Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A television interviewer best known for his penetrating questioning of politicians, earning him a knighthood and the title elder statesman of political televisi
On the island
Eight records
Drinking Song from La Traviata (Libiamo ne' lieti calici)Favourite
Placido Domingo and Ileana Cotrubas
it's a piece which would give me the sense of having a party and lots of friends on a sort of lonely beach
this takes me back to my school days during the war ... I learned the words of this song
Speech after the Fall of France (18 June 1940)
the most inspiring utterance in the English language that I've heard ever in my whole life
I remember vividly that the tune which boomed out of the ship's loud speaker was this one
Habanera (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) from Carmen
a great and beautiful melody from a great and beautiful opera ... a favourite of mine and of my son Alexander
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
Fats Waller and Una Mae Carlisle
I taught the words of it to a Russian interpreter on a plane going from Kiev to Leningrad
St. Crispin's Day Speech (from Henry V)
one of the greatest voices of our time uttering some of the greatest words in the English language
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:53How are you going to cope with life on a desert island?
Well, I don't know why you find it difficult to imagine me coping with life on the desert island, nor do I find it difficult to imagine myself in the raw state. ... I shall cope. It's always been my motto in life, to cope with whatever difficulties are in front of me, and I shall make the best of a good or a bad job.
Presenter asks
8:35What did your mother want for you? What were her hopes for this late arrival?
Oh, I don't know. I don't know whether she had any because it was ... I don't think she had any particular ambitions for me.
Presenter asks
11:08Is it a source of regret to you that you missed having a good war?
Well, I'd like to have either I'd love to have come out a hero or have done something interesting, but no, I don't regret things. I suppose I'm lucky to be alive.
Presenter asks
The keepsakes
The book
The Oxford Book of English Verse
which would give me a wonderful collection of English words which I could learn by heart
The luxury
A dozen magnums of champagne, providing I could find somewhere cold to put them on the island
Which of the six Prime Ministers you've confronted has been the most testing opponent?
I think that probably Mrs. Thatcher is the one who has developed the most difficult technique of just proceeding to say what she wishes to say irrespective of the question.
Presenter asks
25:18Why did you never try to get into Parliament again after losing the election?
Oh, because I was old. I was thirty six and ... by that time I felt I'd given up my television career, which had only just started, to stand as a candidate for Parliament, which was a very foolish thing to have done. ... I thought I'd better concentrate on developing my television career.
Presenter asks
29:35How would you like us to remember you?
I'd like people to remember me as someone who may there occasionally brought some entertainment or interest into their lives on the television.
“It's always been my motto in life, to cope with whatever difficulties are in front of me.”
“And I thought we were going to be arrested and carted off for making an interruption.”
“the most inspiring utterance in the English language that I've heard ever in my whole life”
“by being a journalist, you just report and explain. By being a Member of Parliament, you have to decide.”