Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 4 Visit website › Society & Culture · EN · 2000 episodes · latest 2026-11-08
What it is about
Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
(C) BBC 2026
Latest episodes
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Ann Patchett is an American writer. She is the author of ten novels, several works of non-fiction and three children’s books. Her breakout hit, Bel Canto, won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Women’s Prize for Fiction in…
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Plomley's castaway is impresario T C Fairbairn.Favourite track: Prize Song by Richard Wagner Book: The complete works by John Milton Luxury: Tape recorder
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Roy Plomley's castaway is poet and broadcaster Pam Ayres.Favourite track: The New St George by John & Chris Leslie Book: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth Luxury: Large basket of sugared almonds
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Kirsty Young's castaway is Jimmy Mulville.He began his life in comedy as a performer and writer but success in front of the camera clearly wasn't enough - he set up the production company Hat Trick and has turned out a…
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Professor Dame Parveen Kumar is a gastroenterologist and co-author of one of the most influential medical textbooks in the world - Kumar & Clark’s Clinical Medicine. She was born in Lahore (then still in British India)…
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Matt Haig is the bestselling writer, whose work ranges from magical realism to memoir. His novel The Midnight Library became a global phenomenon, selling 15 million copies, while his memoir Reasons to Stay Alive has…
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The writer and broadcaster Richard Osman was cast away by Lauren Laverne.He is the author of the Thursday Murder Club series and has presented popular BBC shows including Pointless and Richard Osman's House of Games.…
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The actress Penelope Keith, who died earlier this year, was cast away by Roy Plomley in 1976.She became best known for her roles in the BBC sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born, but Penelope Keith began her…
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The boxer Anthony Joshua was cast away by Lauren Laverne in 2024.He is a two-time heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medallist who was raised by his mother after his parents divorced when he was 12. He credits her…
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The actor and comedian Kathy Burke was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2010.She came to prominence when she appeared in Kevin and Perry TV sketches opposite Harry Enfield. Perry, the prepubescent schoolboy, was a role she…
Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.
Publisher details
- Owner
- BBC
- Oldest episode in feed
- 06/1979 · over 47 years
- Typical length
- 37 min
- Format
- Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone
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