Desert Island Discs

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Dr Oliver Sacks. Now a distinguished Professor of Neurology, he was immortalised by Robin Williams in the film Awakenings. Inspired by Dr Sacks' book of the same name, it tells the story of the summer of 1969, when the catatonic patients he was treating at the time responded to an apparent miracle drug and came alive. He'll be talking about the excitements and disappointments of that summer and also about some of the 100s of extraordinary case histories which have formed the basis of his many other books. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Chu Chin Chow Here Be Oysters by Martin Lawrence Book: Dictionary of Musical Themes Luxury: Scuba diving kit

Twenty-six years ago, the then Labour MP Jack Ashley entered a world of silence - a minor operation on his ears went disastrously wrong and he lost his hearing completely. But, thanks to a complex operation, Jack Ashley, now Lord Ashley, can hear the voices of his grandchildren for the first time.In Desert Island Discs this week he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the struggles of his early poverty-stricken years, the misery of losing his hearing, and the dogged determination which has earned him the reputation as one of Britain's best-known and best-loved campaigners for the disabled and disadvantaged. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus by George Frideric Handel Book: A Book About Warfare Luxury: Smoked salmon and wine

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the rock star Phil Collins. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his rise to fame as the lead singer of the group Genesis and his subsequent transition to a dazzling solo career. As someone who has sold over 35 million records worldwide, his success has brought him riches, and, apparently, happiness. He'll be discussing how the Mr Nice Guy of the rock world manages money, marriage and making music.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Helpless Heart by Paul Brady Book: Prehistory of the Far Side by Gary Larson Luxury: Piano

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is proud to describe himself as a playboy - he is Taki Theodoracopulos - the millionaire journalist who pens the Spectator's High Life column every week. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his boyhood in Greece, where his father was a self-made shipping magnate, his subsequent life of tennis and nightclubs with the international jet-set and the abrupt end to this existence when he spent two months in Pentonville Prison after being found in possession of cocaine at Heathrow Airport.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Lilli Marlene by German Soldiers Book: Essential Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway Luxury: Boxing punchbag

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week has been described by some critics as Britain's greatest living writer. Doris Lessing will be talking to Sue Lawley about her early life in Southern Rhodesia, from where she was eventually exiled because of what the authorities called her 'subversive activities'.She'll also be describing the bleak London where she arrived in 1950, clutching her small son, with 40 pounds in her pocket and the manuscript of her first novel, The Grass is Singing.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Tea For Two by Louis Armstrong & The All Stars Book: A Thousand and One Nights Luxury: Magic carpet

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Shirley-Anne Field. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her Dickensian upbringing in different children's homes in the North of England and her extraordinary success as an actress in the 1960s, when she starred in The Entertainer and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. She'll also be reminiscing about her friendship with John F Kennedy and an ill-fated date with Frank Sinatra.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Piano Concerto 1 in C by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Reader's Digest Luxury: Large Chippendale mirror

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week has just produced her first novel in her 80th year. Sybil Marshall will be talking to Sue Lawley about this achievement, about her life in her beloved Fenlands of East Anglia, and about the village school she ran which revolutionised primary-school teaching methods.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Exsultate Jubilate Hallelujah Chorus by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Luxury: Inexhaustible supply of laundered Swiss lawn handkerchiefs

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, Judge Stephen Tumim. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about many of the controversial issues surrounding the prison service today, as well as about his own private passions for books and painting.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Jerusalem by Blake/Parry Book: Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne Luxury: Marble bust of Laurence Sterne

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the disc jockey Kenny Everett. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his Merseyside childhood, his discovery of classical music and his dependence on radio, all of which led him to an anarchic and erratic career on television and radio. He'll also be discussing his unorthodox life which has encompassed a suicide attempt, drugs and the break-up of his 12-year marriage after he came out as a homosexual.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Symphonic Prelude by Giacomo Puccini Book: Eagle annual Luxury: Bathroom suite

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the present American Ambassador in London, Raymond Seitz. The first career diplomat ever to be appointed to the job, he'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he also scored a first by surviving the transition from President Bush to President Clinton earlier this year. He'll also be discussing the role of the American Ambassador in a shifting political climate and describing life in the Ambassador's residence, Winfield House in Regent's Park.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: Clarinet Quintet In A Major K581 Second Movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: The Oxford Anthology of Modern Poetry Luxury: Big box full of family albums