Desert Island Discs BBC Radio 4

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.

Lauren Laverne talks to the actor and director Samantha Morton in a programme first broadcast in 2020.

Kirsty Young talks to the musician and Rolling Stones member Keith Richards in a programme first broadcast in 2015.

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.

Tim Spector is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Head of the Department of Twin Research at King’s College London. He was one of the co-founders of the ZOE Covid Symptom study, which for which he was awarded an OBE. He has also written best-selling books about the relationship between what we eat and our health and well-being.
Tim was born in London in 1958 into a medical family. His mother was a physiotherapist and his father was an eminent pathologist, although Tim initially resisted his father’s encouragement to follow him into medicine. Once qualified, Tim specialised in rheumatology before switching to epidemiology. In 1992, he set up a large-scale research study of twins which now has more than 15,000 identical and non-identical twins taking part.
After a health scare in 2011, Tim became more interested in how we can influence the microbes in our gut to help us stay well. He has published several books on the science of eating well and is a pioneer in personalised food nutrition.
Tim lives in London with his wife, who is also a doctor.
DISC ONE: Life on Mars - David Bowie
DISC TWO: Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 / Act 1 - 13. Dance Of The Knights Composed by Sergei Prokofiev and performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy
DISC THREE: Paint it, Black - The Rolling Stones
DISC FOUR: Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
DISC FIVE: Puttin’ on the Ritz - Gene Wilder playing Dr Frankenstein, Peter Boyle as The Monster and Norbert Schiller as the announcer. Music conducted by John Morris from Young Frankenstein (Original Soundtrack)
DISC SIX: All of Me (live) - Louis Armstrong
DISC SEVEN: That’s Entertainment - The Jam
DISC EIGHT: In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
BOOK CHOICE: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
LUXURY ITEM: A fermenting set
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: All of Me (live) - Louis Armstrong

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

Professor Alice Roberts is one of the most popular science communicators in Britain today. As the presenter of the BBC archaeology programme Digging for Britain, she reveals the underground mysteries of our collective past to millions of viewers.
Alice was born in Bristol and developed an interest in science from an early age – examining insects under her microscope in order to draw them and digging up bits of pottery in her parents’ vegetable patch. At the age of eight she was entranced as she watched a live feed which showed researchers at Bristol University unwrapping an Egyptian Mummy.
Alice studied medicine in Cardiff and worked as a house officer doing paediatric surgery and then taught anatomy to students at Bristol University. She followed this up with a PhD in paleopathology, the study of disease in old bones, which led to her first television appearance as a bone expert on the Channel 4 series Time Team.
Alice has written several books that explore human evolution and history and in 2012 she was appointed the first Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham.
DISC ONE: Monkey Gone to Heaven - Pixies
DISC TWO: Temple of Love - Sisters of Mercy
DISC THREE: Apotheosis - Austin Wintory
DISC FOUR: Cherub Rock (2011 Remaster) - The Smashing Pumpkins
DISC FIVE: Times Like These (BBC Radio 1 Stay Home Live Lounge) - Live Lounge Allstars
DISC SIX: Sugar - System Of A Down
DISC SEVEN: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. Composed by Ryuichi Sakomoto and performed by Phoebe Stevens
DISC EIGHT: Coins for the Eyes - Johnny Flynn & Robert Macfarlane
BOOK CHOICE: Middlemarch by George Eliot
LUXURY ITEM: A kayak
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. Composed by Ryuichi Sakomoto and performed by Phoebe Stevens
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley