The BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs invites guests to choose eight pieces of music which they would take with them to a hypothetical desert island. They are also invited to select a book of their choosing (in addition to the Bible or a comparable religious text for the guest, and the complete works of William Shakespeare), and one luxury item (provided it is inanimate and would not help them escape the island). The following is a list of episodes that have been broadcast since 2021, detailing the guest on each episode, their chosen book, and their luxury item.
Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
---|---|---|---|
10 January 2021 | David Olusoga | The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell: An Age Like This, 1920–40 | Acoustic guitar [1] |
17 January 2021 | Samantha Power | The Irish Times Book of Favourite Irish Poems by Colm Tóibín | A guitar [2] |
24 January 2021 | Tim Peake | An atlas | A telescope [3] |
31 January 2021 | Monica Galetti | The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde | Scuba diving gear [4] |
7 February 2021 | George McGavin | A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor | Hot sauce [5] |
14 February 2021 | Malala Yousafzai | Complete Works of Plato | Lip balm [6] |
21 February 2021 | Sophia Loren | Letters from a Young Father by Edoardo Ponti | A pizza oven [7] |
28 February 2021 | Claire Horton | A book by Dick Francis | A piano and sheet music [8] |
7 March 2021 | Mark Strong | Magnum Streetwise: The Ultimate Collection of Street Photography | A wind up radio [9] |
14 March 2021 | Dame Louise Casey | The collected works of Jane Austen | A supply of wine [10] |
21 March 2021 | Maggie O'Farrell | Selected Stories by Alice Munro | National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology [11] |
28 March 2021 | Professor Sir Simon Wessely | A Teach Yourself Russian book | A Viennese café [12] |
9 May 2021 | Billie Piper | The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy | Her children's art work [13] |
16 May 2021 | Brian Greene | Philosophical Explanations by Robert Nozick | A solar powered particle collider [14] |
23 May 2021 | Alexei Sayle | The Sword of Honour Trilogy by Evelyn Waugh | A Chinese Broadsword [15] |
30 May 2021 | Amanda Khozi Mukwashi | Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson | Quality Street chocolates [16] |
6 June 2021 | Heather Hallett | Inspector Morse Mystery Series Collection by Colin Dexter | A solar-powered iPad [17] |
13 June 2021 | Yo-Yo Ma | Encyclopaedia Britannica | A Swiss Army knife [18] |
20 June 2021 | Richard Wilson | The poetry of Robert Burns | A subscription to The Guardian newspaper [19] |
27 June 2021 | Margaret Busby | Return to My Native Land by Aimé Césaire | An endless supply of Ghanaian chocolate [20] |
4 July 2021 | Paul Costelloe | Reynard the Fox by Anne Louise Avery | A painting kit [21] |
11 July 2021 | Professor Noel Fitzpatrick | Oscar Wilde: Essays and Letters, Plays and Poems, Stories | A guitar [22] |
18 July 2021 | Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill | The Wonders of Life by Professor Brian Cox | A photo album [23] |
25 July 2021 | Robert Macfarlane | Collected works of Gerard Manley Hopkins | A chilli plant [24] |
1 August 2021 | Nazir Afzal | To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee | A guitar [25] |
12 September 2021 | Michael Holding | Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela | A football [26] |
19 September 2021 | Baroness Hale of Richmond | A Desert Island survival manual | A solar-powered computer with sudoku puzzles and a writing application [27] |
26 September 2021 | Tracey Ullman | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend | Nuts [28] |
3 October 2021 | Tom Ilube | The Wormwood Trilogy by Tade Thompson | A solar-powered puzzle generator, designed by Tom [29] |
10 October 2021 | Dame Sarah Connolly | The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter | A grand piano with a tuning kit [30] |
17 October 2021 | Deborah Meaden | A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor | A sketch book and pencil [31] |
24 October 2021 | Michael Sandel | The Collected Dialogues of Plato | Binoculars [32] |
31 October 2021 | Peter Schmeichel | The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) | His guitar [33] |
7 November 2021 | Joanne Harris | The Collected Works of Victor Hugo | Her own shed [34] |
19 November 2021 | Dame Jo da Silva | The Boardman Tasker Omnibus by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker | A charpoi (traditional Indian rope bed) [35] |
21 November 2021 | Carl Hester | The Centenary Book of Sark: a history and description of the artist William A Toplis by Chris Andrews, Fiona Kelly and Amy McKee | His own pillow [36] |
28 November 2021 | Neil Gaiman | The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe | A Victorian accounts ledger, a fountain pen and an unlimited supply of ink [37] |
5 December 2021 | Helen Macdonald | The Karla Trilogy by John le Carré | Luxury bedding [38] |
12 December 2021 | Jack Thorne | Miller Plays: 1 by Arthur Miller | TV with Channel 4 archive only [39] |
19 December 2021 | Dame Prue Leith | Ulysses by James Joyce | Writing materials [40] |
26 December 2021 | Richard Osman | Hercule Poirot: the Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie | A pad of paper, a pen and dice [41] |
Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
---|---|---|---|
8 January 2023 | Sir Malcolm Walker | Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe | A cast iron cooking pot [83] |
15 January 2023 | Gabby Logan | Every Ruddy Word by Alan Partridge | A piano [84] |
22 January 2023 | Michael Pollan | Ulysses by James Joyce | Dark chocolate [85] |
29 January 2023 | Professor Corinne Le Quéré | World Atlas of the Oceans by Dave Monahan | A mask and snorkel [86] |
5 February 2023 | Lesley Manville | A Botanical Encyclopedia | A bed with linen, duvet and pillows [87] |
12 February 2023 | David Sedaris | A German dictionary | Pencils and paper [88] |
19 February 2023 | Jenny Beavan | The Complete Novels of Jane Austen | A cello [89] |
26 February 2023 | Sonia Boyce | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl | Champagne [90] |
5 March 2023 | Robert Webb | Cultural Amnesia by Clive James | Top hat and tails [91] |
12 March 2023 | Amanda Blanc | Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | A photo album [92] |
19 March 2023 | Liz Carr | The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | A pair of ruby slippers [93] |
26 March 2023 | Dara Ó Briain | The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman | Astrophotography equipment [94] |
7 May 2023 | Professor Peter Hennessy | Poetry in the Making by Ted Hughes | A fountain pen, ink and paper [95] |
14 May 2023 | Simon Pegg | The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks | A coffee maker [96] |
21 May 2023 | Professor Sharon Peacock | The Oxford Textbook of Medicine | A projector and photos [97] |
28 May 2023 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn | A painting set [98] |
4 June 2023 | Jeremy Bowen | The Complete Novels of George Orwell | A manual typewriter [99] |
11 June 2023 | Claudia Rankine | As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner | A solar powered television, playing tennis matches [100] |
18 June 2023 | Adam Kay | York Notes for the Complete Works of Shakespeare | A diary and pen [101] |
25 June 2023 | Kate Mosse | Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot | A jukebox [102] |
2 July 2023 | Stanley Tucci | Westward Ha! by S.J. Perelman | Art supplies [103] |
9 July 2023 | Peter Doig | A scrapbook | A cutlass [104] |
16 July 2023 | Jill Scott | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend | A notebook and pens [105] |
23 July 2023 | Simon Woolley | Football in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano | A razor blade [106] |
30 July 2023 | Toto Wolff | The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas | Diving fins and a mask [107] |
6 August 2023 | Shirley Collins | A collection of Brodie detective novels by Kate Atkinson | A solar powered fridge filled with Italian ice cream and two lipsticks [108] |
17 September 2023 | Adrian Edmondson | Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett | A tab of acid [109] |
24 September 2023 | Lucinda Russell | Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery by Andris J. Kaneps, Kenneth William Hinchcliff, and Raymond J. Geor | A camper van [110] |
1 October 2023 | Katherine Ryan | The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler | A hat and skincare set [111] |
8 October 2023 | Greg Jackson | The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'Brien | A pinball machine [112] |
15 October 2023 | Dame Donna Langley | Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez | Tarot cards [113] |
22 October 2023 | Patrick Grant | Green Woodwork: Working with Wood the Natural Way by Mike Abbott | A complete set of woodworking tools [114] |
29 October 2023 | Professor Dame Lesley Regan | The Works of George Eliot | Marmite on toast [115] |
5 November 2023 | Lea Salonga | The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson | Typewriter [116] |
17 November 2023 | Peter White | The 1962 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack | Pear drops [117] |
19 November 2023 | Pia Sinha | A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry | Chilli sauce [118] |
26 November 2023 | Dr Nicola Fox | Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan | Lego [119] |
3 December 2023 | Marina Abramović | In Search of the Miraculous by Peter D. Ouspensky | A cashmere blanket [120] |
10 December 2023 | Shirley Ballas | Unleash the Power Within by Tony Robbins | Cotton knickers [121] |
17 December 2023 | Greta Gerwig | The Complete Poems: Emily Dickinson | A writing set [122] |
24 December 2023 | Delia Smith CH CBE | Sister Wendy’s 100 Best-loved Paintings by Wendy Beckett | The Desert Island Discs archive [123] |
Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
---|---|---|---|
5 January 2025 | Mark-Anthony Turnage | Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier | A grand piano and tuning kit [156] |
12 January 2025 | Laurie Anderson | Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov | A dog collar [157] |
19 January 2025 | Harriet Wistrich | Middlemarch by George Eliot | A fridge with an endless supply of white wine [158] |
26 January 2025 | Nick Cave | The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi | A suit [159] |
2 February 2025 | Nemone Lethbridge | The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam | A doll [160] |
9 February 2025 | Stephen Mangan | Collected Works of Seamus Heaney | A piano [161] |