Desert Island Discs

He's called "His Excellency" by some; to others he's "Fatty Patten". Next year he will hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese.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 this week is the wine writer Jancis Robinson.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

The ball rolled past the gap between him and Gordon Banks and into the back of the net. The Germans were one goal up. 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

Always an outsider, she seems to have gone against all the mores of her time; from opening a dancing school in Calcutta to living alone with her children in Kashmir. On Desert Island Discs this week, the writer Rumer Godden describes how her rich life in India (under the Raj) and in Britain has influenced her novels.She says she can't remember a time when she didn't write. Now in her late 80s, and after publishing more than 50 books, including Black Narcissus and The River, she's just added another to her list. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Kinderscenen Traumerei by Robert Schumann Book: The Atlantic book of British and American Poetry by Edith Sitwell Luxury: A widow's cruse filled with whisky

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Professor Lewis Wolpert. As Chairman of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science, he is a passionate advocate of the value of science and the increasing need for the recognition and promotion of its importance. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early life in South Africa, his recent struggle with clinical depression and his passion for the views of the 18th-century philosopher David Hume - particularly on the existence of God.[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

His fourth novel, Popcorn, has been widely-acclaimed by the critics. He's about to begin a nationwide tour with his stand-up comedy routine. And, after the success of his TV series The Young Ones and Blackadder, he's currently writing The Thin Blue Line for BBC1. Yet despite all that, Ben Elton, this week's castaway, says he's more of an enthusiastic 'farty' than a "smug git in a shiny suit".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

She has written songs for her friends Barbra Streisand and Bette Davis, and admires Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn. This week, the poet and lyricist Fran Landesman chooses her eight records.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

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the actor Kevin Whately. Having appeared increasingly prominently in three of the most successful series in recent TV history - Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Inspector Morse and Peak Practice - he's currently 'hot property' in the casting world.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

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the scientist Colin Blakemore. A brilliant student, he became an Oxford professor at the age of 35 and since then he has commanded enormous influence through his research and the way he has tried to communicate the importance of science to the world at large.He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his main work - the functioning of the human brain - and about his research on the relationship between vision and brain development. He'll also be describing how his experiments in this area involving animals have made him the target of attacks from animal rights activists. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Die Zauberflote Oittre Nicht - The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin Luxury: Solar-powered internet (to receive, not send)

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the designer and entrepreneur Terence Conran. He first came to fame with the Habitat store which introduced British shoppers to consumer delights like the chicken brick and the duvet. Now considered one of the country's most successful restaurateurs - he currently owns seven restaurants and is involved in designing another 17 - he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his original foray into the restaurant world. His first venture was called The Soup Kitchen - and, misled by its name, attracted all the local tramps on its opening night. He'll also be describing how Picasso bought one of the first chairs he designed. Finally, he'll be talking about how, after a somewhat tumultuous personal life, he now feels he has achieved some sort of equanimity.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert Part One by Keith Jarrett Book: History of the World by H G Wells Luxury: An endless supply of A4 paper and 4B pencils