Some Desert Island Discs programmes only exist in their incomplete form. They may be missing interview content or the musical choices. Where possible, the missing music has been rebuilt using discs from the BBC Gramophone Library. This collection comprises fragments from 1970-86.
Julian Bream
Julian Bream first played the guitar on radio in Children's Hour when he was only 13. This led to guest appearances in a series on the Light Programme, and so his career took off. Before long he also took up the lute and played his part in the revival of interest in early music. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his long career and chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
7/9/1983 • 32 minutes, 49 seconds
Rosamond Lehmann
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Rosamond Lehmann.
Favourite track: Nunc Dimittis by Burgon
Book: Letters by Marquise de Sevigne
Luxury: Writing Materials
11/13/1982 • 29 minutes, 29 seconds
N.Busch, J.Kuchmy, M.Parry, M.Wilson
Roy Plomley's castaways are members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Book: Books by Hector Berlioz, Charles Dickens, Hugh Johnson and a cookery book
Luxury: Razor and shaving soap, a video player with a tape of Laurel & Hardy, wine and a violin
10/9/1982 • 31 minutes, 5 seconds
Helene Hanff
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Helene Hanff.
Favourite track: In Tears Of Grief by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Memoirs by Louis De Rouvroy
Luxury: Scrabble
12/19/1981 • 32 minutes, 38 seconds
Alan Howard
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Alan Howard.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 15 In D by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Piano manual
Luxury: Piano
12/5/1981 • 29 minutes, 10 seconds
James Clavell
Roy Plomley's castaway is novelist James Clavell.
Favourite track: The Impossible Dream by Roberta Flack
Book: The Koran
11/14/1981 • 33 minutes, 42 seconds
Joseph Cotten
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Joseph Cotten.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor by Johannes Brahms
Book: Gardening manual
Luxury: Boat building book
10/30/1981 • 32 minutes, 47 seconds
Elspeth Huxley
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Elspeth Huxley.
Favourite track: Piano Concerto in A Minor by Edvard Grieg
Book: Novels by P G Wodehouse
Luxury: Camera and film
10/17/1981 • 27 minutes, 46 seconds
Terry Hands
Roy Plomley's castaway is producer Terry Hands.
Favourite track: String Quartet in C by Franz Joseph Haydn
Book: Dictionary
Luxury: Cello
8/8/1981 • 29 minutes, 31 seconds
Gillian Lynne
Roy Plomley's castaway is director Gillian Lynne.
Favourite track: Concerto For Double String Orchestra by Michael Tippett
Book: French language course
Luxury: Eyelash curlers
7/11/1981 • 31 minutes, 40 seconds
Eric Shilling
Roy Plomley's castaway is bass singer Eric Shilling.
Favourite track: Deh Vieni Non Tardar by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Collin's Albatross Book of Verse by Louis Untermeyer
Luxury: Astronomical telescope
5/30/1981 • 33 minutes, 50 seconds
Edmund Rubbra
Roy Plomley's castaway is composer Edmund Rubbra.
Favourite track: Symphony No .9 In C by Franz Schubert
Book: Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
Luxury: Music manuscript paper
5/23/1981 • 34 minutes, 43 seconds
Alan Minter
Roy Plomley's castaway is boxer Alan Minter.
Favourite track: My Way by Frank Sinatra
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Solar-powered transistor radio
11/29/1980 • 30 minutes, 22 seconds
Jacquetta Hawkes
Roy Plomley's castaway is archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes.
Favourite track: Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Collected works by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Luxury: Wine
11/15/1980 • 29 minutes, 30 seconds
Antal Dorati
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Antal Dorati.
Favourite track: Rondo Capriccioso by Felix Mendelssohn
Book: The Golden Man by Yokoi
Luxury: Italian landscape drawing from his collection
9/13/1980 • 25 minutes, 37 seconds
Daley Thompson
Roy Plomley's castaway is World Champion decathlete Daley Thompson.
Favourite track: Unchained Melody by George Benson
Book: Novels by John Wyndham
Luxury: Guitar and instruction book
7/19/1980 • 19 minutes, 42 seconds
Freddie Jones
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Freddie Jones.
Book: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Luxury: Liebig condenser for distilling gin
6/7/1980 • 33 minutes, 31 seconds
Robert Tear
Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Robert Tear.
Favourite track: Concerto For Double String Orchestra by Michael Tippett
Book: The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts
Luxury: Postcards of paintings with poems on the back
5/31/1980 • 23 minutes, 15 seconds
Salvatore Accardo
Roy Plomley's castaway is violinist Salvatore Accardo.
Favourite track: Che Faro Senza Euridice by Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck
Book: The Odyssey by Homer
Luxury: Violin and strings
4/26/1980 • 32 minutes, 21 seconds
Donald Pleasence
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Donald Pleasence.
Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Luxury: Writing materials
3/29/1980 • 28 minutes, 1 second
Frances Perry
Roy Plomley's castaway is horticulturalist Frances Perry.
Favourite track: Stars and Stripes Forever by Royal Military School Of Music Band and Trumpeters
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Lamp with solar batteries
3/22/1980 • 28 minutes, 22 seconds
Susannah York
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Susannah York.
Favourite track: Concerto in D Minor For Violin, Oboe and String Orchestra by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Italian Touring Atlas of the World
Luxury: Pencils and paper
3/1/1980 • 25 minutes, 7 seconds
Kyung-Wha Chung
Roy Plomley's castaway is violinist Kyung-Wha Chung.
Favourite track: Cello Suite No. 5 In C Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Luxury: Mixed flower seeds
12/29/1979 • 30 minutes, 13 seconds
Pam Ayres
Roy Plomley's castaway is poet and broadcaster Pam Ayres.
Favourite track: The New St George by John & Chris Leslie
Book: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Luxury: Large basket of sugared almonds
9/29/1979 • 29 minutes, 9 seconds
Ted Allbeury
Roy Plomley's castaway is thriller writer Ted Allbeury.
Favourite track: Love Is The Sweetest Thing by Al Bowlly, Ray Noble and his Orchestra
Book: The Unquiet Grave by Cyril Connolly
Luxury: Writing paper and pencils
9/22/1979 • 23 minutes, 36 seconds
Richard Buckle
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and critic Richard Buckle.
Favourite track: Piano Quintet In A Major by Franz Schubert
Book: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Luxury: Paper and pencils
9/15/1979 • 24 minutes, 54 seconds
Patricia Batty Shaw
Roy Plomley's castaway is Chairwoman of the WI Patricia Batty Shaw.
Favourite track: Finlandia by Jean Sibelius
Book: Civilisation by Kenneth Clarke
Luxury: Selection of herbs
7/22/1978 • 24 minutes, 38 seconds
Phil Drabble
Roy Plomley's castaway is naturalist Phil Drabble.
Favourite track: Recording Of The Song Of The Blackbird
Book: Shorthand instruction book with paper and pens
Luxury: Set of bird-ringing tools, including rings
12/10/1977 • 22 minutes, 20 seconds
Tolchard Evans
Roy Plomley's castaway is composer Tolchard Evans.
Favourite track: Lady Of Spain by Capital Symphony
Book: Candide by Voltaire
Luxury: Manuscript paper and pens
8/30/1976 • 23 minutes, 5 seconds
Sherrill Milnes
Roy Plomley's castaway is baritone Sherrill Milnes.
Favourite track: Symphony No 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Twenty-Five Years of New Yorker Cartoons
Luxury: Herrings in sour cream
1/10/1976 • 17 minutes, 36 seconds
Julia Foster
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Julia Foster.
Favourite track: And So I Love You by Bobby Goldsboro
Book: Dictionary of Quotations
Luxury: Tapestry-making kit
1/3/1976 • 16 minutes, 49 seconds
Margaret Price
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Margaret Price.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: Pacific Cookbook by Victor Sperandeo
Luxury: Perfume
12/13/1975 • 6 minutes, 9 seconds
Ron Moody
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor and comedian Ron Moody.
Favourite track: Sparky's Magic Piano by Henry Blair & Verne Smith
Book: A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Luxury: Oil painting
11/29/1975 • 8 minutes
Vince Hill
Roy Plomley's castaway is musician Vince Hill.
Favourite track: Fountains Of Rome by Respighi
Book: Do-it-yourself manual
Luxury: Turner's Seascape
11/15/1975 • 8 minutes, 24 seconds
Stanley Holloway
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor and musician Stanley Holloway.
Favourite track: And This Is My Beloved by Doretta Morrow
Book: A book on the musical plays of the last century
Luxury: Manicure and pedicure set
10/27/1975 • 22 minutes, 30 seconds
Doris Hare
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Doris Hare.
Favourite track: Fantasia On Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Book: Dictionary of Quotations
Luxury: Piano
10/11/1975 • 10 minutes, 26 seconds
Robert Robinson
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Robert Robinson.
Favourite track: Anna Livia Plurabelle by James Joyce
Book: The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
Luxury: White Burgundy
8/18/1975 • 6 minutes
Dave Allen
Roy Plomley's castaway is comedian Dave Allen.
Favourite track: Canon In D by Johann Pachelbel
Book: Ballard of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde
Luxury: Painting by Van Hook
7/12/1975 • 10 minutes, 29 seconds
Patricia Hayes
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Patricia Hayes.
Favourite track: Nocturne No. 8 In D Flat (Opus 72) by Frédéric Chopin
Book: Kristin Lauransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Luxury: Four-poster bed
4/21/1975 • 22 minutes, 18 seconds
Duncan Grant
Roy Plomley's castaway is painter Duncan Grant.
Favourite track: L'Incoronazione Di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi
Book: The collected works by Jane Austen
Luxury: Artists' materials
3/15/1975 • 11 minutes, 29 seconds
Jilly Cooper
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and journalist Jilly Cooper.
Favourite track: Mir Ist So Wunderbar by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Dance to the Music of Time by Anthony Powell
Luxury: Notebooks and pens
3/8/1975 • 7 minutes, 51 seconds
Valerie Masterson
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Valerie Masterson.
Favourite track: Symphony in D Minor by César Franck
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Beauty products
2/24/1975 • 13 minutes, 50 seconds
Bernard Hailstone
Roy Plomley's castaway is portrait painter Bernard Hailstone.
Favourite track: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: In Search of the Miraculous by Peter Ouspensky
Luxury: Radio receiver
1/25/1975 • 8 minutes, 37 seconds
Percy Press
Roy Plomley's castaway is Punch and Judy man Percy Press.
Favourite track: A Midsummer Nights Dream by Felix Mendelssohn
Book: Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
Luxury: Pair Of Binoculars
12/28/1974 • 19 minutes, 19 seconds
Angela Baddeley
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Angela Baddeley.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Luxury: Portrait of her husband
12/21/1974 • 8 minutes, 45 seconds
Oliver Reed
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Oliver Reed.
Favourite track: Jardins Sous La Pluie by Claude Debussy
Book: Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
Luxury: Inflatable rubber woman
11/30/1974 • 6 minutes, 36 seconds
Bruce Tulloh
Roy Plomley's castaway is long-distance runner Bruce Tulloh.
Favourite track: A Felicidade by Antonio Carlos Jobim
Book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Luxury: Harmonica
11/23/1974 • 10 minutes, 11 seconds
Denholm Elliott
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Denholm Elliott.
Favourite track: Kyrie A 4 by John Taverner
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Still
9/14/1974 • 10 minutes, 30 seconds
Roland Culver
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Roland Culver.
Favourite track: Piano Concerto No 2 in B Flat by Johannes Brahms
Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse
Luxury: Painting materials
8/3/1974 • 9 minutes, 23 seconds
James Stewart
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor James Stewart.
Favourite track: Dream by The Pied Pipers
Book: Musical arrangements by Dave Brubeck
Luxury: Piano
5/27/1974 • 24 minutes, 11 seconds
Eddie Waring
Roy Plomley's castaway is commentator Eddie Waring.
Favourite track: The Twenty-Third Psalm by Glasgow Orpheus Choir
Book: Bradshaw's Railway Timetable
Luxury: Couch
2/25/1974 • 18 minutes, 41 seconds
Brian Inglis
Roy Plomley's castaway is journalist Brian Inglis.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 3 in F by Johannes Brahms
Book: The Crock of Gold by James Stephens
Luxury: Typewriter and paper
2/9/1974 • 7 minutes, 44 seconds
Alexander Young
Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Alexander Young.
Favourite track: Crudel Perchè Finora by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Luxury: Radio-controlled model aircraft
12/15/1973 • 2 minutes, 6 seconds
Gareth Edwards
Roy Plomley's castaway is the Captain of the Welsh rugby team Gareth Edwards.
Favourite track: Bridge Over Troubled Waters by Simon & Garfunkel
Book: The collected works by Dylan Thomas
Luxury: Cornet
12/8/1973 • 9 minutes, 9 seconds
Professor Sir Alister Hardy FRS
Roy Plomley's castaway is zoologist Professor Sir Alister Hardy FRS.
Favourite track: I'll See You Again by Peggy Wood & George Metaxa
Book: The Prelude by William Wordsworth
Luxury: Writing materials
10/27/1973 • 9 minutes, 30 seconds
Peter Rogers
Roy Plomley's castaway is producer Peter Rogers.
Favourite track: Sanctus by Choeurs Elisabeth Brasseur
Book: Bound volume of Punch from the 1960s
Luxury: Ninth record: Massenet's Elegie
10/20/1973 • 2 minutes, 9 seconds
Leontyne Price
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Leontyne Price.
Favourite track: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor by Sergei Rachmaninov
Book: How to be Your Own Best Friend by Mildred Newman
Luxury: Soap
9/22/1973 • 8 minutes, 13 seconds
Bill Sowerbutts
Roy Plomley's castaway is horticulturalist Bill Sowerbutts.
Favourite track: Les Francs Juges (Overture) by Hector Berlioz
Book: English Dictionary
Luxury: Tobacco seeds and a brewing vat
9/17/1973 • 22 minutes, 56 seconds
Joyce Carey
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Joyce Carey.
Favourite track: Introduction and Allegro For Strings (Opus 47) by Edward Elgar
Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse
Luxury: Box of oddments from her dressing table
9/8/1973 • 8 minutes, 39 seconds
Bert Foord
Roy Plomley's castaway is weather forecaster Bert Foord.
Favourite track: Polovtsian Dances by Alexander Borodin
Book: Short Stories by P G Wodehouse
Luxury: Golf clubs and balls
8/25/1973 • 6 minutes, 28 seconds
June Whitfield
Roy Plomley's castaway is comedy actress June Whitfield.
Favourite track: Well Did You Evah? by Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby
Book: Do-it-yourself manual
Luxury: Tape recorder
8/18/1973 • 9 minutes, 40 seconds
Colin Welland
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor and playwright Colin Welland.
Favourite track: Londonderry Air by Philharmonia Orchestra
Book: The Oxford English Dictionary
Luxury: Bed
8/4/1973 • 4 minutes, 33 seconds
Ruskin Spear RA
Roy Plomley's castaway is painter Ruskin Spear RA.
Favourite track: Fantasia and Fugue In G Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Ends and Means by Aldous Huxley
Luxury: Radio receiver
7/28/1973 • 4 minutes, 44 seconds
Brenda Bruce
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Brenda Bruce.
Favourite track: Florida Suite by Frederick Delius
Book: Bhagavad-Gita by Christopher Isherwood
Luxury: Writing materials
6/30/1973 • 6 minutes, 48 seconds
Joe Bugner
Roy Plomley's castaway is heavyweight boxer Joe Bugner.
Favourite track: Where's The Girl? by Walker Brothers
Book: Papillon by Henri Charrière
Luxury: Chess set
6/9/1973 • 12 minutes, 15 seconds
John Huston
Roy Plomley's castaway is director John Huston.
Favourite track: Shenandoah by Salli Terri
Book: Dialogues by Plato
Luxury: Havana cigars
5/12/1973 • 10 minutes, 28 seconds
Norman Thelwell
Roy Plomley's castaway is cartoonist Norman Thelwell.
Favourite track: Nocturne in F Sharp by Frédéric Chopin
Book: Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
Luxury: Painting materials
5/5/1973 • 9 minutes, 43 seconds
Edith Coates
Roy Plomley's castaway is mezzo-soprano Edith Coates.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: Novels by Jean Plaidy
Luxury: Brandy
4/28/1973 • 5 minutes, 36 seconds
Chris Bonington
Roy Plomley's castaway is mountaineer Chris Bonington.
Favourite track: Harp Concerto in B Flat by George Frideric Handel
Book: Marlborough: His Life and Times by Sir Winston Churchill
Luxury: Radio receiver
4/21/1973 • 10 minutes, 35 seconds
Harry Loman
Roy Plomley's castaway is stage-door keeper Harry Loman.
Favourite track: Thanks for the Memory by Shirley Ross & Bob Hope
Book: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Luxury: Cards
4/14/1973 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds
Florence De Jong
Roy Plomley's castaway is organist Florence De Jong.
Favourite track: The Good Old, Bad Old Days by Anthony Newley
Book: Book of cartoons by Carl Giles
Luxury: Accordian
4/7/1973 • 8 minutes, 58 seconds
Christopher Serpell
Roy Plomley's castaway is BBC diplomatic correspondent Christopher Serpell.
Favourite track: Prelude and Fugue No. 17 In A Flat by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Diary by Samuel Pepys
Luxury: Equipment for wine-making and brewing
3/31/1973 • 10 minutes, 17 seconds
Alexander Gibson
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Alexander Gibson.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: Complete Opera Book by Gustave Kobbe
Luxury: Piano
3/3/1973 • 7 minutes, 13 seconds
Leslie Thomas
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Leslie Thomas.
Favourite track: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: The Virgin Soldiers by Leslie Thomas
Luxury: Sand iron and golf balls
2/24/1973 • 9 minutes, 13 seconds
Rita Hunter
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Rita Hunter.
Favourite track: Ingemisco by Giuseppe Verdi
Book: Anthology of Poetry
Luxury: Oil-painting equipment
2/10/1973 • 9 minutes, 3 seconds
Anthony Smith
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and explorer Anthony Smith.
Favourite track: Iranian Love Song
Book: Atlas
Luxury: Sketching materials
2/3/1973 • 11 minutes, 28 seconds
Mike Yarwood
Roy Plomley's castaway is impersonator Mike Yarwood.
Favourite track: Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 in D Major by Edward Elgar
Book: Volume of colour reproductions of paintings
Luxury: Daily newspaper
1/13/1973 • 8 minutes, 17 seconds
Tony Britton
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Tony Britton.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 39 In E Flat Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Language courses
Luxury: Scotch and Champagne
1/6/1973 • 8 minutes, 54 seconds
Noel Rawsthorne
Roy Plomley's castaway is organist Noel Rawsthorne.
Favourite track: Osanna In Excelsis by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Harpsichord
12/30/1972 • 9 minutes, 19 seconds
Adelaide Hall
Roy Plomley's castaway is jazz singer and actress Adelaide Hall.
Favourite track: The Lord's Prayer by Mahilia Jackson
Book: History of the United States
Luxury: Crochet needles and wool
12/2/1972 • 6 minutes, 11 seconds
Group Captain Peter Townsend
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and explorer Group Captain Peter Townsend.
Favourite track: L'Ame Des Poètes by Charles Trenet
Book: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Luxury: Seeds
11/25/1972 • 9 minutes, 29 seconds
Jackie Charlton
Roy Plomley's castaway is footballer Jackie Charlton.
Favourite track: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D Major by Edward Elgar
Book: Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Luxury: Spy-glass
10/21/1972 • 10 minutes, 5 seconds
Christopher Gable
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Christopher Gable.
Favourite track: Abschied by Gustav Mahler
Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
Luxury: Still
10/14/1972 • 9 minutes, 16 seconds
Michael Aspel
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Michael Aspel.
Favourite track: Ma Mere L'Oye by Maurice Ravel
Book: History of the World
Luxury: Piano
10/7/1972 • 6 minutes, 40 seconds
Jimmy Tarbuck
Roy Plomley's castaway is comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.
Favourite track: The Girls I Like by Max Miller
Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Luxury: Golf clubs and balls
8/26/1972 • 8 minutes, 24 seconds
Professor Barry Cunliffe
Roy Plomley's castaway is archaeologist Professor Barry Cunliffe.
Favourite track: Clarinet Quintet In A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Book on plant genetics
Luxury: Still
8/19/1972 • 12 minutes, 51 seconds
Marcel Marceau
Roy Plomley's castaway is mime artist Marcel Marceau.
Favourite track: Dies Irae by Giuseppe Verdi
Luxury: Painting materials
7/22/1972 • 1 minute, 51 seconds
Joe Henderson
Roy Plomley's castaway is pianist Joe Henderson.
Favourite track: A Shropshire Lad by George Butterworth
Book: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik van Loon
Luxury: Radio receiver
7/15/1972 • 7 minutes, 1 second
Charles Groves
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Charles Groves.
Favourite track: Siegmund's Spring Song by Richard Wagner
Book: Anthology of English Verse
Luxury: Cigars
7/3/1972 • 18 minutes, 3 seconds
Jean Plaidy
Roy Plomley's castaway is historian Jean Plaidy.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 5 In A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Dictionary of National Biography
Luxury: Typewriter, paper and a hostess gown
6/24/1972 • 10 minutes, 27 seconds
Judi Dench
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Judi Dench.
Favourite track: Cello Concerto in E Minor by Edward Elgar
Book: The Book of Kells
Luxury: Basil Brush films and projector
6/17/1972 • 2 minutes, 43 seconds
Professor Francis Camps
Roy Plomley's castaway is professor of forensic medicine Francis Camps.
Favourite track: Rhapsody in Blue by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra
Book: The Oxford English Dictionary
Luxury: Tape recorder
6/10/1972 • 7 minutes, 41 seconds
Tony Bennett
Roy Plomley's castaway is singer Tony Bennett.
Favourite track: Song Of The Islands by Louis Armstrong and his All Stars
Book: The complete works by Leonardo da Vinci
Luxury: Painting materials
5/27/1972 • 8 minutes, 10 seconds
Geoffrey Parsons
Roy Plomley's castaway is pianist Geoffrey Parsons.
Favourite track: The Farewell Of The Angel by Edward Elgar
Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
Luxury: Crystal rock specimens
5/20/1972 • 9 minutes, 27 seconds
Joan Bakewell
Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Joan Bakewell.
Favourite track: Mefistofele (Prologue) by Nicola Moscona & Robert Shaw
Book: The collected works by James Joyce
Luxury: Yellow Lamborghini
5/15/1972 • 20 minutes, 59 seconds
Elizabeth Jane Howard
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Elizabeth Jane Howard.
Favourite track: Toccata and Fugue In D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Encyclopaedia
Luxury: Writing materials
4/29/1972 • 9 minutes, 55 seconds
Wendy Hiller
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Wendy Hiller.
Favourite track: When In Disgrace With Fortune by William Shakespeare
Book: The Diary of a Country Parson 1758-1802 by James Woodforde
Luxury: Cookham Resurrection by Sir Stanley Spencer
4/15/1972 • 9 minutes, 52 seconds
Sir Geoffrey Jackson
Roy Plomley's castaway is diplomat Sir Geoffrey Jackson.
Favourite track: Gloria by Los Fronterizos
Book: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
Luxury: Spanish guitar
4/10/1972 • 26 minutes, 10 seconds
John Noakes
Roy Plomley's castaway is Blue Peter presenter John Noakes.
Favourite track: Who Can I Turn To? by Shirley Bassey
Book: The Corn is Green by Emlyn Williams
Luxury: 12th-century candlestick in Victoria & Albert Museum
4/1/1972 • 10 minutes, 49 seconds
Robertson Hare
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Robertson Hare.
Favourite track: John Brown's Body by Paul Robertson
Book: Yours Indubitably by Robertson Hare
Luxury: Scotch Whisky
3/25/1972 • 9 minutes, 40 seconds
Elizabeth Harwood
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Elizabeth Harwood.
Favourite track: For Unto Us A Child Is Born by George Frideric Handel
Book: Survival manual
Luxury: Constable landscape
3/18/1972 • 7 minutes, 45 seconds
Raymond Leppard
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Raymond Leppard.
Favourite track: Et Resurrexit by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: The Iliad by Homer and The Odyssey by Homer
Luxury: Gin, dry Martini and lemons
3/6/1972 • 24 minutes, 39 seconds
Hammond Innes
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Hammond Innes.
Favourite track: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by King's College Chapel Choir
Book: The European Settlement of North America by Stanley Elliott
Luxury: Guinness Book of Records
2/26/1972 • 10 minutes, 4 seconds
Michael Parkinson
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Michael Parkinson.
Favourite track: Singin' In The Rain by Gene Kelly
Book: Death In The Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
Luxury: Typewriter and paper
2/19/1972 • 9 minutes, 56 seconds
Alice Delysia
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Alice Delysia.
Favourite track: C'est La Saison D'Amour by Oscar Straus
Book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Luxury: Bed
2/14/1972 • 27 minutes, 7 seconds
David Hockney
Roy Plomley's castaway is artist David Hockney.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: Route 69 by Floyd Carter
Luxury: Paper, pencils and a battery-operated sharpener
2/7/1972 • 19 minutes, 43 seconds
Stuart Burrows
Roy Plomley's castaway is tenor Stuart Burrows.
Favourite track: O For The Wings Of A Dove by Felix Mendelssohn
Book: The complete works by Oscar Wilde
Luxury: Soap
1/29/1972 • 8 minutes, 41 seconds
Christopher Plummer
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Christopher Plummer.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 10 In F Sharp by Gustav Mahler
Book: Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
Luxury: Jeroboam of Taittinger Champagne
1/15/1972 • 7 minutes, 32 seconds
David Frost
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster David Frost.
Favourite track: Finlandia by Jean Sibelius
Book: Set of Hansard
Luxury: Paper and felt-tipped pens
12/25/1971 • 9 minutes, 4 seconds
Julia Trevelyan Oman
Roy Plomley's castaway is designer Julia Trevelyan Oman.
Favourite track: Nimrod by Edward Elgar
Book: Elizabeth R by Julia Trevelyan Oman
Luxury: Seeds
12/18/1971 • 8 minutes, 28 seconds
Graham Kerr
Roy Plomley's castaway is cookery expert Graham Kerr.
Favourite track: We Said We Wouldn't Look Back by Eleanor Drew & John Warner
Book: Encyclopaedia of Ancient Civilisations
Luxury: Wine
12/4/1971 • 9 minutes, 57 seconds
Steve Race
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Steve Race.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: Dictionary of Musical Themes
Luxury: Pair of binoculars
11/27/1971 • 6 minutes, 30 seconds
Alfred Brendel
Roy Plomley's castaway is concert pianist Alfred Brendel.
Favourite track: Prelude No 24 In B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Lieder by Franz Schubert
Luxury: Bavarian rococo church
11/22/1971 • 21 minutes, 56 seconds
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Vivian Dunn
Roy Plomley's castaway is the former Musical Director of the Royal Marines Sir Vivian Dunn.
Favourite track: Praise To The Holiest In The Height by Edward Elgar
Book: Autobiography by Sir Winston Churchill
Luxury: Piano, manuscript paper, pencils and a rubber
11/6/1971 • 7 minutes, 35 seconds
Dame Sibyl Hathaway
Roy Plomley's castaway is Dame of Sark Dame Sibyl Hathaway.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 5 In C Sharp Minor by Gustav Mahler
Book: History of England by Sir Keith Feiling
Luxury: Canvas and tapestry tools
10/23/1971 • 16 minutes, 33 seconds
Ivy Benson
Roy Plomley's castaway is bandleader Ivy Benson.
Favourite track: Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins Singers
Book: London Sparrow by Phyllis Thompson
Luxury: Piano
10/16/1971 • 8 minutes, 56 seconds
Caterina Valente
Roy Plomley's castaway is musician and actress Caterina Valente.
Favourite track: Concierto De Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo
Book: Novels by James Mitchener
Luxury: English pub
10/2/1971 • 8 minutes, 13 seconds
Mollie Lee
Roy Plomley's castaway is Woman's Hour broadcaster Mollie Lee.
Favourite track: Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Book: A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust
Luxury: Typewriter and paper
9/25/1971 • 7 minutes, 19 seconds
David Shepherd
Roy Plomley's castaway is painter David Shepherd.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 8 In E Flat Major by Gustav Mahler
Book: Volume On Elementary Calculus
Luxury: The Black Prince Steam Locomotive, canvases and oil paint
9/11/1971 • 10 minutes, 25 seconds
Sylva Stuart Watson
Roy Plomley's castaway is licensee of the Theatre Royal Sylva Stuart Watson.
Favourite track: Gigue From French Suite No 5 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Volumes on astronomy and astrology
Luxury: Forty yards of flowered chintz, a needle & cotton
8/21/1971 • 7 minutes, 7 seconds
Richard Gordon
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer Richard Gordon.
Favourite track: A Small Town In Germany by Jock Strapp Ensemble
Book: The Michelin Guide to France
Luxury: Pin
8/14/1971 • 4 minutes, 14 seconds
Lorin Maazel
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Lorin Maazel.
Favourite track: Quartet No. 14 In D Minor by Franz Schubert
Book: The collected works by Epictetus
Luxury: Chess set with a problem book
7/31/1971 • 10 minutes, 10 seconds
Laurence Whistler
Roy Plomley's castaway is glass engraver and poet Laurence Whistler.
Favourite track: Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Come Hither by Walter de la Mare
Luxury: Magnifying glass
7/10/1971 • 7 minutes, 37 seconds
Michael Crawford
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Michael Crawford.
Favourite track: Singin' In The Rain by Gene Kelly
Book: A Book of Beauty by John Hadfield
Luxury: Cherry tree
7/5/1971 • 28 minutes, 45 seconds
Maurice Woodruff
Roy Plomley's castaway is clairvoyant Maurice Woodruff.
Favourite track: Psalm 91 by Laurence Olivier
Book: The Golden Treasury by Francis Palgrave
Luxury: Writing materials
6/26/1971 • 2 minutes, 2 seconds
Clive Dunn
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Clive Dunn.
Favourite track: Little Green Apples by Dionne Warwick
Book: Encyclopaedia
Luxury: Soap
6/19/1971 • 8 minutes, 26 seconds
Ronnie Corbett
Roy Plomley's castaway is comedian Ronnie Corbett.
Favourite track: I Know That My Redeemer Liveth by George Frideric Handel
Book: Handbook on tropical vegetation
Luxury: Golf clubs and balls
5/31/1971 • 21 minutes, 8 seconds
Joyce Grenfell
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress and comedian Joyce Grenfell.
Favourite track: Brandenburg Concerto No 6 In B Flat Major by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Science and Health, with a Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
Luxury: Writing materials
5/22/1971 • 10 minutes, 40 seconds
Reginald Foort
Roy Plomley's castaway is organist Reginald Foort.
Favourite track: Lullaby Of Broadway by Joe Loss and his Orchestra
Book: Back numbers of the Reader's Digest
Luxury: Organ
5/10/1971 • 26 minutes, 17 seconds
Geoff Boycott
Roy Plomley's castaway is cricketer Geoff Boycott.
Favourite track: My Way by Frank Sinatra
Book: Set of Wisden
Luxury: Telephone line to a sports newspaper
4/12/1971 • 19 minutes, 49 seconds
Clodagh Rodgers
Roy Plomley's castaway is pop singer Clodagh Rodgers.
Favourite track: Watching and Waiting by The Moody Blues
Book: The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Luxury: Prawn cocktails
3/27/1971 • 7 minutes, 39 seconds
Sir Louis Gluckstein
Roy Plomley's castaway is president of Royal Albert Hall Sir Louis Gluckstein.
Favourite track: Double Concerto in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Luxury: Four-poster bed
3/20/1971 • 6 minutes, 57 seconds
Patrick Cargill
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Patrick Cargill.
Favourite track: We'll Meet Again by The Inkspots
Book: The Spotlight Casting Directory
Luxury: His Bentley car
3/13/1971 • 11 minutes, 25 seconds
Ludovic Kennedy
Roy Plomley's castaway is broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy.
Favourite track: Giselle by London Symphony Orchestra
Book: Poems by John Donne and Poems by George Herbert
Luxury: Tartar sauce
3/6/1971 • 9 minutes, 14 seconds
Wendy Craig
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Wendy Craig.
Favourite track: Oboe Concerto in C by Cimarosa/Benjamin
Book: The complete works by Oscar Wilde
Luxury: Toothbrushes
2/20/1971 • 9 minutes, 33 seconds
Harvey Smith
Roy Plomley's castaway is showjumper Harvey Smith.
Favourite track: Lara's Theme by Jarre
Book: A selection to sample
Luxury: Radio receiver
2/13/1971 • 6 minutes, 42 seconds
Laurie Lee
Roy Plomley's castaway is poet and writer Laurie Lee.
Favourite track: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: The Atlantic Book of British and American Poetry by Edith Sitwell
Luxury: Materials for making wine or beer
2/1/1971 • 4 minutes, 49 seconds
Madame (Lilian) Stiles-Allen
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Madame (Lilian) Stiles-Allen.
Favourite track: Liebestod by Richard Wagner
Book: The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes
Luxury: Piano
1/23/1971 • 6 minutes, 18 seconds
Robert Bolt
Roy Plomley's castaway is playwright Robert Bolt.
Favourite track: Clarinet Quintet In A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Novels by P G Wodehouse
Luxury: Writing materials
1/16/1971 • 11 minutes, 14 seconds
James Fitton
Roy Plomley's castaway is painter James Fitton.
Favourite track: Thou That Sitteth At The Right Hand Of God The Father by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Encyclopaedia
Luxury: Painting materials
1/9/1971 • 12 minutes, 13 seconds
John Lill
Roy Plomley's castaway is concert pianist John Lill.
Favourite track: Symphony No 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Modern chess openings
Luxury: Piano
10/24/1970 • 6 minutes, 29 seconds
Sari Barabas
Roy Plomley's castaway is singer Sari Barabas.
Favourite track: The Singer's Aria (Der Rosenkavalier) by Richard Strauss
Book: Works by Leo Slezak
Luxury: Knitting needles and wool
10/17/1970 • 4 minutes, 47 seconds
Harry Carpenter
Roy Plomley's castaway is commentator Harry Carpenter.
Favourite track: Symphony No 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Luxury: Guitar
9/26/1970 • 5 minutes, 19 seconds
Helen Watts
Roy Plomley's castaway is contralto Helen Watts.
Favourite track: Betracht Meine Seel by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Illustrated book on gardening
Luxury: Velasquez, The Maids of Honour, in the Prado
9/14/1970 • 2 minutes, 20 seconds
Ellen Pollock
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Ellen Pollock.
Favourite track: Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: The collected works by George Bernard Shaw
Luxury: Painting by her husband of their son
9/5/1970 • 7 minutes, 41 seconds
Dick Emery
Roy Plomley's castaway is comedian Dick Emery.
Favourite track: Love Was Young by Robert Goulet
Book: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Luxury: Bed
8/29/1970 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds
Erich Leinsdorf
Roy Plomley's castaway is conductor Erich Leinsdorf.
Book: Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Luxury: Insect repellent
8/15/1970 • 10 minutes, 14 seconds
Barbara Windsor
Roy Plomley's castaway is actress Barbara Windsor.
Favourite track: Fings Ain't Wot They Used Ter Be by Billy Cotton, Rita Williams Singers
Book: A History of Great Britain
Luxury: Hair pieces
6/13/1970 • 9 minutes, 24 seconds
Keith Michell
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Keith Michell.
Favourite track: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 In G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: The I Ching
Luxury: Painting materials
5/30/1970 • 9 minutes, 40 seconds
Graham Usher
Roy Plomley's castaway is ballet dancer Graham Usher.
Favourite track: Fly Me To The Moon by Bart Howard
Book: Collected works by Beatrix Potter
Luxury: The Nike Of Samothrace, in The Louvre
5/16/1970 • 7 minutes, 13 seconds
Gina Cigna
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Gina Cigna.
Favourite track: Symphony No 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard by Anatole France
Luxury: Piano
5/2/1970 • 7 minutes, 16 seconds
Sheridan Russell
Roy Plomley's castaway is cellist and medical worker Sheridan Russell.
Favourite track: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 In G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach
Book: Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
Luxury: Cello
4/4/1970 • 10 minutes, 50 seconds
Richard Chamberlain
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Richard Chamberlain.
Favourite track: Winter (from The Four Seasons) by Antonio Vivaldi
Book: The Oxford Book of English Verse
Luxury: Painting materials
3/14/1970 • 8 minutes, 20 seconds
Dr Roy Strong
Roy Plomley's castaway is director of the National Portrait Gallery Dr Roy Strong.
Favourite track: Ellen Terry by Sybil Thorndike
Book: Larousse Gastronomique by Prosper Montagné
Luxury: Vermeer's 'View Of Delft'
3/7/1970 • 5 minutes, 35 seconds
Fyfe Robertson
Roy Plomley's castaway is TV reporter Fyfe Robertson.
Favourite track: Sound an Alarm by George Frideric Handel
Book: General Semantics
Luxury: Cello