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Desert Island Discs — Personal Journals
Desert Island Discs

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

Copyright: © (C) BBC 2023

Latest Episodes:

Brian Sewell Jun 19, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the controversial art critic Brian Sewell. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he did not go to school until he was 11, hated it when he got there, but managed, much against the wishes of the school, to teach himself history of art. He'll also be describing how he felt when his friend and mentor, Sir Anthony Blunt, the Keeper of the Queen's Pictures, was denounced as a spy in 1979. Sewell was thrust into the public eye as Blunt's protector. He's been there ever since - attacking what he regards as the excesses of contemporary art, and attracting much criticism himself as a result of his attitudes.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Fidelio Aria - 'Komm Hoffnung' by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Songs from the 1880s with piano accompaniment by Franz Schubert Luxury: Pieta sculpture by Michelangelo

Zoe Wanamaker Jun 12, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Zoe Wanamaker. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the roles she has taken on in theatre and television - in Love Hurts, Prime Suspect and, more recently, in the West End hit Dead Funny. She'll also be describing how she has tried to cope with the death of her father - the distinguished actor Sam Wanamaker - at the end of last year.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Requiem Offertorio by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Greek Myths by Robert Graves Luxury: Samson tobacco and liquorice Rizla papers

Milton Shulman Jun 05, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Milton Shulman. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he came to Britain from Toronto as an Intelligence Officer during the Second World War, after which he wrote a book called Defeat in the West, which was based on interviews he conducted with defeated German officers. It was this book which brought him to the attention of Lord Beaverbrook, leading to his promotion from humble diarist on the London Evening Standard to its film critic. He then went on to become the paper's chief theatre critic - a job he did for 38 years, during which time he reckons to have been to 5,500 first nights, but, to his mind, no great plays.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Capriccio Italien by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Book: The Cookery Book by Constance Spry Luxury: Tennis racket and ball machine

Peter Scudamore May 29, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the jockey Peter Scudamore. The son of a jockey who had won the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup - Scu, as he is known throughout the racing fraternity - resisted all attempts to turn him into an estate agent, and followed in his father's footsteps. Having broken nearly every bone in his body, he retired in 1993 after a career which encompassed 1,678 National Hunt victories and the title of Champion Jockey a record eight times. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about jockeys, jumping and his new career, journalism.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Laid by James Book: Book of Verse by Rudyard Kipling Luxury: Snorkeling equipment

Britt Ekland May 22, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Britt Ekland. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her miraculous transformation from an overweight, buck-toothed ugly duckling with large ears to a beautiful peroxided teenager. She'll also be describing her turbulent marriage to Peter Sellers and her passionate affair with the rock star Rod Stewart.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mother by John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band Book: Recent editions of magazines, e.g. Vanity Fair; Vogue Luxury: Case of Evian water filled with champagne

Kate Adie May 15, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the BBC's Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the pleasures and perils of a job which has taken her to some of the world's most dangerous trouble spots. She'll also be describing how she felt when she was recently reunited with her natural mother after having been happily brought up by her adoptive family in Sunderland.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 6 In E Minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams Book: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Luxury: Large Victorian bath with claw feet

Sir John Wilson May 08, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a man who has devoted his life to helping those who share his own disability - blindness. Sir John Wilson lost his sight at the age of 12 in an accident in his school chemistry laboratory. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how, undaunted, he went on to win a scholarship to Oxford, and then, at the age of 30, mortgaged his home and set up the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind. Since then, he has travelled an average of 50,000 miles a year, helping to restore or save the sight of millions of people the world over. Last year he was awarded the Albert Schweizer International Award for Medicine.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mass in B Minor: The Sanctus by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: A chess strategy book (in braille) Luxury: A sonic probe

Garrison Keillor May 01, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the American writer and broadcaster Garrison Keillor. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his childhood in the small town of Anoka in Minnesota, on which his stories in his bestseller, Lake Wobegon Days, were based. One of six children of Protestant fundamentalist parents, he'll be remembering his home life where story-telling was an intrinsic element, and in which alcohol, television, parties and socialising were all forbidden.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Abide With Me Fast Falls The Evertide by Huddersfield Choral Society Book: Thesaurus by Roget Luxury: Set of china (four place settings)

Trevor McDonald Apr 24, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week has recently topped the polls as the country's most popular newscaster. He is ITN's Trevor McDonald, and he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about a West Indian childhood which was dominated by English influences, a career which started in Caribbean local radio and television and how he copes with his emotions when having to report on particularly gruelling news stories.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Violin Concerto in D Opus 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Anthology of Poetry Luxury: Box of paints, brushes, paper

Alan Hacker Apr 17, 1994

Show notes

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a musician who started his professional career as a clarinettist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

However, when he was 26, Alan Hacker was permanently disabled by a thrombosis on his spinal column. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how, since then, although confined to a wheelchair, he has been determined to prove his disability is not a handicap but just a nuisance. He'll be describing how he has carved out a niche for himself as a conductor, teacher and pioneer in the study of early music and is now a leading guest conductor of the Stuttgart Opera.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: London Symphony by Franz Joseph Haydn Book: Middlemarch by George Eliot Luxury: Hovercraft wheelchair with capuccino machine

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