

Desert Island Discs
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 29, 1995 • 39min
Sir Adrian Cadbury
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Sir Adrian Cadbury, for nearly 20 years chairman of the famous chocolate factory that bears his family name.He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his Quaker background and his experiences of rowing for Britain in the 1952 Olympics, as well as discussing his views on the standards and values which dominate British business life today.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Symphony no 1 No 1 in C Major, Opus 21 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Dr. Johnson's Lexicographic Works by Dr Samuel Johnson
Luxury: Fibreglass sculling boat

Jan 22, 1995 • 37min
Dr Richard Dawkins
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the biologist Dr Richard Dawkins. Author of popular science books such as The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker, he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his scientific beliefs which are firmly rooted in the conviction that Darwin's theory of evolution provides the starting point for all we need to know about our world. He'll be discussing the implications of his theories, as well as choosing eight records for his island exile. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: String Quintet In C Major 163 by Franz Schubert
Book: The Jeeves Omnibus by P G Wodehouse
Luxury: Computer (solar-powered)

Jan 15, 1995 • 35min
Phil Redmond
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the creator, writer and producer of two of British television's most enduring and influential series - Grange Hill and Brookside.Phil Redmond will be talking to Sue Lawley about his Liverpool roots and his rise from a poor working-class background to become one of the country's highest-paid television executives. He'll also be discussing how the programmes he produces continue to attract controversy, criticism and audiences and what he thinks of the future for radio and television. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Theme From Brookside by Steve Wright & Mike Timoney
Book: (Instead of Shakespeare) Collected works by Charles Dickens
Alternative to Bible: None - Bible not taken
Luxury: Magnifying glass

Jan 8, 1995 • 37min
Patricia Hodge
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Patricia Hodge. Currently in her prime as Miss Jean Brodie in the West End, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how John Mortimer selected her for her first prominent role as barrister Phyllida Trent in Rumpole of the Bailey. She went on to portray several aloof, beautiful women, but denies that she is by nature remote. She'll also be reminiscing about her childhood in Grimsby, where her parents ran a large three-star hotel, making her upbringing a little different from that of her contemporaries.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Candide Make Our Garden Grow by David Eisler & Erie Mills
Book: Compendium of Plays by Harold Pinter
Luxury: A supply of embroidery

Jan 1, 1995 • 38min
Alan Clark
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the politician, historian and diarist Alan Clark. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the impact his alarmingly frank diaries - published in 1993 - made on his colleagues, friends and enemies. Also, on the island he'll be ruminating on love, pain, parents, political ambition and the many attractions of his island exile.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Saul The Dead March by George Frideric Handel
Book: A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Luxury: Piano

Dec 25, 1994 • 34min
David Jason OBE
The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is one of Britain's best-loved actors, David Jason. He will be talking to Sue Lawley about the rocky route from his first job as an electrician, through Bromley Rep, summer seasons and pantos, to the moment he was spotted for a television show called Do Not Adjust Your Set. Some success followed this, but it was when the BBC offered him the part of Delboy in Only Fools and Horses, to be followed 10 years later by the avuncular Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May, that the nation took him to their hearts. He went on to win a BAFTA for his role in Porterhouse Blue, and, more recently, acclaim for his portrait of Inspector Frost.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Help! by The Beatles
Book: The Complete Boatbuilder's Book
Luxury: A complete carpenter's toolbox

Dec 18, 1994 • 36min
Penelope Hobhouse
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is one of the country's famous experts on gardens and garden design, Penelope Hobhouse. She will be talking to Sue Lawley about her childhood in Ulster, where she was brought up steeped in the politics of the province. From there, she went to Cambridge, married, and settled down to look after the garden of the beautiful house in Somerset which marriage had brought with it. Twenty-five years later, she wrote her first book which was about that garden and since then she has been in constant demand as a lecturer and author. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Marriage Of Figaro - Dove Sono, Act 3 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: The Golden Bowl by Henry James
Luxury: Laptop computer

Dec 4, 1994 • 37min
Margaret Forster
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the writer Margaret Forster. Her second novel - Georgy Girl - was published in the 1960s and made into a popular film; another 20 books - both fiction and non-fiction - followed and her recent biography of Daphne du Maurier attracted much critical acclaim. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her early life in Carlisle, the stresses of working motherhood and the problems of having her husband, Hunter Davies, formerly confined to a newspaper office, now working at home.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: In The Bleak Midwinter by Gustav Holst/Rossetti
Book: A House For Mr Biswas by V S Naipaul
Luxury: Unlimited supply of A4 white paper & cartridges for fountain pen

Nov 27, 1994 • 37min
Sir Howard Hodgkin
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the painter Sir Howard Hodgkin. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the hard road to recognition in this country - which he describes as being 'enemy territory' for painters. At 62, he has now achieved fame, fortune and to him a somewhat irksome knighthood. He'll be describing his problematic schoolboy years, his total commitment to art and what he considers to be the impact of his own work.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Youkali by Teresa Stratas
Book: Journal De Eugene Delacroix by Eugene Delacroix
Luxury: Mayonnaise - permanent supply

Nov 20, 1994 • 35min
Glenys Kinnock
The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Glenys Kinnock. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her upbringing in Wales, her role during the years of Neil Kinnock's leadership of the Labour Party and her own reincarnation as a politician on the European stage as an MEP.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Was A Sunny Day by Paul Simon
Book: Atlas of the Third World
Luxury: Toilet bag full of skin-barrier creams


