Desert Island Discs

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Lewis Gilbert Jun 20, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is the film director Lewis Gilbert.

His career started in the 1920s when he was a child actor in silent movies. Over the next seven decades, he went on to direct Hollywood blockbusters as well as landmark British films. His directing credits include Reach for the Skies, Alfie, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine - as well as three Bond films. Depite his numerous successes, though, he remains haunted by the film he didn't make: he spent years working with Lionel Bart and planning how Oliver! might look... only for the project to slip through his fingers.

Record: I'll String Along with You Book: A book of poems Luxury: A football

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Frank Skinner Jun 13, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is the comedian Frank Skinner.

As a football-obsessed comic whose stand-up routines were peppered with details of his personal life, he became the poster-boy for the 'Loaded' generation. Beneath the surface, though, he seems to be full of contradictions. He was expelled from school when he was a teenager - but went on to gain a masters degree; he has long been obsessed with Elvis Presley - but now says he feels a tingle when he goes to the opera. Although he had long enjoyed entertaining his friends, he was 30 before he realised where his future lay. "I was an unemployed drunk going nowhere," he says, "And then comedy turned up. Comedy saved my life"

Record: The Fall Book: Teach yourself French Luxury: A ukulele.

Gyorgy Pauk May 30, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is the violinist Gyorgy Pauk.

In a career spanning fifty years, he has played with all the best orchestras and continues to teach masterclasses around the world.

He grew up in Hungary and, after both his parents were taken to labour camps, he was brought up by his grandmother. His parents died during the war and it was, says Gyorgy, a miracle that he and his grandmother survived in the Budapest ghetto. For years afterwards, he says, he would carry food with him because he was so scarred by the hunger he'd felt.

His musical talent was his passport to the West and, when he was 22 years old, he fled first to France, then to Holland and finally to Britain where he has lived for nearly fifty years. Of his early years, he says: "There were times when you were punished if you were listening to the radio. That's when it started to get to me - realising that I was not free. Music is international, it has to be worldwide."

Record: Bach's Andante from the Second Sonata in A Minor Book: How To Be An Alien by George Mikes Luxury: A N'espresso machine

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Dame Stephanie Shirley May 23, 2010

Show notes

Entrepreneur Dame Stephanie Shirley joins Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs.

As a child, she escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport - travelling across Europe for two days in a train with a thousand children and just two adults. She went on to set up a computer programming company which made her a millionaire many times over. But she has given away most of her fortune and now is an ambassador for philanthropy. Her determination throughout it all, she says, has been to prove that hers was a life worth saving.

Record: Mozart- Sonata in C, K. 545 Book: AA Milne - Winnie The Pooh Luxury: Mother and Child by Henry Moore.

Rob Brydon May 16, 2010

Show notes

The comedian and actor Rob Brydon joins Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs.

Growing up in Port Talbot, South Wales, he discovered performing when he was a teenager and says he came alive when he was on stage: so much so that he left school with only a couple of O Levels. For years, he made a comfortable but unfulfilling living recording voice-overs and working on a television shopping channel. He always dreamed of working in comedy, though, and eventually it was 'Marion and Geoff' and then 'Gavin and Stacey' that made him a household name.

Record: Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen Book: Collected works of Dylan Thomas Luxury: A guitar.

Fay Weldon May 09, 2010

Show notes

The writer Fay Weldon joins Kirsty Young to choose her Desert Island Discs.

The author of dozens of novels, essays and radio and TV dramas, she says she spends so much time inventing characters and storylines that the distinction between fact and fiction has become blurred.

As a child, Fay Weldon believed she had a second sight - seeing people who weren't there and hearing voices that no-one else could hear. As an adult, her perceptive nature has served her well too and she says: "I think I know what goes on in other people's heads - more than most people do."

Record: Rockin' My Life Away -Jerry Lee Lewis Book: Kennedy's Latin Primer Luxury: A shotgun.

Emma Thompson Mar 28, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is Emma Thompson.

Sense and Sensibility, The Remains of the Day, Much Ado About Nothing and Howards End are just a handful of her notable screen credits in a dazzling career that has seen her pick up Oscars for both acting and writing.

She appears to have pulled off that rare trick of being both a star and one of us - she famously keeps her brace of Oscars in the downstairs loo, still lives across the road from her mum and holidays in a cottage in Scotland where, she says, she and her husband spend a third of the year 'digging in like a pair of old potatoes.'

Record: Corarsik Book: Homer's Odyssey Luxury: A saucepan - heavy bottomed with a removable handle.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce Mar 21, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Frank Cottrell Boyce.

His film credits include Hilary and Jackie, Welcome to Sarajevo and 24 Hour Party People. He's also written TV soaps, radio and stage plays and children's novels.

These days children are his main audience and, as a father of seven himself, he should know what they want. He not only tests his ideas on them, but they keep him focused: 'I need them in the house to make sure I'm not watching telly, or having a four-hour bath - the fact that they're there makes me work.'

Record: Miserere by Allegri Book: The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin Luxury: A ferris wheel.

Duncan Bannatyne Mar 14, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne.

He made his name appearing on the TV show Dragons' Den as a no-nonsense investor with an eye for the bottom line. He made his fortune in nursing homes, health clubs and hotels. Quite something, given that aged 30 he was a deck chair attendant who had been thrown out of the Royal Navy for attempting to throw his commanding officer overboard. He says, 'When you've got a criminal record, no qualifications, no references, the best option is starting your own business - because no one can stop you.'

Record: Love Changes Everything Book: The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet Luxury: A pillow.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock Mar 07, 2010

Show notes

Kirsty Young's castaway is space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

She has, she says, a special relationship with the moon, one that started when she first saw The Clangers as a small child. As a teenager she made her own telescope so she could study the moon more closely. Now she makes highly technical optical equipment for satellites, but says she still harbours desires to go into space - her dream job is building a telescope on the moon. She says: 'From the age of three, I wanted to get into space and I still do. It's been the driving force of my life really, that desire to get out there one day.'

Record: As by Stevie Wonder Book: Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon Luxury: A telescope.

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