOICE: Rewire Your Anxious Brain: Stop Overthinking, Find Calm, and Be Present by Nick Trenton 
LUXURY ITEM: An Indian restaurant
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley

Ash Atalla, producer

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

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Rick Wakeman

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