Desert Island Discs

Marianela Núñez is a Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet and Opera. Born in Argentina in 1982, Marianela knew she wanted to be a ballet dancer from the age of five and joined the Teatro Colón Ballet School in Buenos Aires when she was eight.She dedicated herself to becoming a professional ballerina and had the full support of her parents despite having to leave home at fifteen to join the Royal Ballet in the UK. After spending a year at the Royal Ballet School and learning English from watching episodes of Friends, she joined the corps de ballet and worked her way up the company to become Principal Dancer. She has danced the lead roles in the ballet repertoire on the London stage and around the world as a guest artist. In 2018, she celebrated her 20th anniversary with the Royal Ballet with a performance of lead roles in Giselle, The Winter’s Tale, Manon, Marguerite and Armand, and Swan Lake in her anniversary year. Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare called her “one of the greats of her generation”. Marianela has many awards for her dancing including the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2013. She lives in London with her two cats.DISC ONE: Adíos Nonino (“Goodbye Grandad”) - Astor Piazzolla DISC TWO: Hoy Puede Ser Un Gran Dia (“Today Could Be a Great Day”) - Joan Manuel Serrat DISC THREE: Dancing Queen - ABBA DISC FOUR: Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen DISC FIVE: Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 1: 8a. Pas d'action: Introduction (Andante) - Adagio ("Rose Adagio") Performed by The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Mark Ermler DISC SIX: Adam: Giselle / Act 2: Lever du soleil et arrivée de la cour. Performed by The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Richard Bonynge DISC SEVEN: Count on Me - Bruno Mars DISC EIGHT: I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Works of Jorge Luis Borges LUXURY ITEM: A cashmere blanket CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 1: 8a. Pas d'action: Introduction (Andante) - Adagio ("Rose Adagio") Performed by The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Mark Ermler Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

26/01/2025 • 50:33

Gareth Southgate OBE is the most successful England men’s football manger in the modern game. He holds the record as the man who has represented England in more games than anyone else, with 102 games as men's senior team manager, 57 caps as a player and 37 as men's under-21 head coach, leading to a total of 196 games in which he has been involved as a player or coach.It’s a remarkable career and one which shows his resilience and determination. Ever since he joined a football team as a schoolboy, he dreamed of being a footballer and perhaps one day, wearing the England shirt. He was rejected by Southampton as a teenager and was determined to come back and succeed. He managed to do that, playing for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough as a defender and midfielder. After his playing career ended he went into management eventually becoming one of the England national team’s most successful managers. Along the way, his different approach to leadership in sport, together with his quest to understand what is Englishness makes him one of the most impressive football managers in England’s history. Southgate is an Ambassador for The Prince's Trust and Help for Heroes.DISC ONE: The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby and the Range DISC TWO: Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters DISC THREE: Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears DISC FOUR: The Whole of the Moon - Waterboys DISC FIVE: One - Mary J. Blige, U2 DISC SIX: Shape of You (Stormzy Remix) - Ed Sheeran DISC SEVEN: Someone Like You - Adele DISC EIGHT: Experience - Ludovico Einaudi BOOK CHOICE: The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters LUXURY ITEM: Coffee CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Experience - Ludovico Einaudi Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

19/01/2025 • 50:54

Cher has been a global star for over six decades. Her career has spanned music, television and film and throughout that time her outfits have made flamboyant fashion statements. She was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in El Centro, California and had a peripatetic childhood. Her mother married six times and with each new husband the family moved house.In 1962, when she was 16, Cher met Sonny Bono in a coffee shop. She moved in with Sonny as his housekeeper and personal assistant and began singing backing vocals for his boss, the music producer Phil Spector. In 1965 Sonny and Cher released I Got You Babe which reached number one in the US and UK charts – knocking the Beatles off the top of the chart.Cher is an award-winning actor who has starred in films including Silkwood, Mask and Moonstruck. In October 1998 she released her 22nd studio album Believe – the title track remains the biggest-selling number one by a solo female artist in British chart history.DISC ONE: Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum DISC TWO: Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley DISC THREE: A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Ilene Woods DISC FOUR: Evil - Stevie Wonder DISC FIVE: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers DISC SIX: I Can’t Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt DISC SEVEN: Minute By Minute - The Doobie Brothers DISC EIGHT: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke BOOK CHOICE: The Saracen Blade by Frank Yerby LUXURY ITEM: An eyelash curler CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

12/01/2025 • 48:56

Former cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent is the first Black woman to play for England and she was part of the team which won the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2009. Today she is a broadcaster and cricket commentator for Channel 4, Sky Sports and the BBC’s Test Match Special.Ebony was born in south London and as a child it was football that caught her attention, especially Liverpool FC and her hero Robbie Fowler. At primary school she was encouraged to have a go at cricket through a charity called Cricket For Change which was set up to encourage more state school children into the sport. Holding a bat in her hands for the first time, she hit the ball as hard as she could and, as she watched it soar through the air, she was hooked.Ebony started out playing for Surrey Cricket Club’s Under 11’s team as a bowler. In 2003 a serious back injury forced her to stop playing and she thought her sporting career was over. She was determined to prove the medics wrong so she retrained as a batswoman as batting was easier on her back.In 2007 she made her debut for England and two years later was part of the World Cup-winning team. In 2020 Ebony joined forces with Surrey Cricket Club and founded the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE) to build grassroots cricket programmes for young people in black communities across the UK. In 2021 she was awarded an MBE for her services to cricket and charity.DISC ONE: Cold Sweat - James Brown DISC TWO: Girlie Girlie - Sophia George DISC THREE: Pass Me Over - Anthony Hamilton DISC FOUR: A Long Walk - Jill Scott DISC FIVE: Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin DISC SIX: Never Forget - Take That DISC SEVEN: Superheroes - Stormzy DISC EIGHT: Work To Do - The Isley Brothers BOOK CHOICE: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho LUXURY ITEM: A drum kit CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A Long Walk - Jill Scott Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

05/01/2025 • 50:03

Mark Steel is a writer, comedian and radio presenter. His performing career began as a poet in the alternative comedy scene in the early eighties at the Comedy Store. A regular presenter on Radio 4, he began his award winning series, Mark Steel’s in Town in 2009. Alongside his performing career, he’s been a regular newspaper columnist writing for the Guardian and Independent Newspapers. Mark was born in 1960 and adopted at ten days old by Doreen and Ernie. He grew up in Swanley, Kent and left home at 18 to live in a squat in Crystal Palace. After his own son was born, Mark spent many years tracing his birth parents and eventually met up with his genetic father who had been a professional gambler and a friend of Lord Lucan. Mark has two children and lives in London.DISC ONE: My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small DISC TWO: Janie Jones - The Clash DISC THREE: San Quentin (Live at San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, CA - February 1969) - Johnny Cash DISC FOUR: Killing in the Name - Rage Against The Machine DISC FIVE: Trøllabundin - Eivør Pálsdóttir DISC SIX: Love Me or Leave Me - Nina Simone DISC SEVEN: Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds DISC EIGHT: 1977 - Ana Tijoux BOOK CHOICE: Wisden Cricketers' Almanack LUXURY ITEM: A piano CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Love Me or Leave Me - Nina SimonePresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

29/12/2024 • 50:17

Lauren Laverne talks to Ian Wright in an episode first broadcast in 2020.Ian Wright is a former professional footballer and now a football pundit on TV and radio. He began his career at Crystal Palace before moving to Arsenal where he became their highest goal scorer of all time, a record only surpassed eight years later by Thierry Henry.Born to a Jamaican couple in south-east London, Ian grew up with his mother and step-father. His biological father had left the family when Ian was under two years old. Things at home were difficult and Ian spent as much time as possible outside playing football.At his primary school a teacher, Mr Pigden, took him under his wing and Ian would later credit him with changing his life. He left his secondary school at the age of 14 to get a job. Although he took part in trials for many professional football clubs as a teenager, he was never selected. He continued to play for amateur sides. By the age of 21, he had three children to provide for, so when Crystal Palace came calling in 1985, he turned them down three times before accepting a two-week trial, followed by a three-month contract. His football career had finally begun.After impressing as a forward at Palace, he was bought by Arsenal for a record fee in 1991. He was called up to the England squad the same year and would go on to collect 33 caps. He spent his last couple of years in professional football at a number of clubs around the country and in total, he played 581 league games, scoring 387 goals for seven clubs in England and Scotland. Since his retirement from football in 2000, he has had a career as a pundit on both TV and radio.He has eight children and has been happily married to his second wife, Nancy, since 2011.DISC ONE: The Marriage of Figaro: Duettino - Sull'aria by Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, composed by Lorenzo Da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart DISC TWO: Looking For You by Kirk Franklin DISC THREE: River Deep Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner DISC FOUR: Redemption Song by Bob Marley & The Wailers DISC FIVE: Mysteries of the World by MSFB DISC SIX: Endlessly by Randy Crawford DISC SEVEN: Crown by Stormzy DISC EIGHT: Just Fine by Mary J BligeBOOK CHOICE: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon LUXURY ITEM: A seven iron golf club and golf balls CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Endlessly by Randy CrawfordPresenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Cathy Drysdale

08/12/2024 • 44:17

Steven Knight CBE is a screenwriter, producer, and director for film and television. He is best known for creating the TV series Peaky Blinders but he has also turned his hand to feature films, novels, comedy and even gameshows. He co-created the global TV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. His first film, Dirty Pretty Things, was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards; Peaky Blinders won a BAFTA for Best Drama Series and his writing influences are eclectic. His subjects include chess, cooking, Dickens, Diana, Princess of Wales; the origins of the SAS and a Star Wars sequel. Steven was born in 1959, the youngest of seven children to George and Ida Knight. He grew up in Birmingham where his father hoped that his five sons would follow him into the blacksmith’s business. After studying English at University College London, Steven returned to Birmingham and began his career writing radio commercials. He was soon back down in London working at Capital Radio which then led to a career writing comedy for TV, then novels, and eventually screenplays. He is as respected in Hollywood as he is in the UK and more recently he has been instrumental in setting up a new TV and Film studio complex in Birmingham, Digbeth Loc. He is married with seven children and lives in Gloucestershire.DISC ONE: I Want You - Bob Dylan DISC TWO: Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald DISC THREE: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise. Performed by Worcester Cathedral Choir / Worcester Festival Choral Society, directed by Donald Hunt DISC FOUR: Redemption Song - Bob Marley & The Wailers DISC FIVE: A Different Corner - George Michael DISC SIX: Messetchinko Lio (You, Little Moon) - Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares DISC SEVEN: Red Right Hand - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds DISC EIGHT: Keep Right On Until the End of the Road - Harry Lauder BOOK CHOICE: The Greek Myths by Robert Graves LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered laptop CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Keep Right On Until the End of the Road - Harry Lauder Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

07/09/2024 • 50:03

Mark Knopfler OBE is one of the UK’s most successful rock musicians and composers. He co-founded the band Dire Straits and their album Brothers in Arms is one of the bestselling albums of all time with 30 million copies sold. Alongside the many successes of Dire Straits, Mark has also composed hit songs for other artists like Private Dancer for Tina Turner and many soundtracks including Local Hero which features the perennial favourite Going Home.He first worked as a journalist on the Yorkshire Evening Post and was briefly an English lecturer in Essex before moving to a flat in Deptford with his brother and John Illsey. Dire Straits was born and became one of the UK’s most successful bands before Mark called time in 1995 and pursued his own solo career.In recent years, Mark invested some of his money to build one of the UK’s best recording studios to record his own music in alongside being a destination for other artists.He lives in London with his wife and still visits his studio most days to make music.DISC ONE: Ol’ Man River - Ray Charles DISC TWO: Red Sails in the Sunset – Dean Martin DISC THREE: Wonderful Land - The Shadows DISC FOUR: Write Me a Few Lines - Mississippi Fred MacDowell DISC FIVE: Duquesne Whistle - Bob Dylan DISC SIX: Deborah’s Theme - Ennio Morricone DISC SEVEN: Cleaning Windows - Van Morrison DISC EIGHT: Jessye ’Lisabeth - Bobbie Gentry BOOK CHOICE: The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald LUXURY ITEM: A guitar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Duquesne Whistle - Bob DylanPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

31/08/2024 • 48:04

Sarah Raven is one of Britain’s best known gardeners. Since her debut book, The Cutting Garden in 1996 she has written for national newspapers and magazines and shared her gardening knowledge as a broadcaster. Sarah’s love for gardening started with her family. Her father John was a Classics scholar at Cambridge and a keen amateur botanist and her mother Faith introduced Sarah to the joys of cutting and arranging flowers.Following her father’s death when she was just seventeen, Sarah read History at the University of Edinburgh before deciding to pursue a career as a doctor. It was whilst she was on maternity leave from her medical training that Sarah began to cultivate her own garden which led to her first book, The Cutting Garden.After the success of her first book, Sarah set up her eponymous business which has evolved from a kitchen table start-up to successful global brand. Sarah continues to write, her latest book, A Year Full of Pots was published earlier this year.Sarah lives in East Sussex with her husband, the writer Adam Nicholson. She has three stepsons and two daughters.DISC ONE: See My Baby Jive - Wizzard DISC TWO: Dashing White Sergeant - Jimmy Shand DISC THREE: Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds DISC FOUR: You Can Dance (If You Want To) - Go Go Lorenzo & The Davis Pinckney Project DISC FIVE: September - Earth, Wind and Fire DISC SIX: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You - Andy Williams DISC SEVEN: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) - Elton John DISC EIGHT: Spring 1. Composed by Antonio Vivaldi, recomposed by Max Richter and performed by Daniel Hope (violin) with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, conducted by André de RidderLuxury: An ever-cleaning linen sheet bed with a hot (and cold) water bottle Book: The Flowers of Crete by John Fielding & Nicholas Turland Castaway’s Favourite: September - Earth, Wind and FirePresenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Mugabi Turya

25/08/2024 • 51:51

The writer David Nicholls is best known for his 2009 novel One Day which has sold 6 million copies, been made into a film and a Netflix series which reached the top 10 in 89 countries. He’s written six novels and his work as a screenwriter has won him a BAFTA and an Emmy nomination. He was born in 1966 and studied Drama and English Literature at Bristol University. This partly inspired his novel Starter for Ten. After university he spent one year in New York studying acting before returning to the UK to try and forge a career as an actor. He spent three years at the National Theatre but was mostly an understudy which inspired his novel Understudy. After a few years, David left acting and pursued a writing career and had success as a TV screen writer. Alongside his award-winning career as a TV writer he has won many prizes for his novels. David lives in London with his partner, Hannah and their two children.Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah TaylorDISC ONE: I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin DISC TWO: Cloudbusting - Kate Bush DISC THREE: Life on Mars? - David Bowie DISC FOUR: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Glenn Gould (piano) Coyote - Joni Mitchell DISC FIVE: Coyote - Joni Mitchell DISC SIX: We Belong Together - Rickie Lee Jones DISC SEVEN: Who Knows Where The Time Goes? - Fairport Convention DISC EIGHT: Protection - Massive Attack featuring Tracey Thorn BOOK CHOICE: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy LUXURY ITEM: A piano and sheet music CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin

17/08/2024 • 49:46

Errollyn Wallen is one of the world’s most performed living composers. Her work, which includes 22 operas, orchestral, chamber and vocal works, was played at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in 2012 and at Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees. She was the first black woman to have a piece featured in the BBC Proms and the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music for her body of work.Errollyn was born in Belize in Central America and was brought up in North London. The passion for music came early to her - as a baby she sang in her cot - and later she enjoyed free music lessons at her local primary school. She fell in love with the piano at five and went on to have formal lessons four years later.She studied music and dance at Goldsmith’s, University of London and took a Master’s in composition at King’s College London. After working as a session musician, Errollyn formed her own band Ensemble X whose motto is “we don’t break down barriers in music…we don’t see any”. In 1990 she composed a tribute to Nelson Mandela to mark his release from prison. In 2020 she was awarded a CBE for services to music in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours. Errollyn lives and works in a lighthouse at Strathy Point in the north of Scotland.DISC ONE: Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, 4th Movement: Allegro Con Brio. Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and performed by André Previn (piano) with the London Symphony Orchestra DISC TWO: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered - Ella Fitzgerald DISC THREE: L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird) (1910 Ballet Score) ('Fairy-tale Ballet In Two Tableaux For Orchestra') Introduction. Composed by Igor Stravinsky and performed by Bergen Philharmonic, conducted by Andrew Litton DISC FOUR: I Am Sitting In a Room - Alvin Lucier DISC FIVE: Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 (II movement) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman (violin) with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta DISC SIX: Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) - Stevie Wonder DISC SEVEN: What’s Up Doc? - Errollyn Wallen DISC EIGHT: Peter Grimes, Op. 33, Act III, Scene 7: Mister Swallow! Mister Swallow! (Mrs Sedley) Composed by Benjamin Britten and performed by Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Susan Bickley (Mezzo-soprano), Neal Davies (bass-baritone), Barnaby Rea (bass) and conducted by Edward Gardner BOOK CHOICE: A collection of Bach sheet music LUXURY ITEM: Wigmore Hall CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 (II movement) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman (violin) with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

11/08/2024 • 52:23

Rob Delaney is a comedian, writer and actor who is best known for the television series Catastrophe, which he co-wrote and co-starred in alongside Sharon Horgan. He has also appeared in Hollywood blockbusters including Deadpool and Mission Impossible. Rob was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Marblehead on the north shore. He studied for a degree in Musical Theatre at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and began writing comedy material after he graduated. In 2014, he moved to London to co-write and shoot the first series of Catastrophe and has been in the UK ever since. The series won Rob and Sharon a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society Award for comedy writing. In 2016 Rob’s one-year-old son Henry was diagnosed with a brain tumour and after undergoing surgery and intense treatment Henry died in 2018. In the throes of his grief Rob wrote his best-selling book A Heart That Works which was a tribute to his son, his family and the NHS.Rob lives in north London with his wife and three sons. DISC ONE: Galician Overture - The Chieftains DISC TWO: This Is To Mother You - Sinéad O’Connor DISC THREE: Chopin, Nocturne No 11 in G minor. Composed by Frédéric Chopin and performed by Maurizio Pollini (piano) DISC FOUR: Bluer Than Midnight - The The DISC FIVE: Hey - Pixies DISC SIX: Fire in the Hole - Steely Dan DISC SEVEN: Plainclothes Man - Heatmiser DISC EIGHT: Rock Lobster - The B-52s BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Works of Alice Munro LUXURY ITEM: A piano CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: This Is To Mother You - Sinéad O’ConnorPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

04/08/2024 • 50:16

Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist who specialises in palynology – the study of pollen. Her expertise has led her to work with every police force in Britain and helped solve some of the country’s most notorious crimes including the Soham murder case in which two young girls were killed by school caretaker Ian Huntley.Patricia was born in Cefn Fforest, a mining village in the Sirhowy Valley, north of Cardiff. She studied botany at King’s College London as a mature student and later worked as an environmental archaeologist, helping to reconstruct ancient environments by analysing the pollen and other remains in the soil.In 1994 Hertfordshire police asked her to help them with a murder case. A man had been found dead in a ditch and the police had tyre tracks and a vehicle and they needed to prove that the car in question had made the tracks. Patricia’s analysis of the pollen and spores found in the car helped to convict the killers and started her career as a forensic ecologist. Patricia is married to Professor David Hawksworth, a renowned mycologist, and they sometimes work on criminal investigations together. DISC ONE: Nocturnes, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major. Composed by Frédéric Chopin and performed by Arthur Rubinstein DISC TWO: My Foolish Heart - Billy Eckstine DISC THREE: Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets DISC FOUR: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 (Allegro movement) Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Orchestra Mozart, conducted by Claudio Abbado DISC FIVE: Myfanwy - The Treorchy Male Voice Choir DISC SIX: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 "Elvira Madigan": III. Allegro vivace assai. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and performed by Murray Perahia (piano / conductor) and English Chamber Orchestra DISC SEVEN: And I Love Her - The Beatles DISC EIGHT: Love Will Keep Us Together - Neil Sedaka BOOK CHOICE: Childrens Encyclopedia Volume Set by Arthur Mee LUXURY ITEM: A cooking pot CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Nocturnes, Op. 27: No. 2 in D-Flat Major. Composed by Frédéric Chopin and performed by Arthur RubinsteinPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

28/07/2024 • 51:48

Anthony Joshua MBE is a British heavyweight boxer, Olympic gold medallist and two-time former unified world heavyweight champion. Anthony was born in 1989 and grew up in Watford. When he was 11, he moved with his mother to Nigeria, her home country, and attended a boarding school there for several months. When the family returned to Watford, Anthony took part in football and athletics at school, although he recalls that he didn’t enjoy sport in the freezing winter conditions. After school he briefly studied music technology, and worked as a bricklayer, but mostly drifted. When he found himself banned from Watford town centre, he moved to Edgware and started going to the gym. His cousin Ben Ileyemi, a keen boxer, invited him to his local boxing gym in Finchley. Anthony, then aged 18, and with no boxing experience, decided to enter the ring himself. Within five years, he won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics. He turned professional in 2013 and has become one of the most high-profile boxers in the world. Anthony lives in London.DISC ONE: Waiting in Vain - Bob Marley & The Wailers DISC TWO: Hometown Glory - Adele DISC THREE: Water No Get Enemy - Fela Kuti DISC FOUR: Eye of the Tiger - Survivor DISC FIVE: One More Chance Freestyle - Skrapz DISC SIX: Shut Up - Stormzy DISC SEVEN: The Godfather Pt. I: Love Theme From "The Godfather" - Nino Rota DISC EIGHT: Agape - Nicholas BritellBOOK CHOICE: A Bear Grylls survival book LUXURY ITEM: A punchbag CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Agape - Nicholas BritellPresenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

20/07/2024 • 51:47

Clive Myrie is an award-winning journalist and news presenter who is one of the BBC’s most experienced foreign correspondents. In 2021 he took over from John Humphrys as Question Master of the quiz show Mastermind and has also presented travel programmes about Italy and the Caribbean. Clive’s parents are from Jamaica and he was born in Farnworth, near Bolton – one of seven children. As a young boy he had a paper round and one of the perks was reading the leftover newspapers which gave him the opportunity to learn about a world beyond Bolton. He loved watching the news on television and his role models were Alan Whicker and Sir Trevor McDonald who inspired him to become a journalist. After he graduated from university Clive took up a place on the BBC’s reporter training scheme and in 1996 he was sent to Japan - his first posting as a foreign correspondent. During his career he has reported from war zones including Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine. In 2021 Clive was named Television Journalist of the Year and Network Presenter of the Year at the Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards.Clive lives in north London with his wife Catherine. DISC ONE: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: VI. Adagio quasi un poco andante. Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and performed by Kodály Quartet DISC TWO: Welcome to My World - Jim Reeves DISC THREE: Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti, K.588 / Act 1 - Soave sia il vento. Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and performed by Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano), Ann Murray (mezzo soprano), Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) and Wiener Philharmoniker DISC FOUR: All Blues - Miles Davis DISC FIVE: Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: I. Prelude. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and performed by Paul Tortelier DISC SIX: Slave to the Rhythm - Grace Jones DISC SEVEN: Long, Long Summer - Dizzy Gillespie DISC EIGHT: Stomp! - The Brothers JohnsonBOOK CHOICE: The Metropolitan Museum of Art catalogue LUXURY ITEM: Hot pepper sauce CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Long, Long Summer - Dizzy GillespiePresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

14/07/2024 • 52:05

Shirine Khoury-Haq is the chief executive officer of the Co-op Group – the first female chief executive in its 180-year history and the first from an ethnic minority background.Shirine was born in Beirut to a Palestinian father and a Turkish mother. Her father was a geophysicist who worked in the oil industry and his work took the family around the world. By the time Shirine was 12 she had lived on every continent except Antarctica, regularly having to adapt to very different schools and classmates. She studied for a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and economics at the Australian National University in Canberra, while taking on a number of jobs to pay her way. In 1996 she joined the McDonald’s Corporation as a finance and operations manager and then joined IBM as an associate partner.In 2014 she was appointed chief operating officer for Lloyd’s of London and five years later she joined the Co-op as chief financial officer. She became the Group’s CEO in August 2022.Shirine lives in Cheshire with her husband and two daughters.DISC ONE: Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte DISC TWO: Ya Talien Eljabal - Rola Azar DISC THREE: Better Together - Jack Johnson DISC FOUR: Fight the Power - Public Enemy DISC FIVE: Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang - Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg DISC SIX: Supermassive Black Hole - Muse DISC SEVEN: How Great Thou Art - Susan Boyle DISC EIGHT: Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of - U2BOOK CHOICE: The Quran LUXURY ITEM: A photo frame CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: How Great Thou Art - Susan Boyle Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

07/07/2024 • 49:42

The Australian actor Rebel Wilson became an international star with a breakthrough part in the 2011 Hollywood comedy Bridesmaids, opposite Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. She followed this up playing Fat Amy in the highly successful Pitch Perfect trilogy, which documents the fortunes of a female college acapella group. Rebel was born in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney. Her parents bred and showed dogs, in particular beagles, and her first brush with showbusiness came when she visited television studios to watch the dogs perform in popular shows. The dogs were so successful they even had their own agents. She studied for a combined arts and law degree and then joined the Australian Theatre for Young People. At the age of 29 she sold everything she had and left Sydney to try her luck in Hollywood where she slept on a friend’s sofa for the first few months. She gave herself a year to make it and Bridesmaids came at just the right time – she never looked back.Rebel recently made her debut as a director with the Deb, a musical set in Australia. DISC ONE: Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars DISC TWO: Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston DISC THREE: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python DISC FOUR: I Missed the Bus - Kris Kross DISC FIVE: We Belong - Pat Benatar DISC SIX: Let Me Entertain You - Robbie Williams DISC SEVEN: Can You Feel the Love Tonight? - Elton John DISC EIGHT: Here Comes The Sun - The BeatlesBOOK CHOICE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl LUXURY ITEM: A bath tub and bath salts CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

30/06/2024 • 48:36

The Irish writer John Boyne is best known for his 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which became a literary phenomenon, selling more than 11 million copies around the world. It was translated into 60 languages and adapted into a film, a play, a ballet and an opera. He has written more than two dozen books, including a number of titles for younger readers. He was born in Dublin in 1971, and had ambitions to become a writer from an early age. He studied English Literature at Trinity College Dublin, followed by a Master’s degree in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. From the mid-1990s, he spent seven years working at a bookshop in Dublin, while trying to launch his literary career. Many of his books have historical settings: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is the story of two boys – one German, one Jewish – during the Holocaust; other books have taken inspiration from the Mutiny on the Bounty and Tsarist Russia. More recently, he’s addressed sexual and physical abuse within the Catholic church in Ireland, drawing in part on his own experiences at school. He lives in Dublin, not far from where he grew up. DISC ONE: Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkel DISC TWO: The Sound of Music - Julie Andrews DISC THREE: Elton's Song - Elton John DISC FOUR: Take on Me - A-ha DISC FIVE: Lullaby for Cain (Instrumental) - Sinéad O'Connor DISC SIX: Extract from String Quartet No. 4, composed by Noah Max and performed by The Tippett Quartet DISC SEVEN: Make Your Own Kind of Music - Mama Cass DISC EIGHT: Night of the Swallow - Kate Bush BOOK CHOICE: The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot LUXURY ITEM: A cinema screen showing The Devil Wears Prada CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Night of the Swallow - Kate BushPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

22/06/2024 • 51:31

Dame Sarah Storey is Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian, winning 17 gold, eight silver and three bronze medals. She was just 14 when she took two weeks off school to compete as a swimmer in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics, where she won her first two gold medals. Since then, she has competed in a further seven Paralympics, switching to cycling from 2005. A TV documentary inspired Sarah's childhood ambition to take part in the Paralympics, even though her swimming club coach told her that it was too late - at the age of 10 - to start training for an elite career. After competing in four Paralympics in the pool, she decided to try cycling after persistent ear infections and chronic fatigue. She was immediately successful and has continued to win medals at both the Paralympics and World Championships in numerous events, breaking many world records. She is supported on and off the track by her husband, Barney Storey, who is also a gold medal-winning cyclist. They have two children, who were born in 2013 and 2017. Sarah is the Active Travel Commissioner in her home city of Manchester, and is still training with the aim of competing in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris – which would be her ninth games, at the age of 46. DISC ONE: Livin’ on a Prayer - Bon Jovi DISC TWO: Spinning Around – Kylie Minogue DISC THREE: It Only Takes a Minute - Take That DISC FOUR: A Different Beat - Boyzone DISC FIVE: This is the One - The Stone Roses DISC SIX: Heroes - David Bowie DISC SEVEN: Wannabe - Spice Girls DISC EIGHT: Step On – Happy MondaysBOOK CHOICE: The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters LUXURY ITEM: A snorkel and mask CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Livin’ on a Prayer - Bon JoviPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

15/06/2024 • 50:33

Greg Davies is a familiar face on television as the host of Taskmaster, the BAFTA-winning game show, and he has achieved sell out national arena tours as a stand-up. His on-screen breakthrough came in 2008 when he played the head of the sixth form, Mr Gilbert, in the highly successful teenage comedy series the Inbetweeners. He wrote and starred in the black comedy the Cleaner and co-wrote the sitcom Man Down in which he played a man in the grip of a midlife crisis. Greg was born in St Asaph in north Wales and grew up in Shropshire. At school he gravitated towards what he calls the silly boys who created characters and devised comedy sketches in the playground. When he was 18 he discovered Eddie Murphy whose stand-up routines about his relatives spurred Greg to look to his own family as comedic source material.Greg spent 13 years as an English and Drama teacher – a time he looks back on with mixed emotions and which he has mined for his stage act. When he was 33 he left teaching and started performing stand-up gigs and performed his first solo stand-up show at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. Greg lives in south London. DISC ONE: Baggy Trousers - Madness DISC TWO: Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell DISC THREE: 100% Endurance - Yard Act DISC FOUR: Circlesquare - The Wonder Stuff DISC FIVE: Cemetry Gates - The Smiths DISC SIX: Consider Yourself - Jack Wild (The Artful Dodger) and The Orchestra, conducted by John Green. From Oliver! [An Original Soundtrack Recording] DISC SEVEN: She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult DISC EIGHT: The Next Episode - Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg BOOK CHOICE: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck LUXURY ITEM: Sausages CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: 100% Endurance - Yard Act Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

09/06/2024 • 49:38

Tim Spector is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Head of the Department of Twin Research at King’s College London. He was one of the co-founders of the ZOE Covid Symptom study, which for which he was awarded an OBE. He has also written best-selling books about the relationship between what we eat and our health and well-being. Tim was born in London in 1958 into a medical family. His mother was a physiotherapist and his father was an eminent pathologist, although Tim initially resisted his father’s encouragement to follow him into medicine. Once qualified, Tim specialised in rheumatology before switching to epidemiology. In 1992, he set up a large-scale research study of twins which now has more than 15,000 identical and non-identical twins taking part.After a health scare in 2011, Tim became more interested in how we can influence the microbes in our gut to help us stay well. He has published several books on the science of eating well and is a pioneer in personalised food nutrition.Tim lives in London with his wife, who is also a doctor. DISC ONE: Life on Mars - David Bowie DISC TWO: Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 / Act 1 - 13. Dance Of The Knights Composed by Sergei Prokofiev and performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy DISC THREE: Paint it, Black - The Rolling Stones DISC FOUR: Dreams - Fleetwood Mac DISC FIVE: Puttin’ on the Ritz - Gene Wilder playing Dr Frankenstein, Peter Boyle as The Monster and Norbert Schiller as the announcer. Music conducted by John Morris from Young Frankenstein (Original Soundtrack) DISC SIX: All of Me (live) - Louis Armstrong DISC SEVEN: That’s Entertainment - The Jam DISC EIGHT: In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley BOOK CHOICE: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens LUXURY ITEM: A fermenting set CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: All of Me (live) - Louis Armstrong Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

27/04/2024 • 49:17

Professor Alice Roberts is one of the most popular science communicators in Britain today. As the presenter of the BBC archaeology programme Digging for Britain, she reveals the underground mysteries of our collective past to millions of viewers. Alice was born in Bristol and developed an interest in science from an early age – examining insects under her microscope in order to draw them and digging up bits of pottery in her parents’ vegetable patch. At the age of eight she was entranced as she watched a live feed which showed researchers at Bristol University unwrapping an Egyptian Mummy. Alice studied medicine in Cardiff and worked as a house officer doing paediatric surgery and then taught anatomy to students at Bristol University. She followed this up with a PhD in paleopathology, the study of disease in old bones, which led to her first television appearance as a bone expert on the Channel 4 series Time Team. Alice has written several books that explore human evolution and history and in 2012 she was appointed the first Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. DISC ONE: Monkey Gone to Heaven - Pixies DISC TWO: Temple of Love - Sisters of Mercy DISC THREE: Apotheosis - Austin Wintory DISC FOUR: Cherub Rock (2011 Remaster) - The Smashing Pumpkins DISC FIVE: Times Like These (BBC Radio 1 Stay Home Live Lounge) - Live Lounge Allstars DISC SIX: Sugar - System Of A Down DISC SEVEN: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. Composed by Ryuichi Sakomoto and performed by Phoebe Stevens DISC EIGHT: Coins for the Eyes - Johnny Flynn & Robert Macfarlane BOOK CHOICE: Middlemarch by George Eliot LUXURY ITEM: A kayak CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. Composed by Ryuichi Sakomoto and performed by Phoebe StevensPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

21/04/2024 • 36:56

Jenny Sealey has been the artistic director of Graeae Theatre Company since 1997: Graeae is a deaf and disabled-led company and a leader and innovator in accessible theatre. Jenny has directed opera as well as plays, and was the co-director of the 2012 Paralympic opening ceremony. Jenny was born in Nottingham in 1963, the eldest of four sisters. She lost her hearing at the age of seven following a fall at school in which she banged her head. At that time, deaf children were not encouraged to use British Sign Language, and so she taught herself to lip read, and stayed in a mainstream school, although she often found it challenging. She also continued to take ballet lessons, helped by an inspirational teacher who encouraged her to follow the form and movements of the dancer in front of her. She went on to study dance and choreography at Middlesex Polytechnic.After graduation, Jenny worked as an actor before becoming the artistic director of Graeae. In 2022 she was awarded an OBE for services to disability arts. Most recently she returned to acting and toured the UK with Self Raising, her one-woman autobiographical play. Jenny lives in London with her son and partner. DISC ONE: Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: No. 44, Chorus. Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth. Composed by George Frideric Handel and performed by The Sixteen Choir, conducted by Harry Christophers DISC TWO: Yesterday - The Beatles DISC THREE: Teenage Kicks - The Undertones DISC FOUR: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack DISC FIVE: Because The Night - Patti Smith Group DISC SIX: Spasticus Autisticus – John Kelly and the cast of Reasons to be Cheerful DISC SEVEN: If It Can't Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong – John Kelly and the cast of Graeae’s stage production of Reasons To Be Cheerful DISC EIGHT: Days – Kirsty MacCollBOOK CHOICE: The Complete Works of Armistead Maupin LUXURY ITEM: A photography kit CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: No. 44, Chorus. Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth. Composed by George Frideric Handel and performed by The Sixteen Choir, conducted by Harry Christophers Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

13/04/2024 • 34:47

James Graham is an award-winning dramatist whose plays include This House, Ink and Dear England starring Joseph Fiennes as the England football manager Gareth Southgate. His acclaimed television productions include Sherwood and Quiz, based on the story of the so-called coughing Major Charles Ingram who was found guilty of cheating on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? James was born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire in 1982. He was a shy boy who was encouraged to perform in school plays by his teachers. He went on to study drama at Hull University where he wrote his first play Coal Not Dole! He took the play to the Edinburgh fringe and the reception it received from audiences encouraged him to carry on writing.After graduating he worked as a stage doorkeeper at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham where one of his personal highlights was looking after Danny La Rue, the star of the Christmas panto. His first London premiere came in 2005 at the Finborough Theatre in London with Albert’s Boy, which explored the arguments for and against nuclear weapons. In 2020 James was awarded an OBE for services to drama and young people in British theatre. DISC ONE: Disco 2000 - Pulp DISC TWO: Chatanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller DISC THREE: Up In Arms - Foo Fighters DISC FOUR: Syncopes - Gabriel Yared DISC FIVE: Your Disco Needs You - Kylie Minogue DISC SIX: Where Are We Now? - David Bowie DISC SEVEN: If You Came To See Me Cry - Katie Brayben (from Tammy Faye: The Musical) DISC EIGHT: Going To A Town - Rufus Wainwright BOOK CHOICE: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking LUXURY ITEM: A keg of Single Malt Scotch Whisky CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Where Are We Now? - David Bowie Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

07/04/2024 • 50:35

The Honourable Lady Rita Rae is a lawyer and judge, and the current Rector of the University of Glasgow. Early in her career she was a rare woman in the heavily male-dominated legal world. She went on to work on many high profile criminal cases over five decades as a solicitor, an advocate and subsequently a judge in Scotland’s Supreme Court.Rita grew up in Plains, Airdrie, to the east of Glasgow. She was a shy child but earned the nickname ‘The Last Word’ from her parents because of her need to argue her case when she felt something wasn’t right. She was inspired to become a lawyer by her maternal grandfather, a noted advocate and anti-fascist from Naples.Her parents met in a munitions factory in Italy where her mother was working. Her father was a Scottish bomb disposal expert helping to dismantle munitions after the war. They married and moved to Scotland, but Rita and her brother were not accepted by her Scottish family because of their Catholicism. Rita became a solicitor in 1974, entering a world dominated by men. When told by a senior colleague that women were ‘emotionally unsuitable for court work’, she set about proving him wrong. She became a partner in her firm at the age of 27, and was called to the bar in 1982, one of just 13 female advocates in Scotland at the time. She was made a Sheriff in 1997 and a Judge of the Supreme Courts in 2014.In 2021 she was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow, the first female working rector in the university’s 570-year history.DISC ONE: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 - III. Allegro scherzando. Composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) and London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by André Previn DISC TWO: “Ah! Dite alla giovine” from Act 2 of La Traviata. Composed by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Angela Gheorghiu (soprano), Leo Nucci (baritone) and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Sir Georg Solti DISC THREE: Mamma - Beniamino Gigli DISC FOUR: Aranjuez mon amour - Massimo Ranieri DISC FIVE: Cheap Flights - Fascinating Aïda DISC SIX: “The Flower Song” (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetee”), Carmen, Act II. Composed by Georges Bizet, performed by José Carreras (tenor) and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Jacques Delacôte DISC SEVEN: Ave Maria. Composed by Giulio Caccini (Arr. Brinums) and performed by Inessa Galante (Soprano), Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aleksandrs Vilumanis DISC EIGHT: Climb Ev’ry Mountain - Peggy WoodBOOK CHOICE: The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and their Peoples by David Gilmour LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered car CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Mamma - Beniamino Gigli Presenter Lauren Laverne Producers Paula McGinley and Tim Bano

31/03/2024 • 38:15

Sandy Powell won her first Academy Award for dressing Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love, and has since won two more Oscars - along with a further dozen nominations - and three BAFTAs. Her credits range from Gangs of New York for Martin Scorsese to Mary Poppins Returns for Disney, and she's worked with many of the biggest current screen stars, including Leonardo di Caprio, Cate Blanchett and Al Pacino. Sandy was born in south London and completed an art foundation course at St Martin’s School of Art. In 1981 she got her first job designing costumes for the choreographer Lindsay Kemp’s show Nijinsky at La Scala in Milan. She later worked for the director Derek Jarman on his film Caravaggio and continued to collaborate with him until his death in 1994. She has also enjoyed long working relationships with Martin Scorsese and Todd Haynes. Sandy has won acclaim for her designs on films with historical settings, including The Wings of the Dove, The Young Victoria and The Favourite starring Olivia Colman, as well as the flamboyant glam rock world of Velvet Goldmine and the fairy-tale fantasy of Cinderella, starring Lily James. In 2011 she was awarded an OBE for services for the film industry and in 2023 she became the first costume designer to receive a BAFTA Fellowship. DISC ONE: Jeepster - T Rex DISC TWO: Adagietto, Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor. Composed by Gustav Mahler and performed by Orchestre de l'Académie de Santa Cécilia and conducted by Franco Mannino DISC THREE: Life on Mars? - David Bowie DISC FOUR: La Vie en Rose - Alan Dunn DISC FIVE: I’ll Never Fall in Love Again - Bobbi Gentry DISC SIX: Satellite of Love - Lou Reed DISC SEVEN: Where Love Lives (Come On In) - Alison Limerick DISC EIGHT: I Left My Heart in San Francisco - Tony BennettBOOK CHOICE: Josef Koudelka: Gypsies LUXURY ITEM: A lemon tree CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Life on Mars? - David BowiePresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

24/03/2024 • 36:04

Clive Oppenheimer is a volcanologist, filmmaker and Professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge. His research has taken him on expeditions across the world, from Antarctica, where he discovered the camp of Captain Scott’s attempt to reach the South Pole, to Ethiopia where he was held at gunpoint by rebels. Clive was born in London, and fell in love with rocks and the stories they tell on visits to what is now the Natural History Museum. His mother survived the Blitz in London and his father escaped persecution by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s. On a gap year trip to Indonesia, Clive saw his first volcanoes and realised both their natural power and their significance in human lives. He studied at the University of Cambridge, and completed a PhD at the Open University.He has taken part in and led expeditions to volcanoes all over the world, including Indonesia, Italy and Ethiopia. He is one of few Westerners to have worked in North Korea, where he was invited by the government to study volcanic activity at the culturally significant Mount Baekdu. He has also made three documentaries with filmmaker Werner Herzog about volcanoes and their scientific, cultural and spiritual significance. DISC ONE: Blue Rondo a la Turk - Dave Brubeck Quartet DISC TWO: Love Hangover - Diana Ross DISC THREE: Autobahn - Kraftwerk DISC FOUR: Lava - The B-52's DISC FIVE: Debaser - Pixies DISC SIX: Turangalîla-symphonie, Part VI Jardin du sommeil d’amour. Composed by Olivier Messiaen and performed by the Orchestre de l’Opéra Bastille, cond Myung-Whun Chung, with Yvonne Loriod (piano) and Jeanne Loriod (ondes martenot) DISC SEVEN: T’zeta - Bezawork Asfew DISC EIGHT: Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God - The Sixteen and Harry ChristophersBOOK CHOICE: The Vivisector by Patrick White LUXURY ITEM: A seismometer CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Debaser – PixiesPresenter Lauren Laverne Producers Sarah Taylor and Tim Bano

17/03/2024 • 38:02

Cillian Murphy has received global acclaim for his performance in the title role of Christopher Nolan’s epic film Oppenheimer. He has been nominated for an Oscar, which follows the best actor award he picked up at this year’s Golden Globes. On the small screen he played the Birmingham gangster Thomas Shelby for a decade in the BAFTA-winning Peaky Blinders, which made him a household name. Cillian was born in Cork in 1976 and initially music was his creative outlet. His band Sons of Mr Green Genes, which he formed with his younger brother, was offered a five album record deal, but the boys’ parents thought his brother was too young and vetoed a career in music.Cillian changed tack and in 1996 was cast as Pig in Enda Walsh’s play Disco Pigs, reprising the role in a film version in 2001. His breakthrough film role came playing Jim the bicycle courier in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later in 2002 which he followed up with a starring role in Ken Loach’s the Wind that Shakes the Barley. In 2005 he played Dr Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow - in Christopher Nolan’s film Batman Begins, which was the start of their continuing creative collaboration.Cillian lives in Ireland with his wife, the artist Yvonne McGuinness, and their two sons. DISC ONE: The Boy in the Bubble - Paul Simon DISC TWO: The Wandering Minstrel - Séamus Ennis DISC THREE: Walter’s Trip - The Frank and Walters DISC FOUR: Bullet the Blue Sky - U2 DISC FIVE: Somebody to Love - Queen DISC SIX: Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead DISC SEVEN: We Can Work it Out - The Beatles DISC EIGHT: If I Was A Painter - Lisa O’Neill BOOK CHOICE: Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works LUXURY ITEM: An acoustic guitar and strings CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: We Can Work it Out - The BeatlesPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

10/03/2024 • 35:47

Val Wilmer has photographed and interviewed many of the most significant musicians of the post-war years, including Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and many more. Val grew up in Streatham in South London, where a local record shop helped to nurture her love of music, especially jazz. Her lifelong passion for jazz and photography began at an early age: when she was just 14 years old, she persuaded her mother to take her to London Airport to see off the jazz legend Louis Armstrong who had been playing in the UK. She asked him for an autograph, then took a picture of him as he broke into a huge smile. The image was the first of many classic shots. Alongside her work as a photographer, Val has written extensively about music, as a journalist for numerous publications and as an author: her book As Serious As Your Life, examining the evolution of free jazz within the wider context of racial and sexual politics, has been widely acclaimed as a classic text. In 1983 she co-founded Format, the first all-female photographic agency, which aimed to champion women photographers and to widen the range of images available to newspapers and magazines. Her photographs are held in the collections of the V&A and the National Portrait Gallery. DISC ONE: Potato Head Blues - Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven DISC TWO: Black, Brown And White - Big Bill Broonzy DISC THREE: Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8_1. By Kodaly, First movement performed by Janos Starker DISC FOUR: The Weary Blues – Langston Hughes DISC FIVE: My Lovely Elizabeth - S.E. Rogie DISC SIX: Criss Cross - Thelonious Monk DISC SEVEN: Dogon A D - Julius Hemphill DISC EIGHT: Love and Affection - Joan Armatrading BOOK CHOICE: The Collective Works of Langston Hughes LUXURY ITEM: Nail scissors CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Criss Cross - Thelonious Monk Presenter Lauren Laverne Producers Tim Bano and Sarah Taylor

03/03/2024 • 38:32

Jamie Dornan is an actor who first came to the attention of television audiences in 2013 when he played serial killer Paul Spector in the BBC series the Fall. Two years later he starred alongside Dakota Johnson in the film Fifty Shades of Grey and went on to play the same part in the rest of the trilogy. In 2022 he was the lead in the BBC drama the Tourist which was watched by millions of viewers and recently returned for its second season.Jamie was born in Holywood in County Down. At 10 he played Widow Twankey in the school pantomime - a defining moment for him when he experienced the thrill of playing to a live audience.After dropping out of university Jamie became a model and worked on big campaigns for some leading fashion brands before landing his first acting part in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette in 2006. His role in the Fall was his big break and the Fifty Shades films catapulted him to movie star status.In 2021 he played Pa in the film Belfast which was written and directed by Kenneth Branagh about his own childhood, growing up at the beginning of the Troubles.Jamie is married to the musician and composer Amelia Warner and they have three children.DISC ONE: Caravan - Van Morrison DISC TWO: Violin Concerto No. 1: II. Composed by Philip Glass and performed by Adele Anthony (violin) and Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Takuo Yuasa DISC THREE: Hoppípolla - Sigur Rós DISC FOUR: Bridge over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel DISC FIVE: Metarie - Brendan Benson DISC SIX: Forever – The Beach Boys DISC SEVEN: Something - The Beatles DISC EIGHT: The Whole of the Moon – The WaterboysBOOK CHOICE: Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak LUXURY ITEM: A golf club and balls CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Forever – The Beach Boys Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

25/02/2024 • 36:23