Desert Island Discs

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the actor Colin Firth. He created an iconic moment in British television history when, as Jane Austen's hero Mr Darcy, he emerged wet-shirted from his stately lake. To his surprise, he became a sex symbol, was dubbed the 'male Ursula Andress' and was voted Britain's Most Popular Actor in a BBC poll. He went on to send up the role on the big screen - as the ironically-named Mark Darcy, the brooding boyfriend of Bridget Jones.He always knew he wanted to act - from the moment when, as a five year old boy, he took on the role of Jack Frost at a school panto. He studied at the Drama Centre in London's Chalk Farm - where one of his teachers, Christopher Fettes, said he was by nature a poet and compared his acting to that of Paul Schofield. Married to an Italian woman and with two young sons, he now divides his time between life in London and in Italy.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Opening of the Kyrie from Mass in C Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Stories by Woody Allen Luxury: His guitar

Sue Lawley's guest this week is the veteran broadcaster Sir David Frost - the only British television presenter to have interviewed seven American presidents and six British Prime Ministers who has, over the past five decades, become a broadcasting institution. The presenter once known as a scourge of the Establishment has become something of an establishment figure himself, noted for his formidable contacts book, his star-studded parties, and for his gentle but revealing interviewing style. Born in 1939, the youngest son of a Methodist minister and his wife, David was football and cricket-mad from an early age but with a burning ambition to go to Cambridge University. He arrived there in 1958, and threw himself into it, joining Footlights and editing Varsity and Granta. After Cambridge, Ned Sherrin saw him performing a comedy act in a Mayfair bar and hired him up to present the iconic satirical programme That Was The Week That Was. Other successful programmes followed including Frost Over Britain and The Frost Report. Breakfast with Frost ran for twelve years until early 2005. David is not retiring though and is due to present a new interview programme for Al-Jazeera International which will begin next Spring, and will also conduct occasional interviews for the BBC.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Dam Busters by Eric Coates Book: London A-Z Luxury: Sunday papers

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the philosopher Mary Midgley. For the last 30 years Mary Midgley has been one of Britain's leading moral philosophers. She has been called "the most frightening philosopher in the country" as a result of her ideas and the acuity with which she defends them. Her work is chiefly concerned with the role of science in our lives; whether human nature exists, and if so, what it tells us about ourselves; the concept of wickedness; and the part that art and religion have to play in telling us about human behaviour and experience. Mary was born in 1919 in Greenford, the youngest of Cannon Scrutton and his wife Lesley's two children. She was educated at Sommerville College, Oxford and after university began working as a lecturer in the philosophy department at Reading University before moving to the University of Newcastle. She married Geoffrey Midgley, also a philosopher in 1950 and they went on to have three children. Her first philosophical book Beast and Man was published in 1979 when she was 50. Since then she has continued to publish books on a diverse range of issues. Now 86, Mary continues to live in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the home she shared with her husband Geoffrey, who died in 1997.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams Book: The Variety of Religious Experiences by William James Luxury: A solar hot water system

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the soprano Renée Fleming. Renée Fleming is one of the greatest sopranos on the world's stages today. She has won critical acclaim for her interpretations of Mozart and Strauss and has made a series of operatic roles her own - including the Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Dvorak's ill-fated water-nymph Rusalka. However, she says her route into classical music was far from straightforward. She grew up in upstate New York, the daughter of two music teachers. Although the family used to sing together, Renée says she was not a natural performer and was very anxious about appearing in public and then, while at college, her musical love was jazz rather than opera. Her musical break-through came at the age of 29, when she was asked to stand in as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at the last minute. Since then she's appeared in all the great opera houses. As well as the standard repertoire, she is a champion of new music and Andre Previn is one of many who have written especially for her. She has won numerous accolades for her singing including two Grammies and two Classical Brit awards.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: River by Renée Fleming Book: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis Luxury: Coffee

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the broadcaster Chris Evans. He is one of the most creative and influential broadcasters of his generation. He has been hailed as the saviour of more than one radio station and made a name for himself on television too - first of all on The Big Breakfast, but also with his own formats, including Don't Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday. He's won a clutch of awards and, by taking over Virgin radio, made himself a millionaire many times over. But he also gained a reputation for being brash and bullying; he walked out on more than one job and his drinking binges were splashed across the tabloids.Since those days he's married and divorced, lived in America and, more recently, pursued a more peaceful existence - keeping chickens and growing vegetables at his cottage in the English countryside.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Here, There and Everywhere by The Beatles Book: Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Luxury: A pair of swimming goggles with prescription lenses

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the politician and journalist Boris Johnson. He is one of the most popular and unpredictable MPs on the Conservative party benches and, under his editorship, the weekly magazine The Spectator sells more copies than ever before. After Eton and Oxford he made his name as a journalist working for the Daily Telegraph in Brussels. His incisive reports about the future of Europe caused a furore at home and abroad - he claims one of his articles changed the course of European history - and, on returning to London, he hoovered up a number of awards, including columnist of the year and political commentator of the year. But it has not always been plain sailing. His critics say he cannot answer to two masters - and he must choose between politics and journalism - Boris doesn't necessarily agree![Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Finale of Variations on a theme by Johannes Brahms Book: Homer - an Indian paper edition (to translate) Luxury: Large pot of French mustard

Sue Lawley's castaway is one of the world's most successful fashion photographers, Mario Testino. Kate Moss, Catherine Zeta Jones and Madonna are among the women who have posed for him and, most famously, he became Princess Diana's favourite photographer. But his route into photography was circuitous. He began studying law and then economics in his native Peru but finished neither course. He had a short spell in America before arriving in London and he says he immediately loved it here. But the early years were tough; he struggled to convince anyone at the glossy magazines to look at his work. Half the trouble, he says, was that he was ringing people from call boxes - and they would hang up before he'd had time to put in any money. But years of building contacts within the industry - and building trust among his models - have paid off and he is now as much as a celebrity as the women he photographs. His most famous pictures are those he took of Princess Diana looking confident, relaxed and happy, just months before she died. They have now been reprinted for a two-year long exhibition and he says that when he saw them again in the lab, it brought "a knot in his throat". Mario Testino's photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales, are being exhibited in the State Apartments at Kensington Palace from 24 November 2005. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Fina Estampa by Caetano Veloso Book: Demian by Hermann Hesse Luxury: Own pillow

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Children's Laureate Jacqueline Wilson. She's won just about every award going for children's fiction and, in a career spanning more than 30 years, has written more than 80 books. Even as a child she knew she wanted to write but, after an inauspicious time at school, she reluctantly trained to be a secretary instead. Then she began to pitch ideas for a new teen magazine, Jackie, her stories were bought and she quickly became a staff writer. But she was 50 before she devised her most famous creation, Tracy Beaker. Tracy is a streetwise, feisty girl growing up in the competitive world of a children's home, who never loses the hope that one day her mum will come back for her. The book was a breakthrough for Jacqueline and its subsequent television adaptation introduced her to a mass audience. In 2002 she was awarded an OBE for services to literacy. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 5 in E flat by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: The collected works by Katherine Mansfield Luxury: A fairground carousel

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the film director Michael Winner. Michael Winner is a film-maker, restaurant critic and columnist who has been called Britain's 'Jester Laureate'. He has enjoyed a career spanning 30 years as a director, working with Orson Welles, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway as well as being the man behind the controversial Death Wish films starring Charles Bronson. Born in October 1935, the only son of Helen and George Winner, Michael was a shy and sometimes lonely child. Even as a very young boy he knew he wanted to be connected to the movie industry - projecting shadow pictures and devising his own commentary when he was only five years old. At the age of 14 he was given his own showbusiness column in his local paper - which was syndicated across more than two dozen titles. It gave Michael access to some of the biggest stars of the time, including Nat King Cole, Bob Hope, the Marx Brothers.His first film, This is Belgium, was notable for being largely shot in East Grinstead. He says that while he admires directors who tackle social issues, he always wanted to be part of the glamour of Hollywood, making films that weren't to be taken too seriously and that were just a bit of fun.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Charge and Battle by Sir William Walton Book: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Luxury: Big supply of caviar

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the BBC's Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner. For 10 years, he has been the BBC's expert on the Middle East - always authoritative and insightful, his analysis is based on first-hand knowledge of the region - after years spent studying Arabic and living and working in the Middle East. But in June last year the reporter became the news. He and his cameraman were attacked by gunmen while they filmed in Saudi Arabia. His colleague was killed, he was shot six times and left for dead. Incredibly, he survived - though with devastating injuries. Now he is paraplegic - he has some feeling and movement in his legs above the knee but none below. He uses a wheelchair for most of the day though remains determined to walk some of the time using callipers and a walking frame. Nearly a year after the attack he returned to work - continuing to analyse the terrorist threat and trying to explain the circumstances behind it - he is, he says, busier than ever.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Third movement of Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: A Passage to India by E.M Forster Luxury: A solar-powered buggy