Desert Island Discs

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the actor and singer Michael Ball. For more than 20 years he's been the West End's leading man - winning stacks of awards, building a hugely successful recording career and attracting a large and loyal army of fans.He was a teenage drop-out, but when a teacher encouraged him to go to drama school he suddenly realised what he wanted to do. Success seemed to come easily to him and he quickly took on leading roles in Les Miserables, Aspects of Love and Phantom of the Opera. But at one point he feared he would have to abandon his career; he was on stage performing in Les Miserables when he suffered his first panic attack. They became so severe that he could barely leave his flat and he hated the thought of anyone looking at him. He shut himself away for nearly a year as he tried to work out what was wrong with him and overcome his anxieties.In Desert Island Discs he describes how he managed to return to the stage - and reveals the role his partner, Cathy McGowan, has played in rebuilding his confidence.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Sailing By by Ronald Binge Book: The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman Luxury: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough district of New Zealand.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the broadcaster David Dimbleby. When he was born, in 1938, his father Richard was already a national institution. Richard recorded reports from bombers flying over Germany, went to Belsen at the end of the war and, of course, commentated on the funeral of King George VI and subsequent coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In Desert Island Discs, David tells Kirsty how his father had tried to steer him away from journalism. But he believes that it is a job that is addictive and so it was perhaps inevitable that he would become part of the fifth generation of Dimblebys to pursue a career in the media.He is best known for the big state events - he has anchored the BBC's general election coverage since 1979 and commentated during the funerals of both Princess Diana and the Queen Mother - throughout them all, he says, his method is not to think of the audience of millions, but instead to imagine himself sitting on a sofa, next to just one viewer, saying as little as he needs to in order to explain what is happening.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Song that You'd Like by Kate Dimbleby Band Book: Collected essays by Michel de Montaigne Luxury: A collection of drawing books, pencils and varnish.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Professor Sir Martin Evans. He is known as the grandfather of embryonic stem-cell research because of the breakthrough he made more than 25 years ago to first isolate the stem cells of mice and then cultivate them in a laboratory. After that leap forward, he worked alongside his fellow Nobel laureates Oliver Smithies and Mario Capecchi to develop the Knock-Out Mouse - a mouse that has had part of its genetic code disabled so the effect on the animal can be studied. The Knock-Out Mouse has become a scientific tool used the world over - and has vastly increased the amount of knowledge we have about how the human body works.Brought up on the outskirts of London with enthusiastic and encouraging parents, he says that he was always fascinated by science. But, although he was a bright pupil, he was a shy boy and not the kind of student to walk away with glittering prizes.He was within months of retiring when he got the call, last October, that he had been awarded the greatest honour in science - the Nobel Prize - since then life has been busier than ever and now, he says, he is determined to use his status to try to encourage children to study science, so that they too can be enthused at the miracles of the world around us and the worlds within.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Their Sound is Gone Out in All Lands by George Frideric Handel Book: Largest anthology of poetry possible Luxury: A microscope, equipment and a stack of notebooks.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Oleg Gordievsky. He is the highest-ranking KGB officer ever to become a spy for the British. The insights he gave into the Soviet hierarchy and culture over the course of 10 years were so significant that, according to some, he did more than any other individual in the West to hasten the demise of the communist regime. A bright pupil with an aptitude for languages, he joined the KGB's diplomatic corps thinking it would allow him to travel and fulfil his interest in politics. But he was first enchanted by the liberty enjoyed in the West and then so horrified by the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia that he started to feed information to MI6.He risked his life for a decade, but in 1985 he was recalled to Moscow - his cover had been blown and he realised he had just weeks to live. An incredible escape plan was activated and, after shaking off the KGB surveillance teams that followed him everywhere, he escaped by tram, train and bus to the border with Finland - where British agents bundled him into the boot of a car and carried him to freedom.Now, his life is in Britain - he has married a British woman and his courage has been recognised through the honours system. But he believes his existence is a precarious one - after the death of his friend Alexander Litvinenko last year he has felt increasingly worried about his own safety and believes Britain is no longer the safe haven it once was.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Erbarme Dich by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica Luxury: Good toiletries for my bath.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the writer Dame Beryl Bainbridge. She grew up in Liverpool - in a home filled with acrimony and argument - and started writing when she was still a child. Her only ambition, she says, was to get married and have a 'proper' family, but when her first two children were still young, her marriage broke down and she turned to writing once again. She believes she finds inspiration from the trouble and friction of everyday life and that if her marriage hadn't failed, she would have been too happy to write another word. Now she is one of our most respected authors. She has written 17 novels and countless articles, screenplays and television plays. She's won armfuls of awards too - but, despite being shortlisted five times, she's never won the Booker prize. She doesn't mind not winning, she says, but she would like to be the writer who has had the most nominations.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Can I Forget You? by Richard Tauber Book: The Case Books by John Hunter Luxury: Pens and Paper.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the former diplomat, traveller and writer, Rory Stewart. His life has been part establishment convention, part wild adventure. He went to Eton, Oxford and then joined the Foreign Office, but along the way spent part of his childhood running wild in the jungles of Malaysia. He was based in Kosovo during the Nato campaign and, at the age of 29, turned up in Iraq and volunteered to help in the rebuilding work. He ended up running one of the provinces. He remains fiercely critical of the war and has written a well-received book about his experiences there. The event that has changed his outlook on life was the decision he made to walk 6,000 miles across Asia. It took the best part of two years and throughout the journey he relied on the hospitality of villagers to give him food and shelter. Now he spends most of his time in Kabul where he has set up a charity to support traditional Afghan crafts, but he says his next move is to return to Britain where he wants to understand more about how our society works and attempt, he says, to 'normalise' himself.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Die Forelle by Franz Schubert Book: A parallel text of the Bhagvad Gita Luxury: A ceramic bowl from the village of Istalif in Afghanistan.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Sir Simon Rattle. For the past five years he has been Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic - regarded by many as the finest symphony orchestra in the world. He is only the sixth person to hold the position in 120 years and is the first Briton to take on the challenge. Growing up in Liverpool in the 1960s, while other youngsters were listening to The Beatles, he was transfixed by Mahler and was determined to become a conductor. His talent was prodigious. He won an international conducting competition aged just 19 and so, with plenty of enthusiasm but scant experience, began his career. Initially because of his youth, his approach was collaborative rather than autocratic and it has been a style that brought tremendous results during his 18-year association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He insists that his approach with the Berlin Philharmonic is about teamwork too - but concedes that it is an orchestra that contains some very strong characters and very big egos. He tells Kirsty how, choosing his Desert Island Discs, he has been drawn towards music that expressed joy and pain in equal measure.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Scherza Infida from Ariodante by George Frideric Handel Book: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Luxury: Italian coffee machine and grinder.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the broadcaster and journalist John Humphrys. For 21 years he has been at the helm of Today, Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme. Millions of devoted listeners enjoy his tenacious interviewing style - and it's won him a healthy respect from politicians too. Not all are supporters though; Jonathan Aitken accused him of "poisoning the well of democratic debate" - an attack which he initially thought would cost him his career. Now, his life is dominated not only by the alarm bell - which is set for 3.58am - but by his youngest son, Owen. When John Humphrys describes the joy and warmth the seven-year-old has brought him, he becomes, if only temporarily, lost for words.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Opening of Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar Book: Biggest poetry anthology possible Luxury: A cello.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the businesswoman Karren Brady. She is known as the First Lady of Football - and it's a moniker that is well earned. When she became Managing Director of Birmingham City she was just 23 years old, the club was languishing in the second division and it was in dire financial straits. Fifteen years later, and it is in the Premier League and is one of the few clubs to turn a healthy profit. Along the way Karren has married one of her players, had two children and overcome a life-threatening brain condition. She has always, she says, relied on her enthusiasm, determination and strength of character to see her through.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Luxury: My own pillow.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Victoria Wood. For decades she has been one of our best-loved writers and performers. The television series she's made - including Acorn Antiques, Dinnerladies and Housewife 49 - have won her a devoted following as well as stacks of awards. But, in a moving and open interview, she describes how, as a teenager, she felt she was a misfit - she had few friends, she struggled with her weight and at school she used to steal other people's homework. She joined a youth theatre and it was, she says, the saving of her. She found like-minded people and a sense that she had something to offer.She is very careful about how much of her own life she puts into her work. She doesn't mind saying she cuts her pubic hair with nail-scissors, but rarely discusses her children on the stage. Now she is embarking on her next project. She says she is too anxious to talk about it, except to say it will look at the life of a middle-aged woman whose marriage has foundered.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: What a Fool Believes by The Doobie Brothers Book: A big book by Charles Dickens Luxury: A bumper book of Sudoku with blank pages & pens.