Sue Lawley's guest on Desert Island Discs today is the writer Martin Amis. He describes his books as comedies, but, like London Fields and Other People, they are frequently dark and disturbing.He says that he has no choice as to the subjects of

Jennifer Saunders

Dec 22nd, 1996 32m 15s

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Absolutely Fabulous! Jennifer Saunders began "doing funny things with props" in the early 1980s. With her stage partner Dawn French, she toured the clubs and comedy venues making people laugh wit

Ian Dury

Dec 15th, 1996 34m 9s

Today's castaway on Desert Island Discs confused the rock critics in the late 1970s with songs like Sweet Gene Vincent, Reasons to be Cheerful and outraged the BBC with Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. Ian Dury and the Blockheads were part vaud

Robert Winston

Dec 8th, 1996 38m 17s

On Desert Island Discs today the castaway is Robert Winston.As Professor of Fertility Studies at Hammersmith Hospital in London, he has been at the forefront of medical developments in his field. He pioneered the screening of embryos for geneti

Bruce Forsyth

Dec 1st, 1996 37m 38s

This week's castaway on Desert Island Discs may be nearing 70, but he knows how to play The Generation Game. Bruce Forsyth is one of the great all-rounders - television host, pianist, dancer and comedian. He began performing as a child, tap-dan

Rt Hon Tony Blair MP

Nov 24th, 1996 35m 23s

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the Leader of the Opposition, the Right Honourable Tony Blair. He will be describing his beliefs, both political and religious, and revealing the man behind the sound bites.[Taken from the original programme m

Tessa Sanderson

Nov 17th, 1996 35m 43s

Atlanta was her sixth Olympic Games. The first was 20 years before. On Desert Island Discs, Tessa Sanderson reveals the competitive drive that brought her back from retirement at the age of 40 to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital in

Sir Laurens Van Der Post

Nov 10th, 1996 38m 55s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a writer, a traveller and an advisor to a Prince and Prime Minister.Now nearly 90, he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early years in South Africa, his incarceration as a Japanese prisoner-o

Chris Patten

Nov 3rd, 1996 38m 28s

He's called "His Excellency" by some; to others he's "Fatty Patten". Next year he will hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese.Chris Patten, this week's castaway on Desert Island Discs, describes the challenges of being the colony's last British Gov

Jancis Robinson

Oct 27th, 1996 38m 45s

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the wine writer Jancis Robinson.One of only 200 Masters of Wine in the world, she recalls how her passion was first aroused by a full-bodied Chambolle-Musigny. It was, she says, the first time she realised tha

Jackie Charlton

Oct 20th, 1996 36m 39s

The ball rolled past the gap between him and Gordon Banks and into the back of the net. The Germans were one goal up. This week's castaway, Jackie Charlton, recalls the match which was to bring him to his knees in relief and joy as England went

Rumer Godden

Oct 13th, 1996 41m 11s

Always an outsider, she seems to have gone against all the mores of her time; from opening a dancing school in Calcutta to living alone with her children in Kashmir. On Desert Island Discs this week, the writer Rumer Godden describes how her ri

Lewis Wolpert

Oct 6th, 1996 37m 8s

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Professor Lewis Wolpert. As Chairman of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science, he is a passionate advocate of the value of science and the increasing need for the recognition and p

Ben Elton

Sep 29th, 1996 35m 49s

His fourth novel, Popcorn, has been widely-acclaimed by the critics. He's about to begin a nationwide tour with his stand-up comedy routine. And, after the success of his TV series The Young Ones and Blackadder, he's currently writing The Thin

Fran Landesman

Sep 22nd, 1996 32m 27s

She has written songs for her friends Barbra Streisand and Bette Davis, and admires Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn. This week, the poet and lyricist Fran Landesman chooses her eight records.Although now in her 60s, retired to her bed and celiba

Kevin Whately

Sep 15th, 1996 33m 18s

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is the actor Kevin Whately. Having appeared increasingly prominently in three of the most successful series in recent TV history - Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Inspector Morse and Peak Practice - he's curr

Professor Colin Blakemore

Sep 8th, 1996 37m 45s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the scientist Colin Blakemore. A brilliant student, he became an Oxford professor at the age of 35 and since then he has commanded enormous influence through his research and the way he has tried

Sir Terence Conran

Sep 1st, 1996 37m 1s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the designer and entrepreneur Terence Conran. He first came to fame with the Habitat store which introduced British shoppers to consumer delights like the chicken brick and the duvet. Now conside

Anita Lasker-Wallfisch

Aug 25th, 1996 38m 21s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. One of the most distinguished members of the English Chamber Orchestra, she has toured all over the world with them.However, as she will be telling Sue Lawley,

André Previn

Aug 18th, 1996 37m 9s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the composer and conductor André Previn. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he and his family fled from Nazi Germany and ended up in California. His skill as a jazz musician led to a job at

Quentin Crewe

Jun 16th, 1996 36m 6s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the journalist and author Quentin Crewe. Since the age of 29, muscular dystrophy has left him in a wheelchair. Nevertheless, now 70, he can look back on a full and vivid life encompassing a 24,00

Peggy Mount

Jun 9th, 1996 33m 46s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Peggy Mount. Now 80 years old, and about to play the nanny in Uncle Vanya at Chichester this summer, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her long and distinguished career as one of

Gerry Robinson

Jun 2nd, 1996 36m 13s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is a businessman who started life as one of 10 children in a poor family in Donegal, moved with his family to London's East End and started his career at Matchbox Toys in Hackney. From there, he wor

Michael White

May 26th, 1996 35m 28s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the producer Michael White. Renowned for his theatrical flair - with a string of successes such as Sleuth, The Rocky Horror Show, O, Calcutta and A Chorus Line - he'll be talking to Sue Lawley ab

Janet Holmes à Court

May 19th, 1996 37m 19s

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Janet Holmes à Court. Recently named Businesswoman of the Year, she'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how, after the sudden death of her husband, the hugely rich Robert Holmes a Court, she was ad