Desert Island Discs

Adrian Edmondson first shot to national fame in 1982, playing the studded punk Vyvyan in the TV sitcom The Young Ones, set in a seedy student flat. The cast largely came from the developing alternative comedy scene, and included Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle. Adrian was born in Bradford in 1957. He spent time as a child in Cyprus, Bahrain and Uganda, following his father who worked as a teacher for the armed forces. He attended a boarding school in Yorkshire from the age of 11, where he often rebelled against its rules and restrictions, but enjoyed performing in school plays. He headed to Manchester University to study drama, where he soon met Rik Mayall. They bonded over their shared interests in comedy, double acts, violent slapstick and the plays of Samuel Beckett. It was the start of a long performing partnership and friendship, which included the anarchic TV comedy and long-running touring show Bottom and a production of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot on the West End stage.Adrian has also worked widely as an actor and musician, including an acclaimed appearance as Scrooge for the RSC, and performances with the reunited Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Adrian married Jennifer Saunders in 1985, and they have three daughters.DISC ONE: Downtown - Petula Clark DISC TWO: A Song of the Weather - Flanders & Swann DISC THREE: Sugar, Sugar - The Archies DISC FOUR: On My Radio - The Selecter DISC FIVE: Jole Blon - Vin Bruce DISC SIX: Saturday Gigs - Mott the Hoople DISC SEVEN: I’m Bored - Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band DISC EIGHT: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks)BOOK CHOICE: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett LUXURY ITEM: A tab of acid CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Wide Open Spaces - The Chicks Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Renowned folk singer Shirley Collins shares her experiences in the British folk music scene, her collaborations with other musicians, and her triumphant return to music after a long silence. She discusses her love for folk music, her travels to America to record blues and folk musicians, and her journey from voice disorder to finding her voice again in her 80s. Shirley also reveals her favorite songs and her luxury item for a desert island.

Toto Wolff, CEO and Team Principal of the Mercedes Formula 1 motor racing team, discusses his journey in motorsport, personal struggles, and leadership. From his childhood adversity to his entrepreneurial success and transition to team management, Toto shares his insights. He reflects on the impact of family struggles, his love for racing, and the challenges he faced as a driver. Toto also discusses his perception of emotions, relationships, and intensity. A fascinating glimpse into the life of one of Formula 1's most successful managers.

Simon Woolley, first black man to head an Oxbridge college, discusses founding Operation Black Vote, the power of voting, and the importance of character and values. He shares his approach to being cast away on an island and his final choice of song, revealing a life filled with joy and love.

Jill Scott is the second most capped England footballer ever, playing for her country 161 times. Before her retirement last year, she played in ten major international tournaments and was part of the England team who beat Germany to win the 2022 European Championships.Jill was born and brought up in Sunderland, and excelled in a range of sports from an early age. She won the London mini-marathon when she was 14 but her heart was in football. She played for a boys junior football team until she was asked to leave when she was nine years old. Fortunately her mother found a girls team for her. She began her senior career when she was a teenager, initially playing for Sunderland before moving on to Everton and then Manchester City, where she won all the domestic trophies. She was renowned as a highly competitive midfield player, who scored 27 goals for England. She lives in Manchester with her partner Shelly, where they co-own a coffee shop. .DISC ONE: (Something Inside) So Strong - Labi Siffre DISC TWO: So Good - Boyzone DISC THREE: Step by Step - Whitney Houston DISC FOUR: Sunday Morning - Maroon 5 DISC FIVE: The Climb - Miley Cyrus DISC SIX: My Love is Your Love - Whitney Houston DISC SEVEN: Mysterious Girl - Peter Andre DISC EIGHT: Sweet Caroline - Neil DiamondBOOK CHOICE: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend LUXURY ITEM: A notebook and pens CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Climb - Miley CyrusPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Peter Doig is one of Britain’s most successful living artists. His paintings have been exhibited at major galleries around the world, winning wide critical acclaim and selling for tens of millions of pounds at auction, setting sales records. Peter was born in Edinburgh in 1959, but grew up in Trinidad and Canada, where his father had chosen to work. Peter was partly educated at a Scottish boarding school, but didn't enjoy the experience. He returned to Canada, dropped out of education, and at the age of 17 found work on a gas rig in the rural west. He decided to move to London, largely attracted by the post-punk music scene, and from 1979 until the late 1980s, he trained as a painter at art schools in the capital, as well as spending time back in Canada. While his contemporaries among young British artists in the 1990s often created large-scale installations, sculptures or videos, Peter dedicated himself to painting, often working with very large canvases, creating atmospheric, mysterious landscapes acclaimed for their use of colour.In 2002, echoing his own childhood, he and his family moved to Trinidad, where he set up his studio. The island became his main home for almost two decades, before he moved to London in 2021. Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Stanley Tucci is an actor, director and writer who is known for his roles in a broad range of feature films including the Devil Wears Prada, Julie and Julia and the Hunger Games. More recently he has whetted the appetites of television viewers with his food and travel series Searching for Italy.Stanley’s grandparents left Calabria in southern Italy for a new life in America, where his parents were born. Stanley himself was born in Peekskill, New York, and grew up in the nearby hamlet of Katonah. He studied drama at the State University of New York and in 1985 made his debut in John Huston’s film Prizzi’s Honour. In 1996 he co-wrote, co-directed and starred in Big Night about two brothers who run a struggling Italian restaurant. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film Festival. In 2002 he starred in Sam Mendes’s Road to Perdition and he played a serial killer in Peter Jackson’s film the Lovely Bones. He published his first cookbook in 2012.Stanley lives in London with his wife, the literary agent Felicity Blunt, and their family.DISC ONE: Let It Be - The Beatles DISC TWO: Compared to What (Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival) - Les McCann & Eddie Harris DISC THREE: Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622 - II. Adagio. Performed by Karl Leister (clarinet) and Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner DISC FOUR: The Weakness in Me - Joan Armatrading DISC FIVE: What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong DISC SIX: Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH 48 - I. Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo - Allegro moderato. Performed by Berliner Philharmoniker and conducted by Herbert von Karajan DISC SEVEN: A Foggy Day (In London Town) - Frank Sinatra DISC EIGHT: Not Dark Yet - Bob Dylan BOOK CHOICE: Westward Ha! by S J Perelman LUXURY ITEM: Art supplies CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Kate Mosse OBE is a British novelist and broadcaster. She is the author of ten novels and short story collections, including The Joubert Family Chronicles and the best-selling Languedoc Trilogy. She has also written four works of non-fiction including her memoir about caring, An Extra Pair of Hands. In 1996 she co-founded the Women’s Prize for Fiction.Born in Chichester, she studied English at Oxford University and had a very successful career in publishing before writing her first book about pregnancy. Her novel, Labyrinth, published in 1995 and set in Carcasonne, became an international bestseller which enabled her to give up her publishing job and write full time.Kate lives in Chichester with her husband, Greg Mosse, and her mother-in-law, Grannie Rosie. She is a Visiting Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, a Patron of the Chichester Festival for Music, Dance and Speech, and President of the Festival of Chichester.She was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to literature and women.DISC ONE: Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens DISC TWO: These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra DISC THREE: Station to Station - David Bowie DISC FOUR: Walls Come Tumbling Down - The Style Council DISC FIVE: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor DISC SIX: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83. Composed by Maurice Ravel. Performed by Martha Argerich and London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Claudio Abbado DISC SEVEN: Dancing Queen - Abba DISC EIGHT: La chanson des vieux amants - Jacques Brel BOOK CHOICE: Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot LUXURY ITEM: A jukebox CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83, composed by Maurice Ravel and performed by Martha Argerich and London Symphony Orchestra Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Sarah Taylor

Adam Kay is a writer whose memoir This is Going to Hurt; Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor won the Book of the Year prize at the National Book Awards and has sold over three million copies. It was adapted for television as a BBC series that won four BAFTAs this year, including Adam’s award for best drama writer.Adam was born in Brighton in 1980 and studied medicine at Imperial College London. In 2004 he started working as a junior doctor, specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology. In 2010 he left medicine following a catastrophic incident in surgery.He had kept a diary throughout his medical career, partly to help cope with the long shifts and stressful environment that came with life as a hospital doctor. In 2016 Adam read from his diaries for a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the positive reception he received from audiences encouraged him to use them as the basis for a memoir. The book became a publishing sensation, and Adam has published further books and enjoyed considerable success with his live performances. Adam lives in Oxfordshire with his husband James. DISC ONE: Chopsticks - Liberace DISC TWO: Mis-shapes - Pulp DISC THREE: Chopin: Waltz No. 14 in E Minor, Op. posth. (no intro) Composed by Frédéric Chopin and performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy DISC FOUR: Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat - Stubby Kaye, Original Cast Chorus (from Guys and Dolls) DISC FIVE: Forgot About Dre - Dr Dre & Eminem DISC SIX: Poisoning Pigeons - Tom Lehrer DISC SEVEN: A Lady of a Certain Age - The Divine Comedy DISC EIGHT: San Diego Serenade - Tom WaitsBOOK CHOICE: York Notes for the Complete Works of Shakespeare LUXURY ITEM: A diary and pen CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: San Diego Serenade - Tom WaitsPresenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Claudia Rankine is a poet, essayist and playwright. She is best known for her book Citizen: An American Lyric which combines short stories about everyday injustices experienced by people of colour with poems telling the stories of black men who died during confrontations with the police. The book won several awards in the US and the UK’s Forward Prize for best collection in 2015. Claudia was born in Kingston, Jamaica and at seven followed her parents to New York City where they had emigrated some years before. After graduating from university in 1993, she won a poetry prize for her thesis which became her first book – Nothing in Nature is Private. In addition to her poetry Claudia has written three plays and has taught at several universities including Yale and New York University. In 2016 she won a prestigious ‘Genius Grant’ from the MacArthur Fellowship which celebrates intellectual and artistic achievement and awards its winners hundreds of thousands of dollars. She used the money to co-found the Racial Imaginary Institute which interrogates notions of race and whiteness.Claudia lives in Connecticut with her husband, the photographer and filmmaker John Lucas.DISC ONE: Good as Hell - Lizzo DISC TWO: Stir It Up - Bob Marley & The Wailers DISC THREE: Nightshift - Commodores DISC FOUR: More Than This - Roxy Music DISC FIVE: Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (I Love You Baby) - Lauryn Hill DISC SIX: Kiss - Prince & The Revolution DISC SEVEN: My Favorite Things - John Coltrane DISC EIGHT: The Rhythm Of The Night - CoronaBOOK CHOICE: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner LUXURY ITEM: A solar powered television, playing tennis matches CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Good as Hell - Lizzo Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley