BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

Society EN ↓ 2000 episodes

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Author

BBC Radio 4

Episodes

Derek Tangye 34:56

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Derek Tangye. Favourite track: Symphony No. 2 in E Minor by Sergei Rachmaninov Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust Luxury: Astronomical telescope

Mark Elder 34:01

Roy Plomley's castaway is musical director of the English National Opera Mark Elder. Favourite track: I Used To Be Colour Blind by Fred Astaire Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: Sherry

Jacquetta Hawkes 29:30

Roy Plomley's castaway is archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes. Favourite track: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Collected works by Johann Wolfgang Goethe Luxury: Wine

Tom Conti 33:47

Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Tom Conti. Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Summerhill by A S Neill Luxury: Piano

Alan Minter 30:22

Roy Plomley's castaway is boxer Alan Minter. Favourite track: My Way by Frank Sinatra Book: Survival manual Luxury: Solar-powered transistor radio

Jose Carreras 30:55

Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Jose Carreras. Favourite track: Your Tiny Hand is Frozen (Che gelida manina) (from La Boheme) by Giacomo Puccini Book: Poems by Rabindranath Tagore Luxury: Velazquez, Les Hilanderas

Neville Marriner 34:42

Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Neville Marriner. Favourite track: There Is No Rose by King's College Chapel Choir Book: Life On Earth by David Attenborough Luxury: Violin

Arthur Askey 33:57

Roy Plomley's castaway is comedian Arthur Askey. Favourite track: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Book: Guinness Book of Records Luxury: Piano

Placido Domingo 34:40

Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Placido Domingo. Favourite track: Otello by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Luxury: Video player and cassettes of his own performances

Robin Cousins 32:41

Roy Plomley's castaway is ice-skating champion Robin Cousins. Favourite track: Carmen Ballet by Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra Book: Shogun by James Clavell Luxury: Marzipan

John Fowles 34:04

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer John Fowles. Book: Dictionary of National Biography Luxury: Field glasses

HRH Princess Margaret 33:11

Roy Plomley's castaway is HRH Princess Margaret. Favourite track: Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: Piano

Joan Plowright 36:54

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Joan Plowright. Favourite track: Symphony No. 6 In F Major by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Three novels by Aldous Huxley Luxury: Piano

Jeffrey Archer 37:43

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and former MP Jeffrey Archer. Favourite track: Help! by The Beatles Book: Reunion by Fred Uhlman Luxury: Plasticine model of Roy Plomley and a pin

Mary O'Hara 32:44

Roy Plomley's castaway is singer Mary O'Hara. Favourite track: Double Concerto in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien Luxury: Tennis practice equipment

David Broome 31:17

Roy Plomley's castaway is show jumper David Broome. Favourite track: Hymns and Arias by Max Boyce Book: Collected Speeches by Sir Winston Churchill Luxury: Wine

Frederic Raphael 34:33

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Frederic Raphael. Favourite track: Cello Concerto in B Minor by Antonin Dvořák Book: Bilingual edition of poetry by Giorgos Seferis Luxury: Painting Materials

Carla Lane 41:38

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and comedian Carla Lane. Favourite track: Violin Concerto in D by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Book: Dictionary of quotations Luxury: French Shampoo

Daniel Massey 34:04

Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Daniel Massey. Favourite track: Violin Concerto in D by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Ego by James Agate Luxury: Wine

Peter Nichols 34:09

Roy Plomley's castaway is playwright Peter Nichols. Favourite track: He Trusted In God by George Frideric Handel Book: Collected essays by George Orwell Luxury: Vibraphone

Russell Harty 34:04

Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Russell Harty. Favourite track: In The Bleak Midwinter by King's College Chapel Choir Book: A History of Craven by E T Whittaker Luxury: Flagpole and Union Jack

Patricia Ruanne 35:34

Roy Plomley's castaway is ballerina Patricia Ruanne. Favourite track: Romeo and Juliet Ballet Suite by Sergei Prokofiev Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien Luxury: Sunglasses

Sir Fitzroy MacLean 35:36

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Sir Fitzroy MacLean. Favourite track: Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat Major by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: Writing materials

Princess Grace of Monaco 30:35

Roy Plomley's castaway is Princess Grace Of Monaco. Favourite track: Berceuse In D Flat by Frédéric Chopin Book: Plays by George Kelly Luxury: Pillow

Stewart Granger 44:16

Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Stewart Granger. Favourite track: Piano Concerto No. 5 In E Flat Major by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Collected works by Ernest Hemingway Luxury: Gold statuette of Sir Winston Churchill