Ade Adepitan

Presenter0:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4. For rights reasons the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.

Presenter0:10

For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk/slash radio four.

Presenter0:33

My castaway this week is the Paralympian and T V presenter Adea Depotan.

Presenter0:38

Wheelchair basketball's his sport, and this year he partnered Clearbalding, anchoring Channel Four's coverage of the twenty twelve London Paralympics. When he's not stuck in a studio explaining the intricacies of gold ball, he's reporting from the rainforests of Nicaragua or the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Adversity seems to bring out the best in him. He even survived, turning up for his first day at school, aged seven, in a pink checked suit and bow tie.

Presenter1:04

For a decade, his decision to pursue a life in sport drove a huge wedge between him and his parents. He says, I think I've done more things with my disability than most able-bodied people would ever dream of doing. So Addy, you're a veteran at Paralympian yourself. You represented GB at the Sydney and the Athens Games. You won a gold at the Paralympic World Cup. Do you think after London twenty twelve Paralympics there's no going back for Paralympic sport?

Ade Adepitan1:31

Yeah, I think this was a landmark Paralympics. You know, even now, I still can't believe it's happened. You know, the figures speak for themselves. You look at the Olympic Park every day, it was jam-packed. And working on Channel 4, we were getting 6.5 million people watching on Thriller Thursday when Johnny Peacock won 100 meters. Everyone was just so up for it.

Presenter1:52

Channel Four ran that very uh punchy marketing campaign that that showed uh some of uh the Paralympic uh GB competitors on huge billboards and that the strapline was thanks for the warm up.

Ade Adepitan2:04

The idea was to make this different. And also, I think we as Paralympians were tired of you know, every time the Paralympians came along having this plinky plonky music and everyone feeling sorry for us, because that's not what it's about. Just look at the stats. Look how fast David Weir pushes the marathon. Look how hard the wheelchair tennis players hit the ball, you know, serving at an average of 100 miles an hour. Just look at Jason Smith, who's visually impaired and he runs 100 metres in 10.2 seconds. You're not going to feel sorry for those guys. These guys are just superhuman athletes.

Presenter2:37

And what about in the introduction, I used that quote: you saying, you know, you've put yourself in situations, you've done things that most able-bodied people wouldn't do. Has there ever been a situation with

Presenter2:46

That you've got you and your wheelchair into, and you've thought, hold on, even for me, I'm pushing it a bit too far.

Ade Adepitan2:51

I suppose the most physical moment was when I was halfway up a volcano in Nicaragua. And after about two hours, our guide who was taking us up this said, listen, you guys, either Eddie goes back to the bottom of the volcano and you guys go up on your own, or you all go back and nobody goes up to the volcano. And I looked and I just thought.

Ade Adepitan3:14

I'm not gonna have someone else make this decision for me. And I got out of my wheelchair and crawled up the volcano on my hands and knees and on my backside. And it was a live volcano, so it was boiling hot. And getting out of the chair,

Ade Adepitan3:28

It's really tough because for me, the chair's independence. But when I made it to the top and came back, I think it was the most empowering thing I'd ever done and brings back some crazy memories.

Presenter3:39

I can't think of a better piece of music. Tell me about your first disc and why you've chosen it.

Ade Adepitan3:44

Well, first disc is um Public Enemy Harder Than You Think and it it was the the theme for the trail that Channel Four used, so don't adjust your radio sets. Just let the lyrics seep into your brain.

Speaker 33:58

So you two can review what we do. 20 years in this business, how you sell Song G wins, people bear witness. Thank you for letting us be ourselves. So don't mind me if I repeat myself. These simple rhymes be good for your health. To keep them crime rhymes on the shelf. Live love life like you just don't care. 5,000 leaders, never scared. Brain the noises the moment they feared. Get up, still a beautiful idea. Get up, throw your hair s ⁇.

Presenter4:05

May I witness?

Presenter4:27

That was Public Enemy and Harder Than You Think and that was used by Channel Four as their theme tune to the London twenty twelve Paralympics. And you were brought up in East London then, Addy, but uh I imagine then that that means that this year's spectacular of the Paralympics was an intensely personal thing for you to see it happening in your neck of the woods.

Ade Adepitan4:45

Personal, surreal, because my first encounter with the Olympics was 1984. I was 11. You know, watched it on a black and white TV, and I was absolutely captivated. It was our first TV we had in the house as well. And I used to sit there in plasto in the living room. And as soon as the 100 meters would start, I'd start pumping my arms, imagining I was doing 100 meters, you know, and I'd even do a little hop for the hurdles as well. And you know, by the time it got to the 10,000 meters, I was shattered because I did all the heats as well. My mum would look through the door thinking I was crazy, and that was my dream. I wanted to be like Sebco and Daly Thompson and all of those guys. And I never ever thought that the games would come to little old East London. I mean, East London from LA to Stratford. That's crazy.

Presenter5:35

We know that in China the Paralympics there made a huge cultural shift happen in that people who were disabled felt they could actually go outdoors and not be ridiculed anymore, and that there was definitely a change there. How much of a difference do you think the Paralympics is going to make among the younger generation to their attitudes towards people with disabilities?

Ade Adepitan5:55

Huge difference. Huge difference because when I was growing up watching TV, I didn't see any black people on TV. I didn't see any disabled people on TV. You know, my heroes were people like Seb Coe and Daly Thompson, and I was never quite like them because I wasn't able-bodied. But now, for them to see people like Ellie Simmons and Johnny Peacock and Oscar Pistorius, they've got a blueprint of where they can go. They have their heroes, and it's not just for disabled kids. Able-bodied kids are now looking at kids with disabilities and looking at them as heroes. I think that's beautiful.

Presenter6:29

Um, the first time that a lot of people would know who you were was when you appeared on what is now the infamous BBC One Eye Dance. You were doing the hip hop dancing and you were the guy right at the front who had let's be honest, you were the best dancer.

Presenter6:41

That must have brought a a a level of fame. I mean, when you're being played endlessly, or almost on a loop, do people start to sort of stop you in the street and try to do it?

Ade Adepitan6:48

Oh, it was incredible. A story I always tell about it was on Tottenham Court Road, just parking my car, parked in a disabled parking bay. Traffic warden came up to me. He goes, I will let you park your car there if you do one thing for me. And I was like, what? He said, Can you do that dance you do on the TV? Can you do that with either? And I was like, you're having a laugh, ain't you? And he goes, please, just do it for me. And there I was doing the dance, and he was humming the beat, going, This is the guy, this is the guy. The perils of celebrity. We're going to hear your

Presenter7:18

Yeah.

Ade Adepitan7:18

Uh

Presenter7:18

Uh

Ade Adepitan7:18

Yeah.

Presenter7:18

Yeah.

Ade Adepitan7:18

One piece of meat.

Presenter7:19

Music Addict. What what is

Ade Adepitan7:19

Tunji Oleyaana and the Benders and it's I Love My Country and it's uh it was a protest song um created in the eighties, written by Wallace Inca and it was something that my dad used to play all the time. Um used to embarrass me at the time. I actually love it now, but yeah, it's great track.

Speaker 27:39

I love my country and all go lie Naim side I'm a go live and die I know my country and all go lie Naim and me go yap till I die

Presenter8:10

Tunji Oleana and the Benders and I Love My Country with lyrics there by Wally Shoyenka. So, Ade, you were born in Lagos in Nigeria in nineteen seventy three. Why did your parents decide to leave for the UK?

Ade Adepitan8:21

Well, at the age of six months, I contracted polio, which affected mainly the left side of my body. It meant I was unable to walk. And my parents kind of realized, you know, Nigeria just wasn't equipped for people with physical disabilities. And it was a tough time for them as well, because my older sister she had Down syndrome as well. So my parents had two suddenly had two disabled children. And they just thought, well, we're going to have to find a way to give them a better living. And so my dad came to the UK, I think 1975, and he spent a year here saving up money to be able to bring me over. But they couldn't afford to take me and my sister. And they made the tough, tough decision of taking me first and trying to save money to bring my sister over later. So, you know, I mean, I've got so much to thank them for because it was a moment that absolutely changed my life.

Presenter9:23

Your parents were both teachers w when they arrived. Did they easily find work in the UK?

Ade Adepitan9:28

No, um

Ade Adepitan9:30

1970s and 80s UK, if you were a black migrant, was very difficult. And, you know, my parents' accent was strange to people. They weren't ashamed of wearing their Nigerian clothes pretty much all the time. So it was very, they were different. And my dad retrained as an accountant and he struggled. He didn't get a job as an accountant. My mum retrained as well. My dad worked as a security guard. My mum worked for Dagenham Fords on the production line. Very much work.

Ade Adepitan10:04

which they hadn't trained for and I think it really it really broke my dad's heart.

Presenter10:07

Was there a sense of palpable shock between your parents at the fact that this was not a country that greeted them with open arms?

Ade Adepitan10:13

Yeah, there definitely was. They had a huge amount of respect for the UK. You know, my mum talks about when she was in Nigeria and the Queen came to Nigeria and how proud she was. So they were expecting to be received with open arms and treated really well, but it wasn't the case. I think there were certain moments when they thought, hold on, you know, this isn't worth it. Maybe we should go back. But I think financially it was going to be difficult. But they also were thinking about me and they wanted to bring my sister over at some stage. And I mean, it had such an impact on my mum that she had a nervous breakdown, which was really alarming for me as a young kid to see your mum going through so much trauma. And I couldn't really understand, you know, at the time what was happening. It was the 80s was tough.

Presenter11:09

Let's have some music then, Addie. Uh your third choice of the day is what?

Ade Adepitan11:12

Yes, it's Dandy Livingston. Message to you. Why have you chosen this? I think it was about nine or ten. My dad gave me his record collection, and this one used to just stick out to me because my dad always used to tell me, You have to be a serious boy, you have to focus. You are black, you are disabled, you have to work twice as hard as anyone to succeed in this country. And so I just hit remember the lyrics, stop your messing around.

Speaker 311:35

Stop your running it bad

Speaker 311:39

It's time you straighten right out

Speaker 311:43

Stop your running around.

Speaker 311:46

Making trouble in the town.

Speaker 311:50

Arudi.

Speaker 311:55

A message to you Rodi

Speaker 311:59

A message to you

Presenter12:06

That was Dandy Livingston and Message to You. So, Adea Depotan, it's your first day at school and you were wearing a pink-checked suit.

Presenter12:15

Uh

Ade Adepitan12:15

Oh good.

Presenter12:16

Give me everything on the pay check suit.

Ade Adepitan12:17

Do you know what? Well, the day before my first day of school, my mum, who's proper flamboyant, she likes to dress quite wild and and out there. She took me to Petticoat Lane Market in the East London and she decided to buy me a pink checkered suit with a bow tie. And also I had I can't remember what those shirts are called. It's like a it was a shirt with like a frilly.

Presenter12:40

Or a dress shirt. Sort of Tom Jones. Yeah.

Ade Adepitan12:42

Yeah, yeah. And this is what I was going to wear to my school, Creedon School, Upton Park, proper East London School. What was she thinking?

Presenter12:49

What was he thinking?

Ade Adepitan12:49

Uh exactly. I mean I think maybe it was a good ploy buyer because it took my mind off my physical disability and put my mind on my fashion disability.

Presenter12:58

Well

Presenter13:00

Now here's the thing, because your other USP of course is that you're a little boy wearing calipers, which is enough to deal with.

Ade Adepitan13:04

Yeah.

Ade Adepitan13:06

Yeah, yeah. And the calipers, you know, they were pretty blatant if you've ever seen Forest Gun and you've seen those iron rods that he'd wore. I had these iron rods that would protrude out of the bottom of my trousers and they went into these big hospital boots which just looked ugly as well. And

Presenter13:18

Yeah.

Ade Adepitan13:23

I just wanted to be cool. I wanted to look like the other kids and I wanted to, you know, hang out with the other kids. And I remember going into walking into the playground really nervous because I'm dressed like some crazy loon. And I saw some kids playing football, wanted to join in, and I walked over to them and asked them if I could play. They took a look at my suit and looked at my hair and the way I walked, and they were like, no way. But I moaned and nagged at them all day. And by final playtime, they picked two teams and they allowed me to play. I was picked last. They stuck me in goal. And miraculously, I saved a shot from one of the best footballers in the school, a guy called Stuart Harvey. And from that moment, I went from this fashion freak with a dodgy leg, crazy hairstyle, crazy accent, and crazy name to a schoolboy sporting hero. It was just an amazing moment for me. Sport just opened so many doors.

Presenter14:15

So your parents had fought very, very hard to get you into mainstream schooling. That was not a given back in those days, at the sort of beginning of the eighties, that somebody with a disability would be allowed into mainstream schooling.

Ade Adepitan14:21

Yeah.

Ade Adepitan14:23

But somebody

Speaker 314:24

Uh

Ade Adepitan14:26

Yeah. My parents, my dad was insistent. He said, when you grow up, you're going to be surrounded by able bodied kids. You know, you're going to be living in an able bodied world. So you might as well get used to it now.

Presenter14:37

And so the son of two teachers with high ambitions, I'm imagining serious, studious, not very raucous no, I'm not imagining any of that. No.

Ade Adepitan14:43

Okay.

Ade Adepitan14:46

I mean, my parents they would buy me my dad was buying me physics books when I was like nine, you know, A level physics books and stuff like that and and philosophy books, but I was just sport mad. Yeah, I was probably the opposite to what people back then would expect someone with a disability to be. Climbing walls, climbing trees, playing sport. That was that was what made me happy.

Presenter15:07

Let's have some music, we're on your fourth choice, what is it?

Ade Adepitan15:09

Uh my fourth choice is Debbie Malone Rescued Me a Dance Track from the late 80s'cause I was part of the Rave generation.

Speaker 315:23

I need your love tonight.

Speaker 315:25

Call me

Speaker 315:27

Baby

Speaker 315:30

Need you to hold me tight, release me?

Speaker 315:35

Ready for yourself.

Presenter15:50

That was Debbie Malone and the club mix of Rescue Me. So, Adia Deputin, you were playing sport at school, as you know. You were you were strong in goal. How did you find out about specifically disabled sport?

Ade Adepitan16:01

I got spotted by some physiotherapists who are based at a school called Elizabeth Fry School in Canning Town. They'd read about me in the newspaper. I'd tried to do a sponsored walk for my school where I walked over all the bridges in London and I'd got in the newspaper because of it. And they were like, wow, we should have this kid playing in our basketball team. And I just happened to be racing, being raced through the streets of East London by my mates in a Tesco shopping trolley. And this is because when I was walking around in my calipers, we couldn't really get away that quickly. I couldn't move as fast as my friends. And they just bumped into me and then they said, How would you like to play wheelchair basketball? And my initial thoughts were, how does anyone in a wheelchair play basketball? That is just the most ridiculous idea ever. How wrong was I? I got taken to Stoke Manderville. First of all, I was quite overwhelmed by seeing so many people with disabilities. And it was quite a strange feeling for me. And then. Unpick that a bit, would you, when you say strange? Was it your mixed emotions? Yeah, I did have mixed emotions because I was quite ashamed of my disability back then. I hated seeing myself in the mirror. And when I walked to school, I walked like C-3PO from Star Wars who just trod in a bit of chewing gum. And then to see other people with disabilities, it almost discombobulated me a bit. I was just like, what's going on here? And then I saw some of the guys from the Great Britain wheelchair team who happened to be training at Stoke Manderville that day. And they're doing wheelies, they're spinning around, they're shooting three-point shots, massive arms. They all look so cool. And I was like. Wow, this is incredible, this is what I want to do And I suddenly from that moment onwards thought disabled people were way cooler than able-bodied people.

Presenter17:58

What did your parents think about all of that?

Ade Adepitan18:00

They weren't keen on it.

Ade Adepitan18:02

They had the philosophy that the moment you got into a wheelchair, you were giving up.

Ade Adepitan18:07

You walk at all costs. They were disgusted actually and it was it was a really difficult time and I remember I got my first wheelchair I got um Frank Bruno raised money for me to get my first chair beautiful chair so excited showed it to my dad and he threw it out the house um he threw it out the house he was like so disgusted with it and I remember being in tears and and I had to hide it in the back garden and put some tarpaulin on over it so it didn't get rusty in the rain and but I can understand they they just thought this is something that's going to hold my child back

Ade Adepitan18:46

Um and and they just really, really wanted me to walk.

Presenter18:50

We'll have some more music. Tell me what we're gonna hear now.

Ade Adepitan18:52

We are gonna hear La Los Orishas, and the song's called Natio Orishas. It's Cuban hip-hop.

Presenter19:35

That was los orishas and naci orishas. In fact, I did you said that lovely mati. You did that. You speak Spanish, do you?

Ade Adepitan19:39

You speak Spanish, do you?

Presenter19:43

How did you learn and where did you learn? Tell me about that.

Ade Adepitan19:45

Well, um

Ade Adepitan19:47

When I was twenty, I went out and played in a tournament in Spain in Zaragotha. And when I came back, I received an offer for them to play over there professionally. And this was an opportunity to go out and go on another adventure and live in another country and play basketball professionally. And it was amazing.

Presenter20:05

So this is you when you were twenty, but I'd like to just for a moment rewind a little bit because I read that when you were sixteen you you broke the the British Paralympic power lifting record. That was quite strong, yeah. And you were invited to be in the squad for that.

Ade Adepitan20:18

Yeah, yeah.

Presenter20:19

Yeah, it didn't happen for you, why not?

Ade Adepitan20:21

Yeah, it didn't happen. I was invited to go to Miami for the World Junior Championships as a power lifter, but my dad said no. And it was basically around about the time when I was going to do my GCSEs, and I was brokenhearted, devastated. He said to me, Look, if you do well in your exams, then I'll let you play some sport. And I didn't do that one in my exams. I did the resets and I did okay. And I thought, great, I'm going to start playing sport and playing basketball. My dad said, no, you've got to do your A-levels. And I was furious.

Presenter20:53

Um, I mentioned that in the introduction this huge wedge that was driven between you and your parents. When when did you didn't talk to your father for ten years, I think it was.

Ade Adepitan21:02

I ended up writing a letter to the council and saying that my dad had kicked me out. So it was a couple.

Presenter21:12

So it was a kind of I've kicked my son out.

Ade Adepitan21:13

Yeah, yeah, yeah, saying that he was kicking me out and forged his signature. And because I was disabled, I got after about five months, um, I got my own flat and just left and um didn't speak to my dad, yeah, for pretty much ten years.

Presenter21:28

And what affected the reconciliation? What was the catalyst for that?

Ade Adepitan21:32

Well, me and my parents, after about five or six years, we'd started talking a little bit. My mum was really upset because she was so worried about me. And.

Ade Adepitan21:43

And when I came back from Spain, they were kind of starting to feel a little bit proud of me because it was a brave move. And I just got selected for the national team to go to the Sydney Paralympics. And I went to the Sydney Paralympics, it got a lot of coverage. The BBC showed it on the TV. And I came back and went to see my dad. And he came out of the house and he was in tears. And he'd watch me on the TV for the first time playing basketball. And I think he kind of realised that this is what I wanted to do. And he accepted it. And it was cool. It was a nice moment.

Presenter22:17

Let's have some music then, Haddie. What are we gonna hear?

Ade Adepitan22:20

The next track is The Beautiful Minnie Ripperton and Edge of a Dream.

Presenter22:24

And why do you love this?

Ade Adepitan22:24

This song reminds me of it's quite sad of the day my my my my father passed away you know it was just a harrowing moment and when I felt everybody was okay I went back to my place and I put some music on and this started playing and one of the words she says in part of her lyrics is I see the Lord in everyone and I think that's what my dad saw you know he was yeah he was a tough guy but he was an amazing guy and he saw the goodness in everybody.

Speaker 322:58

I see the love inside of everyone.

Speaker 323:05

Can it be my dream when it really come?

Speaker 323:11

His eyes are on the edge of a dream.

Speaker 323:14

That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 323:18

That's what I see.

Presenter23:22

That was Minnie Ripperton and Edge of a Dream and chosen Adea Depottan for memories of your father there.

Presenter23:28

We should remind people, then, that you won bronze in two thousand four in Athens. You won a gold medal at the Paralympic World Cup in two thousand five. By that time you had already begun your T V career. Was that why you decided to retire your playing on court career?

Ade Adepitan23:44

Yeah. Also because my dad was ill, you know, my older sister's disabled. I was training six hours a day, six days a week, and I hadn't spent much time with my family at all. And I knew that basketball couldn't last forever. And it was a hard, hard decision, but

Ade Adepitan24:02

I I think I had to a training session and it was at Lillyshaw in Shropshire, which is about two and a half to three hour drive and I just won't.

Ade Adepitan24:10

I'm not guying anymore. That's it. I'm done.

Presenter24:12

You've visited more than forty countries. It takes for anybody living in a wheelchair or living with a degree of disability, it takes huge reserves of mental strength and very often physical strength to get them to places that most of us take for granted. You must have both of those reserves. You must be somebody who is so determined to do things.

Ade Adepitan24:32

I suppose when I get something in my mind that I'm going to do it, I I will do it. But I just love travelling. You know, there are moments where I'm just oh, I can't be asked to be waiting in this queue or you know, are they going to lose my chair? Or what's it going to be like when we get over there? Is it going to be accessible? But once I get there, I love it.

Presenter24:50

And what about I presume they have lost your chair on more than one occasion?

Ade Adepitan24:53

On the case. I was sent to Ghana for comic relief. So get off the plane and the nightmare of all nightmares that every disabled person who uses a wheelchair happened. And I was gutted. But it also made me appreciate how lucky we are in this country because then I had to borrow a wheelchair. It was huge. It had flat tyres. This was probably seen as a luxury out in Ghana.

Presenter25:19

How much of your time is taken up with um campaigning for disability rights?

Ade Adepitan25:24

Um

Ade Adepitan25:25

It's strange. I think I do a lot of stuff now. It wasn't that way when it began,'cause when I remember when I joined a kids' show called Exchange on CBBC, I was um I was at the Tate Gallery actually, and I bumped into this guy. He came up to me and he asked me for my autograph.

Ade Adepitan25:42

And I was like, oh wow, this is cool. It's on autograph. And he said, it's not for me, it's for my son. He said, my son's got cerebral palsy and he was getting bullied and he was finding life really difficult. And then suddenly you came on TV on exchange and all the kids thought you were cool and they thought being in a wheelchair was cool. And it suddenly changed my son's life. And that was a moment for me where it suddenly clicked. And I thought, wow, yeah, this is right. I am in a really privileged position. And I thought, you know, I should do stuff.

Presenter26:17

More music. What's it gonna be?

Ade Adepitan26:17

What's it gonna be? Well, the next track is from my uh beautiful girlfriend, extremely talented uh Linda Harrison, and it's called Be With You.

Speaker 326:27

Don't be afraid, it's only

Speaker 326:36

Don't be misled, cause it's too tight.

Speaker 326:43

You know that

Speaker 326:46

I would die to be with you, to be with you. You know that I would die to be with you, to be with you. You know that I would be with you. You know that I would be with you if you would. But you won't. And I can't keep going on. I like this dream. Mr. Reed came to me. Now you're gone. I can't find you. Oh, would you be with me? If I swore, I would never leave. All you need is belief.

Speaker 327:28

I'm bleeping.

Speaker 327:34

I would die to be with you, to be with you, and all that I

Speaker 327:43

I would die to be with you And to be with you

Presenter27:52

Patty, that was your girlfriend, Linda Harrison, and Be With You. I hope she wrote that for you, did she?

Ade Adepitan27:56

I don't know, I don't I I I think she wrote that before she was with me.

Presenter28:00

What do your family make of your life and your career now?

Ade Adepitan28:03

Yeah, cool. We've reached a really nice point. My brother and sister doing fantastic. My mum's happy. My mum invited my dad's sister over to the UK. She never left Nigeria. She's never been on a plane. And I bought her tickets for the closing ceremony of the Paralympics and yeah, she's just totally blown away.

Presenter28:25

And with your siblings, are you a close family now?

Ade Adepitan28:28

Uh

Presenter28:28

Yeah.

Ade Adepitan28:28

Yeah. We've always been close. I mean, we've had our our issues, but my my girlfriend came over to my mum's house a couple of weeks ago and she said

Presenter28:28

If you

Ade Adepitan28:39

You should be filming this. This should be on T V because we're just all really larger than life characters. And when my dad was there, he was just a crazy dude as well.

Presenter28:49

You told me earlier that you used to spend at one point six days a week training six hours each day. I mean, you you know, you look super fit now. You've you they call them the guns, don't you? You've got the guns, you've got these great big biceps.

Ade Adepitan28:58

These great big biceps and they're shrilly. Do they? Yeah. Do you still I mean, are you doing a lot of sports still? Do you work on? Only through vanity.

Presenter29:01

Do you still I mean are you doing a lot

Presenter29:03

I have no

Presenter29:06

That's right.

Ade Adepitan29:06

Because I don't want to um um put on weight and stuff. But I yeah, I still enjoy sport. I love playing basketball and I love playing tennis. And it's what makes me happy. It's still even today, you know, being on a basketball court or being on a tennis court just makes me feel, you know, pure joy.

Speaker 329:07

Uh

Presenter29:25

So on the island, no thrills, no spills, no team mates, no girlfriend, how will you how are you with your own company?

Ade Adepitan29:32

I'm all right actually. Um, I've spent a lot of time in my own c in my own company and I'm I I actually like it sometimes because my life is so mad and so hectic and sometimes I just need to sit down and be with myself for a for a couple of hours to take stock. So

Ade Adepitan29:48

Yeah.

Presenter29:49

I think I'll be all right. And are you practical? Can you cook? Can you lash up a shelter? Would you be good at that sort of stuff?

Ade Adepitan29:53

Yeah, I I I'm good at cooking for myself. You know, I I'm no good at cooking for other people. I I think I'd be devastated if I cooked for people and they didn't like it. I'd be looking at them saying, Why aren't you eating that? What what what's wrong with that? Oh my god, they hate my food So maybe on the island I'll be fine and I I yeah, I'd build a shelter, I'm I'm cool with that stuff.

Presenter30:12

Time for your final track, What's Disc8?

Ade Adepitan30:14

Uh Disc Eight is Bob Marley One Love, my dad's favorite track and I I love it as well. You just feel happy, you feel euphoric when you when you hear it. Beautiful lyrics, great melody, great gun.

Speaker 330:28

One love.

Speaker 330:33

Let's get together and feel alright.

Speaker 330:39

Hear the children crying. Hear the children crying. Saying, give thanks and praise to the Lord, and I will feel alright. Saying, let's get together and feel alright.

Presenter30:58

That was Bob Marley and One Love, your final track there. I'm going to give you the books now, Adda. You get, as you know, the complete works of Shakespeare, you get the Bible, and you can take another book. What would you like to take?

Ade Adepitan31:07

Glad

Ade Adepitan31:09

Because I'm a big sci-fi fan, I'm going for um it's called the the Lensman Chronicles. It's yours, and a luxury too.

Ade Adepitan31:18

I wanted a helicopter. I heard someone try and get a helicopter, but you weren't having it. Obviously, not. You're not having it.

Presenter31:22

Obviously not.

Ade Adepitan31:23

No. Jetpack? Nope. You're hard. All right, a basketball.

Presenter31:25

Nope.

Presenter31:26

I am

Ade Adepitan31:29

Yeah.

Presenter31:29

A hoop

Ade Adepitan31:29

Yeah, I'd be

Presenter31:30

And obviously a ball as well.

Ade Adepitan31:32

Well, yeah. Am I allowed that? Is that okay?

Presenter31:34

Okay. I can even give you a court. Serious? Yes. And you're your special chair. You want it you obviously it's a special chair for that.

Presenter31:42

It's all yours. And if you had to pick just one of the eight discs to save from the waves, which one would you pick?

Ade Adepitan31:47

It'll be Linda's track, be with you.

Presenter31:50

It's yours. Adia Dipitan, thank you very much for letting us hear your desert island discs. Thank you.

Presenter32:12

You've been listening to a download from the BBC.

Presenter32:15

You'll find more information on the Radio 4 website bbc.co.uk/slash radio four.