Desert Island Discs BBC Radio 4
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- Society & Culture
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Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
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Greg Davies, comedian
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 -
Classic Desert Island Discs - Yoko Ono
Kirsty Young talks to the artist Yoko Ono in a programme first broadcast in 2007.
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Benjamin Zephaniah
Sue Lawley talks to the poet Benjamin Zephaniah in a programme first broadcast in 1997. Benjamin Zephaniah died in January 2024 at the age of 65.
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Samantha Morton
Lauren Laverne talks to the actor and director Samantha Morton in a programme first broadcast in 2020.
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Keith Richards
Kirsty Young talks to the musician and Rolling Stones member Keith Richards in a programme first broadcast in 2015.
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Annie Nightingale
Lauren Laverne talks to the broadcaster Annie Nightingale in a programme first broadcast in 2020. Annie Nightingale died in January 2024 at the age of 83.
Customer Reviews
Kirsty lacked compassion
I agree with some reviews I’ve read. I thought some of Kristy’s interviews were biased and lacked compassion when she obviously disliked who she was interviewing. She was also star struck by some A lister actors which I didn’t like.
Well done Lauren - I love your style!
Every show is a fantastic listen!
I absolutely LOVE DID. I find it soothing to listen to & very interesting at the same time. Well done, you are great company for me. 🙌
Better than ever!
Dare I say it and I whole heartily believe this to be true as I’ve been listening to DID for decades. I think Lauren has surpassed Kirsty Young in being the interviewer. Lauren is more compassionate & gentle with her interview and I think engages with her interviewee better. Well done Lauren! I absolutely loved hearing Jenny Searley and Alice Roberts lately. Keep up the good work!