54 episodes

• Sir Ben Ainslie

  13°46′S 096°40′W

  Sir Ben Ainslie

  Ben Ainslie on returning to school as a world champion

  Castaway · 26 January 2014·Kirsty Young

• Blanche Marvin

  06°15′S 087°14′W

  Blanche Marvin

  Blanche Marvin on being killed off as Superman’s girlfriend to meet a man in Paris

  Castaway · 16 November 2012·Kirsty Young

• Charles Jencks

  11°37′S 118°23′W

  Charles Jencks

  Charles Jencks on the 3:32 demolition that killed modernism

  Castaway · 1 July 2012·Kirsty Young

• Sir Michael Caine

  16°25′S 016°24′W

  Sir Michael Caine

  Michael Caine on his mother still working as a cleaner after he became a millionaire

  Castaway · 20 December 2009·Kirsty Young

• Peter Mansfield

  20°59′S 142°46′W

  Peter Mansfield

  Peter Mansfield on climbing into his prototype MRI scanner in complete darkness

  Castaway · 18 June 2006·Sue Lawley

• Ronald Searle

  12°50′S 119°36′W

  Ronald Searle

  Ronald Searle on writing a note saying 'I've gone' and abandoning his old life

  Castaway · 10 July 2005·Sue Lawley

• Dorothy Rowe

  10°16′S 147°40′W

  Dorothy Rowe

  Dorothy Rowe on her mother threatening to kill her and herself

  Castaway · 24 March 2002·Sue Lawley

• Rt Hon William Hague MP

  00°14′S 072°46′W

  Rt Hon William Hague MP

  William Hague on his sister writing 'Dear Tory Pig' letters

  Castaway · 2 December 2001·Sue Lawley

• Rick Stein

  05°48′S 126°33′W

  Rick Stein

  Rick Stein on his disco club being closed down by the police

  Castaway · 1 August 1999·Sue Lawley

• David Shepherd

  07°37′S 122°17′W

  David Shepherd

  David Shepherd on being told to ‘go and drive a bus’ by the Slade School of Art

  Castaway · 17 January 1999·Sue Lawley

• Dick Francis

  09°33′S 080°32′W

  Dick Francis

  Dick Francis on the heartbreaking collapse of Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National

  Castaway · 13 December 1998·Sue Lawley

• Sir Anthony Dowell

  08°43′S 051°21′W

  Sir Anthony Dowell

  Anthony Dowell on having his knees inspected by Dame Ninette de Valois

  Castaway · 8 March 1998·Sue Lawley

• Wendy Richard

  05°03′S 142°29′W

  Wendy Richard

  Wendy Richard on being doorstepped while trying to walk her dog

  Castaway · 9 July 1995·Sue Lawley

• David Jason OBE

  01°15′S 057°13′W

  David Jason OBE

  David Jason on a lonely Christmas dinner in a panto boarding house

  Castaway · 25 December 1994·Sue Lawley

• Lord Tebbit

  09°51′S 093°30′W

  Lord Tebbit

  Norman Tebbit on the moment the Brighton bomb brought down his hotel room

  Castaway · 29 November 1992·Sue Lawley

• Rt Hon David Mellor MP

  06°09′S 038°47′W

  Rt Hon David Mellor MP

  How Margaret Thatcher told David Mellor he'd never make a living at the Chancery Bar

  Castaway · 26 July 1992·Sue Lawley

• Jean Rook

  18°44′S 145°38′W

  Jean Rook

  Jean Rook on waking to find three masked men in her bedroom

  Castaway · 15 July 1990·Sue Lawley

• Ian Botham

  04°35′S 039°06′W

  Ian Botham

  Ian Botham on the bouncer that made him knock his own teeth out

  Castaway · 5 November 1989·Sue Lawley

• Lord Armstrong

  09°33′S 020°03′W

  Lord Armstrong

  Lord Armstrong on going to Buckingham Palace with Heath to resign and returning with Wilson

  Castaway · 24 July 1988·Michael Parkinson

• David Essex

  11°52′S 003°47′W

  David Essex

  David Essex on the music from a Soho basement that felt like a star over Bethlehem

  Castaway · 10 July 1988·Michael Parkinson

• Antony Sher

  06°12′S 087°33′W

  Antony Sher

  Antony Sher on the rejection that made him determined to be an actor

  Castaway · 6 December 1987·Michael Parkinson

• Lord Montagu

  15°51′S 089°28′W

  Lord Montagu

  Montagu on the greatest dilemma of his life: choosing eight records

  Castaway · 30 August 1987·Michael Parkinson

• Frank Bough

  09°54′S 168°01′W

  Frank Bough

  Frank Bough on the 'crud from the sports department' remark

  Castaway · 26 April 1987·Michael Parkinson

• Julian Critchley

  11°13′S 150°45′W

  Julian Critchley

  Julian Critchley on being summoned by the chief whip for modelling a suit

  Castaway · 12 April 1987·Michael Parkinson

• Ken Russell

  23°08′S 075°55′W

  Ken Russell

  How Ken Russell walked out of his own film Valentino

  Castaway · 22 February 1987·Michael Parkinson

• John Ridgway

  19°22′S 117°10′W

  John Ridgway

  John Ridgway on seeing his friend's face in a child he adopted

  Castaway · 23 November 1986·Michael Parkinson

• Gordon Beningfield

  17°26′S 080°52′W

  Gordon Beningfield

  Gordon Beningfield on getting down on his hands and knees to see a butterfly's landscape

  Castaway · 16 March 1985·Roy Plomley

• Vernon Handley

  20°40′S 152°21′W

  Vernon Handley

  Vernon Handley on how his walk earned him the nickname Todd

  Castaway · 10 November 1984·Roy Plomley

• Charlotte Lamb

  07°39′S 081°50′W

  Charlotte Lamb

  Charlotte Lamb on writing an entire novel in three days

  Castaway · 10 September 1983·Roy Plomley

• Terry Wogan

  08°03′S 153°49′W

  Terry Wogan

  Terry Wogan on his most awkward interview with Jerry Lee Lewis

  Castaway · 21 May 1983·Roy Plomley

• David Lloyd Jones

  11°51′S 010°35′W

  David Lloyd Jones

  David Lloyd Jones on hearing the Magic Flute overture aged eight

  Castaway · 2 October 1982·Roy Plomley

• Dame Eva Turner

  15°40′S 156°29′W

  Dame Eva Turner

  Eva Turner on hearing Il Trovatore and knowing she would sing opera

  Castaway · 6 March 1982·Roy Plomley

• Helene Hanff

  07°17′S 031°37′W

  Helene Hanff

  Helene Hanff on writing a book without any idea what she was doing

  Castaway · 19 December 1981·Roy Plomley

• Elspeth Huxley

  09°01′S 015°51′W

  Elspeth Huxley

  Elspeth Huxley on not hearing proper music until she was eighteen

  Castaway · 17 October 1981·Roy Plomley

• Edmund Rubbra

  01°23′S 035°08′W

  Edmund Rubbra

  Edmund Rubbra on ‘knitting’ his music instead of writing it

  Castaway · 23 May 1981·Roy Plomley

• Catherine Gaskin

  07°48′S 048°49′W

  Catherine Gaskin

  Catherine Gaskin on practicing piano at her teacher's house every morning at 7:30

  Castaway · 25 October 1980·Roy Plomley

• Brian Glover

  20°28′S 039°41′W

  Brian Glover

  Brian Glover on substituting for a French wrestler and becoming Leonares

  Castaway · 18 October 1980·Roy Plomley

• Freddie Jones

  21°19′S 121°19′W

  Freddie Jones

  Freddie Jones on how his resignation made the company's shares rise by four points

  Castaway · 7 June 1980·Roy Plomley

• Rt Hon Lord Denning

  19°32′S 129°56′W

  Rt Hon Lord Denning

  Lord Denning on saying at age ten he would become a barrister

  Castaway · 17 May 1980·Roy Plomley

• Lindsay Anderson

  21°51′S 111°40′W

  Lindsay Anderson

  Lindsay Anderson on writing 'I rebel about nothing in particular' on a looking glass aged nine

  Castaway · 3 May 1980·Roy Plomley

• Rt Rev. And Rt Hon. Gerald Ellison

  21°44′S 096°21′W

  Rt Rev. And Rt Hon. Gerald Ellison

  How Gerald Ellison handled the Oxford sinking in the Boat Race

  Castaway · 11 March 1978·Roy Plomley

• Jack Parnell

  01°34′S 099°45′W

  Jack Parnell

  Jack Parnell on the night Luciano Pavarotti stood in wearing jodhpurs

  Castaway · 25 June 1977·Roy Plomley

• Christopher Milne

  16°02′S 060°20′W

  Christopher Milne

  Christopher Milne on the weekly moment his singing voice dominated in chapel

  Castaway · 13 November 1976·Roy Plomley

• Penelope Keith

  09°19′S 169°56′W

  Penelope Keith

  Penelope Keith on the sewing machine needle that ended her piano playing

  Castaway · 21 August 1976·Roy Plomley

• Philip Larkin

  01°39′S 058°29′W

  Philip Larkin

  Philip Larkin on spending months in the Bodleian Library stacks

  Castaway · 17 July 1976·Roy Plomley

• Philip Jones

  18°56′S 014°49′W

  Philip Jones

  Philip Jones on writing tunes for brass instruments to attack boredom

  Castaway · 26 June 1976·Roy Plomley

• Sir William Gladstone

  19°51′S 104°34′W

  Sir William Gladstone

  William Gladstone on drinking his family's wine cellar in ten years

  Castaway · 1 May 1976·Roy Plomley

• Stanley Holloway

  15°00′S 063°19′W

  Stanley Holloway

  Stanley Holloway on his first job taking his boss's head to be ironed

  Castaway · 25 October 1975·Roy Plomley

• Emlyn Williams

  02°45′S 070°11′W

  Emlyn Williams

  How a biography of Charles Dickens led Emlyn Williams to create a one-man show

  Castaway · 15 February 1975·Roy Plomley

• Joseph Cooper

  08°38′S 167°37′W

  Joseph Cooper

  How keeping a dummy keyboard helped Joseph Cooper prepare for rescue

  Castaway · 19 May 1973·Roy Plomley