Desert Island Discs

Christopher Ondaatje was born in the British colony of Ceylon and educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon. He moved to Canada and in 1964 was a member of the Canadian Olympic Bobsled team. He is a retired businessman with a taste for adventure, philanthropy and cricket (he is a patron of Somerset County Cricket Club). He is a member of the exclusive club of Labour's 'million plus' donors...

Marguerite Wolff has dedicated her life to performing all around the world. Sir Arthur Bliss composed for her and she studied under Louis Kentner. Marguerite was born into a musical family in London in the 1920s. Her mother began teaching her the piano and would sit and practice with her daily. Soon she was getting up at six in the morning to practice, and continuing on her return from school. Her...

Robin Cook was born in Larnarkshire, east of Glasgow; an only child whose father was a science teacher. In his teens the family moved to Edinburgh so that his father could take up a headmaster job and Robin attended the same school. At school his favourite pursuits were the debating society and drama and he had an early interest in politics. Whilst his school friends were poring over the New Music...

P D James was born in Oxford, later moving to Ludlow on the Welsh Borders where she experienced a childhood which she says had more in common with a Victorian childhood than anything today. She was a well-behaved, quiet child who entertained herself and her siblings by telling and writing stories. Phyllis attended an old-fashioned grammar school where she enjoyed English lessons. She says "I knew...

Carl Djerassi was born in Vienna to an Austrian mother and Bulgarian father. Both parents were involved in the medical profession and, growing up surrounded by medical paraphernalia, he assumed that he would become a doctor. For the first four years of his schooling in Austria, he attended a girls' school as the boys school was full. He says "women are much more important than men in my life. I me...

Paul Gambaccini was born in New York City in 1949 and revelled growing up to the sounds of the 1960s. He loved listening to the radio and chose to go to Dartmouth College in preference to Harvard or Yale because it had a student-run commercial college radio station. He soon became a news reporter, DJ and eventually manager. Paul came to England to study PPE at Oxford University and, although he wa...

Philip Pullman is the author of the celebrated His Dark Materials trilogy: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. He was born in Norwich and spent his early years travelling all over the world with his father, who was in the RAF, and his mother and brother. Whilst in Australia he devoured comic book stories, which made a big contrast to the traditional stories his clergyman gran...

Dame Alicia Markova was born Lilian Alice Marks in December 1910, in a two-bedroom flat in Finsbury Park, London. She began ballet classes because she was flat footed and knock kneed. Her natural talent, when she was ten, was spotted by Diaghilev, the Russian artistic impresario who founded the Ballets Russes and brought the contemporary arts of Russia to Europe. Dame Alicia joined Diaghilev's com...

Timothy Spall grew up in Battersea, South London. He found school pretty uninspiring and left with art as his only qualification. However, when he played the part of the Cowardly Lion in the school production of The Wizard of Oz, aged 16, he felt he had found his niche. He says "it had a good big audience and they just laughed, and when I came out to do my bow they gave me a big cheer. Something w...

Brian May spent his childhood in Feltham near London and he learnt his first chords on his father's ukelele banjo. He soon progressed to the guitar, which he started learning when he was eight. He perfected his technique by buying records and copying the trickiest guitar parts. Although Brian's dream was to be a guitarist, it didn't seem like a reality so, encouraged by his parents, he went to Lon...

Alan Titchmarsh was drawn to gardening from an early age in Ilkley, Yorkshire, making his first polythene greenhouse at the age of twelve and deciding he was going to be a gardener when he grew up. He left school at fifteen and became an apprentice gardener in the Parks Department of Ilkley Urban District Council, going on to horticultural college at the age of 18. His interest in English literatu...

After Minette Walters' father died of injuries sustained in World War II she won a scholarship to Godolphin School, and eventually became Head Girl. From a young age she shunned girls' story books, preferring the more gripping Biggles and later, Agatha Christie. Her ambition was to be a writer. She says, "I just adored the whole thing of escapism into somebody else's world. When you're a writer an...

Elizabeth Harman was born in London in 1906. Her parents were both doctors, her mother was the niece of Joseph Chamberlain and cousin of Neville Chamberlain, the future Prime Minister. She was one of only a few girls at that time to attend Oxford University. Joining the social set that included John Betjemen, Evelyn Waugh and Maurice Bowra, she became one of the first female Isis idols and was pro...

Sue Lawley's castaway is writer Jan Morris.

Leonard Rosoman's career saw him travel the world as an Official War Artist in the Second World War. He is also a member of the Royal Academy, an illustrator and teacher. The young Leonard dodged the family business by getting a scholarship to the Edward VII School of Art in Durham and went on to paint and teach. When war broke out Leonard was drafted into the Auxiliary Fire Service in London but...

Sue Johnston has rarely been out of work since she made her name in Brookside. Her versatility is clear, with credits including such varied programmes as acclaimed drama Goodbye Cruel World; the 1950s feel-good nostalgia series Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll; cult comedy The Royle Family and, most recently, psychological thriller Waking the Dead. Her early career was with the Pilkington Glass Factor...

Suggs made his name as front man of 80s pop phenomenon Madness and impressed a whole generation with his unique style of singing, silly dancing and fondness for making the mundane the subject of his songs, such as Baggy Trousers, inspired by memories of school. Although his cockney accent is part of his singing style, he was actually born in Hastings and moved to London as a child. His singer moth...

Sir Aaron Klug grew up in Durban, South Africa on the edge of the Bush, which provided him with enough snakes and monkeys to satisfy his curiosity. A bright child, he read anything that was available and enjoyed an idyllic childhood. He started studying medicine at university level in Johannesburg at the age of fifteen, but soon switched to chemistry, physics and mathematics, which provided more s...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the theatre director Jude Kelly. Currently based at the West Yorkshire Playhouse - which under her creative directorship has become The National Theatre of the North, Kelly is known for her enthusiasm to bring the arts to everyone, and embracing new ideas in the creative arts. In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and ch...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the fashion designer Betty Jackson. For three decades Betty Jackson has been at the cutting edge of the British Fashion scene and this year presented her 40th show at London Fashion week. In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme mat...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the organist Wayne Marshall. He describes himself as a virtuosic performer, preferring to play "loud and fast". The energy he brings to his performances has brought him fans from around the world. He is a renowned interpreter of Gershwin on the piano, also conducts and he has turned his hand to composing - his first work was published in 2001. In co...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the Chairman of BT, Sir Christopher Bland. Passionately interested in business, Sir Christopher's business career maps a total of 18 different business and industries, about which he says "I was shocked!" It also includes Chairmanships of LWT and the BBC. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he talks about his life and work and chooses eight records to...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the Director General of the National Trust, Fiona Reynolds. Passionate about the countryside, the job at the National Trust was a dream come true for Fiona, but six weeks into the job she was faced with Foot and Mouth and had to make the drastic decision to close almost all of the National Trust properties. In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the chef Gordon Ramsay, the only British chef in the country to have three Michelin stars, at his eponymous restaurant in London. He has recently become 'chef Patron' (head chef) at the restaurant at Claridges, owns two more restaurants, Pétrus in London and Amaryllis in Glasgow and is the author of four books. In conversation with Sue Lawley, he ta...

This week the castaway on Desert Island Discs is the psychologist Dorothy Rowe, author of groundbreaking books on depression such as Choosing not Losing, Breaking the Bonds and The Courage to Live. Translated into 12 languages, her books have helped many people round the world learn about themselves. In conversation with Sue Lawley, she talks about her life and work and chooses eight records to ta...