Desert Island Discs

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Sebastian Faulks. He is best known for his novel Birdsong, which told in shocking detail the misery of life in the Flanders trenches. It was published with little fanfare or glossy advertising and failed to win any major awards - but it became a literary phenomenon and a huge best-seller. He was inspired to write it after visiting the battlefields of the Western Front with some veterans of World War I. One old soldier held onto Sebastian's hand and recalled seeing his friend killed next to him and, for the first time for him, Sebastian says, the war emerged from the history books into real, tangible human experience. He concedes that he still struggles to get to grips with much of life. Writers, he says, are often trying to impose a structure on a world that they find generally baffling.Favourite track: Miles by Miles Davis Book: Remembrance of Things Past (Proust) by CK Scott Moncrieff (transl.) Luxury: A wicket, cricket bat, net, an endless supply of balls and a bowling machine that can be set to replicate the style of any bowler

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the scientist Athene Donald. A Cambridge professor and fellow of the Royal Society, she has dedicated much of her life to studying everyday objects like plastic, food or plants. Her enthusiasm is so strong that, at her daughter's eleventh birthday party, she couldn't resist describing the structure of melting ice-cream - it was a rare case of misjudging her audience. By her own admission she is a workaholic - but she also champions the cause of women who want to become scientists and have families too. Her great triumph was to marry a supportive husband and after that, she says, the trick is learning how to cut corners: there are no 'dainty dinner parties' at her home, and she makes sure her clothes are machine washable and easy-iron.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Dies Irae (from Requiem) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Lymond Novels by Dorothy Dunnett Luxury: A bat.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the musician Baaba Maal. He's among the best known African artists in the West, performing at events as diverse as the Glastonbury Festival and the Proms. Born in Senegal, music was always part of his life, but was not seen as a possible career option. Yet through his singing he has gained an incredible international profile - he represents the UN's development programme on HIV, is an ambassador for Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign and champions the right of African communities to be involved in the aid projects which are intended to benefit them.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: So What by Miles Davis Book: Coups de Pilon by David Diop Alternative to Bible: Koran Luxury: Guitar.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Richard Madeley. It's 20 years since he opened the first edition of ITV's This Morning programme with his wife Judy Finnigan and, in the years since, pretty well everyone has sat on their sofa, from Madonna to Tony Blair, from the Clintons to, notoriously, OJ Simpson. Today, Richard Madeley is the epitome of a certain kind of smooth charm. In this frank interview though, he describes how he wasn't always so confident: he used to be so anxious about holding a conversation with his colleagues that he'd make excuses to hide himself away. He was in his 20s when he decided to become, he says, embarrassingly frank. He recognised how both his father and grandfather had deliberately stifled their own emotions and decided that he would be healthier and happier giving voice to them.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Summertime by Ella Fitzgerald Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Suzanna Clarke Luxury: Guitar.

Kirsty Young's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Brian Rix. For many years he brought farce to a large and appreciative audience - dropping his trousers thousands of times for the benefit of television viewers and theatre-goers. He was one of the most successful actor-managers that Britain has produced. But, more than 30 years ago, he called a halt to his first career to devote himself to altering legislation and attitudes towards disability. His eldest child, Shelley, was born with Down's syndrome and her birth prompted him towards his extraordinary second career. As a campaigner and fundraiser he has been described as having done more for people with learning disabilities than possibly anyone else in the country.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Love by Nat King Cole Book: Encyclopædia Britannica Luxury: A proper orthopaedic cushion.

Kirsty Young's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is David Walliams. He has seen extraordinary success - as one half of the comedy duo behind Little Britain, as a cross-channel swimmer and more recently on the West End stage and as a novelist. In this frank interview, he describes his life away from the spotlight; how he used to practise comedy routines in his bathroom, the excitement of an early trip out wearing a John Paul Gaultier skirt, the inner drive that propels him and the unhappiness he feels when he has no company except his own.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths Book: Collected Poems by Philip Larkin Alternative to Bible: None - Bible not taken Luxury: A gun.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the scientist Professor Kay Davies. She has dedicated much of her life to finding a cure for the severest form of muscular dystrophy. Before she was 40, she had helped to develop the antenatal test which is now used around the world, then she isolated the gene sequence which could be instrumental in treating the condition. After years spent working on that, human trials for a possible treatment are about to begin.It's quite something for a woman who doesn't have an O-level in biology. Although, even as a child she did possess that critical quality crucial to scientific pioneers: "I loved solving problems," she says, "I was very tenacious and would sit in my room until I had finished the problem. I am a sticker."[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Piano Sonata in B Flat by Franz Schubert Book: Untold Stories by Alan Bennett Luxury: A piano.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor David Suchet. He has won armfuls of awards for his work - most recently an Emmy for his portrayal of Robert Maxwell - but he is best known for the character he has been associated with for 20 years, Hercule Poirot.His approach to his work is meticulous and he says he has to inhabit each role he takes on. In this illuminating interview he recalls how, early in his career, a psychologist showed him how to shed his character at the end of each performance otherwise, he found, the edges between his own life and those of the person he was playing became blurred.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: When I Fall In Love by Nat King Cole Book: Magnum Magnum by Brigitte Lardinois Luxury: His clarinet and an unlimited supply of reeds.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff. He has performed in concert halls the world over under the batons of the finest conductors and, while he made his name as a Lieder singer, he's equally popular for his jazz, spiritual and gospel recordings. Music critics say he is "one of the great singers of our time and one of the most remarkable of any time." That his life has been remarkable is a reference to his disability: he was born suffering the effects of Thalidomide and although his early musical talent was spotted, his inability to play the piano meant he was not allowed to take up a place at a conservatoire.In this candid and moving interview, though, he describes how, with his family's support, he went on to build a highly successful career. Now, living contentedly with his wife and daughter, he says his life is a full and satisfying one. He adds that when he sees how readily people become consumed by envy and resentment, he questions whether that too isn't a kind of disability.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Adagietto from 5th symphony by Gustav Mahler Book: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela Luxury: Good wine.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Alan Sillitoe. 50 years ago his debut novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning captured the truth and brutality of post war working class life. It was a world he knew intimately - he grew up in the tight, terraced streets of Nottingham and, from a very young age, harboured an ambition to escape. As a child, he read voraciously and knew he wanted to explore the world. During the war he was a navigator in Malaya but, when he returned to Britain, he was shocked to be told he had contracted tuberculosis. As he convalesced in hospital he started writing and, once he had been discharged, his disability pension gave him the security to sustain him while he pursued his career. When Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was published, critics said his was a more authentic voice than D H Lawrence's. But the extraordinary reviews made scant impact on Alan Sillitoe - he says he had developed a healthy scorn for the opinions of critics - but he remains grateful, he says, to the book that brought him security and which has allowed him the freedom to write throughout his life.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Le Ca Ira by Edith Piaf Book: The Air Publication 1234 (RAF Manual) Luxury: A communications receiver (receiving only).