This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is one of Britain's greatest and best-loved character actresses, Thora Hird. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her lifelong involvement with the theatre - she first appeared on the stage at eight weeks old - and discussing more recent roles, such as Doris in Alan Bennett's play A Cream Cracker Under the Settee; a part which this year won her the BAFTA award for best television actress. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive editi...
May 14, 1989•39 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is one of Britain's most popular comedians, Lenny Henry. His talent emerged at the age of 16, when he was one of the star turns on New Faces, and he has since gone from strength to strength - appearing in television programmes like TISWAS and Three of a Kind, doing unforgettable imitations as well as creating his own characters. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] He'll be giving Sue Lawley g...
May 07, 1989•36 min
This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is someone who now sits at the head of one of this country's most famous theatrical dynasties - the remarkable Redgraves. But Lady Redgrave, as Rachel Kempson, is also a highly-regarded actress in her own right - still treading the boards at the age of 78 - and she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her long career on the stage, her marriage to Sir Michael Redgrave and the pitfalls and pleasures of a family which now encompasses three generations of acting...
Apr 30, 1989•40 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is biologist and conservationist Miriam Rothschild. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her lifelong fascination with all forms of natural life, including her passion for fleas, worms and butterflies, and also how she welcomes the prospect of exile to the mythical island as an opportunity to discover and investigate unlimited flora and fauna. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite tr...
Apr 23, 1989•35 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is Lord Jenkins of Hillhead - formerly Roy Jenkins. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his long and varied political career, which has encompassed periods as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and this country's first President of the European Commission. He'll also be looking back on his Welsh origins and the early days of the Social Democratic ...
Apr 16, 1989•40 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is an actor who rose to fame on the nation's television screens as the landlord in the BBC television series Eastenders - the volatile and villainous Dirty Den. He's Leslie Grantham, and he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about life after Dirty Den now that he has left the series, and also his time in prison when he served an 11-year sentence for a crime he committed as a teenage soldier. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edi...
Apr 09, 1989•34 min
In this week's Desert Island Discs, one of the most eminent English poets of this century, Sir Stephen Spender, talks to Sue Lawley about his radical and often flamboyant past, and his friendships with such notable literary figures as Christopher Isherwood, WH Auden and Virginia Woolfe. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: String Quartet in A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust...
Apr 02, 1989•38 min
Sue Lawley's castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the satirical cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Renowned for his grotesquely exaggerated portrayals of political figures and issues, he will be talking about his isolated childhood, which was dominated by chronic asthma, and how, with no formal art training, he has now become one of the most eminent artists of our time, branching out from drawing his instantly-recognisable caricatures into the world of theatre, rock and opera. [Taken from the ori...
Mar 12, 1989•37 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is Dame Josephine Barnes, who, ten years ago, was the first woman to become President of the British Medical Association. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her long and brilliant career in a traditionally male-dominated world, and her battles to improve the care of women in pregnancy and childbirth, both before and after the advent of the National Health Service. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Isl...
Mar 05, 1989•38 min
This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is the playwright and theatre director David Hare - a man who has made his name with plays like Pravda, Plenty, Lickin' Hitler and, most recently, The Secret Rapture. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the impact of the theatre on post-war Britain and his own role as one of the leading writers of left-wing intellectual drama. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Young and Foolish b...
Feb 26, 1989•37 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is the Rt Hon Enoch Powell - politician, poet and classical scholar. He'll be looking back on some of the incidents and issues which have made him one of the most controversial politicians in post-war Britain - among them, his so-called Rivers of Blood speech on immigration policy, and his exhortation to the electorate to vote Labour after his resignation over Britain's entry into the EEC. [Taken from the original programme material for this archiv...
Feb 19, 1989•39 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is Jeffrey Tate, principal conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Opera House, and chief guest conductor of the Geneva Opera. Until the age of 27, his chosen profession was medicine, but once a fully-qualified doctor, he switched his career to become one of the most sought-after conductors of his time - both in Britain and abroad. This is an achievement impressive enough in itself, but doubly so given that since childhood he has s...
Feb 12, 1989•37 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the chief executive of Britain's largest hotel and catering chain, an empire which extends from motorway cafes to the grandest hotels in London and Paris. He is Rocco Forte, and he'll be talking about the famed Forte dynasty, his renown as a one-time playboy and his company's continuing battle for ownership of the elusive Savoy hotel. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuse...
Feb 05, 1989•35 min
This week's castaway on the mythical desert island is someone who welcomes the isolation her exile can offer - she is singer and songwriter Joan Armatrading. An intensely shy and private person, renowned for her powerfully emotional songs, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her first impressions of England when she arrived here as a small girl 31 years ago from the Caribbean. She'll also be discussing her music, and the fame which it has brought - something she still finds surprising, and oft...
Jan 29, 1989•35 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is someone who has experienced the delights of international stardom and acclaim, and the misery of failure when his fame turned sour and his popularity plummeted. The flamboyant Boy George will be talking to Sue Lawley about the ups and downs of his professional and private life. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: It Must Be Love by Madness Book: Photograph album Luxury: Ra...
Jan 22, 1989•34 min
Sue Lawley's castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the Rt Hon Tony Benn MP. He'll be discussing his long and turbulent career as one of this country's most eloquent socialists - he served in every Labour government of the 1960s and 1970s. He'll also be talking about the many stories that have always surrounded him: is it true, for example, that he is 'wired for sound' and records every conversation he has? And has he really drunk enough cups of tea in his lifetime to displace the QE2? [Ta...
Jan 15, 1989•36 min
Sue Lawley's castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is someone who's face graced the covers of fashion magazines the world over more than 20 years ago when she was still a teenager. The name 'Twiggy' was synonymous with *the* look of the 1960s - waif-like and doe-eyed. Today, she has matured into a successful actress, singer and dancer, and she'll be talking about those early, heady days, and how she managed to survive the media hype that surrounded her wherever she went. [Taken from the or...
Jan 08, 1989•34 min
The first castaway of 1989 in this week's Desert Island Discs is one of Britain's most senior church leaders - the Most Reverend Robert Runcie, the 102nd Archbishop of Canterbury. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his Liverpool childhood and his war years when, as a tank commander, he won the military cross. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Sanctus Book: The Odyssey by Homer Luxury: Rocking chair...
Jan 01, 1989•38 min
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is a man who has, at times, endured a different isolation from that imposed by the mythical island. But along with his frequently turbulent political career, he has also enjoyed the close companionship of his fellow crew members when captaining his yacht to resounding victories, as well as conducting some of the greatest orchestras in the world. Former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Edward Heath will be discussing his many achievements - political, nautical and musical...
Dec 18, 1988•38 min
This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is actor Charles Dance. A man once termed "the thinking woman's crumpet", it's a description he doesn't take too seriously. But he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his matinee idol image, his early days as an aspiring actor and the role which turned him into an international star - the dashing Guy Perron in the widely-acclaimed TV series The Jewel in the Crown. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] F...
Dec 11, 1988•35 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a philosopher, academic and mistress of Girton College, Cambridge; but Lady Mary Warnock is perhaps best known for her work in the public arena, on committees looking at a wide range of ethically-controversial subjects, including embryo research and animal experimentation. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about these difficult areas and also her early day...
Dec 04, 1988•38 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who prefers to shun any sort of label, but has already attracted quite a number of them - writer, actor, raconteur, wit - but it is as a so-called 'alternative comedian' that Stephen Fry has been most remarkable, and he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his somewhat chequered past and his highly successful present. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Magic Fire M...
Nov 27, 1988•35 min
Sue Lawley's castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is jockey Bob Champion - a man who, against all the odds, fought back after he was diagnosed as having cancer to win one of the most coveted prizes in his field - in 1981 he rode Aldaniti to a stunning victory in the Grand National. He'll be talking about his passion for riding, his fight against his illness and the two children who, contrary to all medical predictions, he has since fathered. [Taken from the original programme material for t...
Nov 20, 1988•32 min
The castaway on this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who has reached the top of his profession through a fantastically varied number of routes - steeplejack, trainee accountant, circus fire-eater and hotel porter are just a few of them. Now one of the hottest properties in the film business on both sides of the Atlantic, actor Bob Hoskins will be talking to Sue Lawley about his image as a tough cockney lad, which has been prompted by such films as Mona Lisa and The Long Good Friday, and the ...
Nov 13, 1988•33 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man of quite extraordinary diversity. Now Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, his other jobs have included chairing the Board of the Royal Opera House and leading the government's Central Statistical Office under three Prime Ministers. But it is his passionate love of music, however, which has dominated his life throughout his many careers, and he'll be undertaking the difficult task of selecting just eight records to accompany him to the desert...
Nov 06, 1988•39 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a writer and academic who's most renowned for her views on women, sex and human relations. She's Germaine Greer - someone who's often described as the 'high priestess of feminism'. As she approaches her 50th birthday, she'll be discussing with Sue Lawley whether her views have mellowed over the years, and how her aspirations have changed since the publication of her book The Female Eunuch. [Taken from the original programme material for this arc...
Oct 30, 1988•35 min
The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who has been described as "the nicest Prime Minister we never had". He may never have made it as Prime Minister, but Michael Foot has had a long and illustrious career, representing his Welsh constituency for many years, and becoming leader of the Labour Party in 1980. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his passion for politics, books and music. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] ...
Oct 23, 1988•37 min
This week's castaway on Desert Island Discs reveals her three remaining burning ambitions in life: to make a number-one record, to become a grandmother and to be treated as a real sex symbol - all this with 25 years of singing and compering success behind her. She's matchmaker supreme Cilla Black, and she'll be talking about her legendary early days in Liverpool, her subsequent career and her family. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Fav...
Oct 16, 1988•34 min
Shy, lazy, self-effacing: this is the way this week's castaway on Desert Island Discs describes himself to Sue Lawley. So how come he ventured to the Radio Show at Earl's Court to choose his eight records to accompany him to the island? Well, you can find out how Terry Wogan just can't resist the challenge of a real, live audience, and also hear his ruminations on solitude, show business and shyness. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Fav...
Oct 09, 1988•37 min
Sue Lawley's castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is the actress Athene Seyler. She first appeared on the stage 80 years ago as Rosalind in As You Like It - a part she can still recite - and now, at 99, she looks back with pleasure on her many happy years as one of Britain's finest comic actresses. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Du Bist Wie Eine Blume by Robert Schumann Book: The Disinherited by Gareth Jones Lu...
Oct 02, 1988•34 min
