Rod Stewart — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Tuning in…

desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

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Most requested
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Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
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Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Rod Stewart — Artist · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Artist

Rod Stewart

26 episodes

Chosen over the decades

25

Total castaways

2010s

Peak decade

6

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Alan Pascoe
Ash Atalla
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Bob Champion
Brendan Foster
Bruno Tonioli
Captain Eric Brown (Winkle)
Colin Montgomerie
Daley Thompson
Derek Randall
Duncan Bannatyne
Elisabeth Soderstrom
Eric Idle
Gary Lineker
Hammond Innes
Jack Higgins
Jimmy Tarbuck
John Caudwell
Jonathan Agnew
Martin Clunes
Mary Berry
Nick Hornby
Paul Costelloe
Professor Heinz Wolff
more

Ash Atalla
Ash Atalla on his father preparing him for life with a wheelchair at age five
Castaway · 13 July 2025Lauren Laverne
John Caudwell
John Caudwell on his childhood fantasy of giving five pound notes from a Rolls-Royce
Castaway · 23 January 2022Lauren Laverne

desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

How a borrowed skirt helped Paul Costelloe meet his wife

Castaway · 4 July 2021Lauren Laverne

09°32′S 005°08′W

Bruno Tonioli

How a diva's walk-out helped Bruno Tonioli land his first theatre role

Castaway · 24 December 2017Kirsty Young

Captain Eric Brown (Winkle)

10°46′S 156°13′W

Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown

Eric Brown on interrogating Hermann Goering

Castaway · 14 November 2014Kirsty Young

00°11′S 090°18′W

Jonathan Agnew

Jonathan Agnew on digging a bear trap for Geoffrey Boycott

Castaway · 17 February 2013Kirsty Young

23°44′S 044°59′W

Mary Berry

Mary Berry on contracting polio and being isolated in a glass-sided room

Castaway · 29 July 2012Kirsty Young

08°01′S 078°56′W

Martin Clunes

Martin Clunes on learning his father had left his family before he died

Castaway · 18 September 2011Kirsty Young

Duncan Bannatyne

10°52′S 067°57′W

Duncan Bannatyne

Duncan Bannatyne on his father eating a rat during the war

Castaway · 14 March 2010Kirsty Young

07°43′S 175°23′W

Jack Higgins

Jack Higgins on the IRA bomb his step-grandfather carried him from

Castaway · 5 March 2006Sue Lawley

04°11′S 011°56′W

Jimmy Tarbuck

Jimmy Tarbuck on being brought home by policemen for stealing apples

Castaway · 11 January 2004Sue Lawley

20°28′S 099°46′W

Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby on how therapy sparked the idea for Fever Pitch

Castaway · 28 September 2003Sue Lawley

Barbara Taylor Bradford

14°31′S 151°34′W

Barbara Taylor Bradford

Barbara Taylor Bradford on having her first story published at the age of ten

Castaway · 6 July 2003Sue Lawley

Colin Montgomerie

11°42′S 096°44′W

Colin Montgomerie

Colin Montgomerie on turning heckling into determination at the Ryder Cup

Castaway · 12 March 2000Sue Lawley

Rt Hon Mo Mowlam MP

08°07′S 157°47′W

Rt Hon Mo Mowlam MP

Mo Mowlam on waking up goofy in three different beds

Castaway · 21 March 1999Sue Lawley

Professor Heinz Wolff

21°02′S 075°15′W

Professor Heinz Wolff

Heinz Wolff on making Richard Dimbleby squeal with a swallowed radio transmitter

Castaway · 4 January 1998Sue Lawley

02°31′S 118°05′W

Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker on using household lamps to play football in the winter dark

Castaway · 30 September 1990Sue Lawley

08°19′S 046°15′W

Bob Champion

Bob Champion on watching the Grand National on the Pathé News aged nine

Castaway · 20 November 1988Michael Parkinson

21°34′S 084°38′W

Brendan Foster

Brendan Foster on breaking the world record at the opening of Gateshead Stadium

Castaway · 13 March 1988Michael Parkinson

01°43′S 133°38′W

Cindy Buxton & Annie Price

Cindy Buxton and Annie Price on how Annie thought the Falkland Islands were in Scotland

Castaway · 27 August 1983Roy Plomley

03°15′S 068°31′W

Daley Thompson

Daley Thompson on British sports facilities being the worst in the world

Castaway · 19 July 1980Roy Plomley

Elisabeth Soderstrom

02°32′S 002°49′W

Elisabeth Soderstrom

Elisabeth Soderstrom on her son inviting friends to watch 'mummy, she's so funny'

Castaway · 8 December 1979Roy Plomley

14°13′S 090°37′W

Derek Randall

Derek Randall on the fishy taste of strawberry jam

Castaway · 18 June 1977Roy Plomley

14°43′S 077°36′W

Eric Idle

Eric Idle on being banned in Rutland

Castaway · 27 November 1976Roy Plomley

20°14′S 177°33′W

Alan Pascoe

Alan Pascoe on why he switched to the 400m hurdles rather than take drugs

Castaway · 10 July 1976Roy Plomley

15°03′S 056°12′W

Hammond Innes

Hammond Innes on writing Attack Alarm on a gun site during the Battle of Britain

Castaway · 26 February 1972Roy Plomley