BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

Society EN ↓ 2029 episodes

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

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: www.bbc.co.uk

Author

BBC Radio 4

Episodes

Lord Bernard Miles 35:18

Roy Plomley's castaway is founder of the Mermaid Bernard Miles. Favourite track: Piano Concerto No. 24 In C Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Odyssey (Translation by W H D Rouse) by Homer Luxury: Box of notebooks, pencils and sharpeners

Sir William Walton 32:08

Roy Plomley's castaway is composer Sir William Walton. Favourite track: Violin Concerto by William Walton Book: The Education of a Gardener by Russel Page Luxury: Funicular for hills

Richard Armstrong 35:14

Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Richard Armstrong. Favourite track: Tristan's Monologue by Richard Wagner Book: Piano Sonatas by Beethoven Luxury: Piano

Julia McKenzie 31:51

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Julia McKenzie. Favourite track: Skylark by Johnny Mandel and his Orchestra Book: Act One by Moss Hart Luxury: Painting materials

Brian Aldiss 34:49

Roy Plomley's castaway is novelist and critic Brian Aldiss. Favourite track: Sonata In A by Franz Schubert Book: Rasselas by Dr Samuel Johnson Luxury: Time machine

Dorothy Dunnett 35:32

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Dorothy Dunnett. Favourite track: Symphony No. 7 In A Major by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon Luxury: Guitar

Jenny Agutter 34:24

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Jenny Agutter. Favourite track: Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse by Arthur Quiller-Couch Luxury: Oriental rug

Lucia Popp 35:22

Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Lucia Popp. Favourite track: Teddy Bears' Picnic by Henry Hall and BBC Dance Orchestra Book: The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann Luxury: Teddy bear

Julian Symons 33:56

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Julian Symons. Favourite track: The Quarry by W. H. Auden Book: Bleak House by Charles Dickens Luxury: Couch

Marti Webb 28:38

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress and singer Marti Webb. Favourite track: The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler Of Bexhill-0n-Sea by The Goons Book: Illustrated dictionary Luxury: Piano

Desmond Hawkins 33:58

Roy Plomley's castaway is founder of the BBC's Natural History Unit Desmond Hawkins. Favourite track: Octet In F Major by Franz Schubert Book: Field guide to the birds of the island Luxury: Binoculars

Delia Smith 33:56

Roy Plomley's castaway is cookery expert Delia Smith. Favourite track: Lief by Rhos Male Choir Book: Autobiography by Saint Therese of Lisieux Luxury: Writing materials

Sir Anton Dolin 33:52

Roy Plomley's castaway is choreographer Sir Anton Dolin. Favourite track: La Traviata Act 3 Prelude by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Friends and Memories by Sir Anton Dolin Luxury: Electric razor

Eric Newby 36:10

Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Eric Newby. Favourite track: The Flies Crawled Up The Window by Jack Hulbert Book: Dictionary of National Biography Luxury: Whisky

John Mortimer QC 34:54

Roy Plomley's castaway is barrister John Mortimer QC. Favourite track: Soave Sia Il Vento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse by Arthur Quiller-Couch Luxury: Bath

Captain Jacques Cousteau 35:29

Roy Plomley's castaway is oceanographer Captain Jacques Cousteau. Favourite track: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue In D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Essays by Michel de Montaigne Luxury: Stone from stomach of a fossilised dinosaur

Pamela Stephenson 34:43

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Pamela Stephenson. Favourite track: Legong Kraton by Gong Kebyar Book: Buddhist scripture by Dama Pada Luxury: Television set with satellite link-up

Lyall Watson 36:20

Roy Plomley's castaway is marine biologist Lyall Watson. Favourite track: The Call Of A Burchell's Coucal Book: Pears Cyclopaedia Luxury: Film projector and 20 Western films

George Martin 33:20

Roy Plomley's castaway is record producer George Martin. Favourite track: St Matthew Passion (Opening) by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Manual on practical engineering Luxury: Clavichord

Dame Janet Baker 34:23

Roy Plomley's castaway is mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker. Favourite track: Sonata In A Minor by Domenico Scarlatti Book: Persuasion by Jane Austen Luxury: Pencils and paper

Donald Sinden 35:53

Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Donald Sinden. Favourite track: Symphony No. 6 In F Major by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method by Sir Banister Fletcher Luxury: His favourite picture in the Walker Art Gallery

Carl Davis 33:59

Roy Plomley's castaway is composer Carl Davis. Favourite track: Hm, hm, hm! (from The Magic Flute) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Short Stories by Anton Chekhov Luxury: Shampoo

Duke & Duchess of Devonshire 34:11

Roy Plomley's castaways are the Duke & Duchess Of Devonshire. Favourite track: You're The Top by Ethel Merman Book: Books by Beatrix Potter and Chambers' Biographical Dictionary Luxury: New potatoes and aftershave

Claire Bloom 35:53

Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Claire Bloom. Favourite track: Soave Sia Il Vento by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust Luxury: Coffee and espresso machine

James Loughran 35:39

Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor James Loughran. Favourite track: Mir Ist So Wunderbar by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Comprehensive world airways timetable Luxury: Drawing and painting equipment