52 episodes

• Professor Stephen Westaby

  01°33′S 163°40′W

  Professor Stephen Westaby

  How a rugby head injury made Stephen Westaby fearless

  Castaway · 15 March 2026·Lauren Laverne

• Nemone Lethbridge

  20°51′S 119°52′W

  Nemone Lethbridge

  Nemone Lethbridge on visiting the Führerbunker with her father

  Castaway · 2 February 2025·Lauren Laverne

• Jamie Dornan

  02°04′S 049°52′W

  Jamie Dornan

  Jamie Dornan on being told his mother was dying after a rugby match

  Castaway · 28 January 2024·Lauren Laverne

• Pia Sinha

  22°03′S 060°55′W

  Pia Sinha

  How a prison airlock gave Pia Sinha a sense of panic

  Castaway · 19 November 2023·Lauren Laverne

• Jeremy Bowen

  21°08′S 060°50′W

  Jeremy Bowen

  Jeremy Bowen on hearing his first shots in war and feeling excited

  Castaway · 4 June 2023·Lauren Laverne

• Michael Pollan

  13°51′S 074°23′W

  Michael Pollan

  Michael Pollan on his ego dissolving into blue post-it notes

  Castaway · 22 January 2023·Lauren Laverne

• Rick Rubin

  10°09′S 019°40′W

  Rick Rubin

  Rick Rubin on sleeping in his parents' bed until age five

  Castaway · 23 October 2022·Lauren Laverne

• Jon Ronson

  20°26′S 102°06′W

  Jon Ronson

  Jon Ronson on getting on buses alone in London as a child

  Castaway · 5 June 2022·Lauren Laverne

• Deborah Meaden

  08°16′S 012°01′W

  Deborah Meaden

  How Deborah Meaden flinched when her father was called her stepfather

  Castaway · 17 October 2021·Lauren Laverne

• Chris Boardman

  20°30′S 009°48′W

  Chris Boardman

  Chris Boardman on the free portion of chips that told him he'd made it

  Castaway · 25 October 2020·Lauren Laverne

• Sinead Burke

  07°00′S 165°28′W

  Sinead Burke

  Sinead Burke on getting 'Little Person' into the Irish dictionary

  Castaway · 17 May 2020·Lauren Laverne

• Venki Ramakrishnan

  02°19′S 102°43′W

  Venki Ramakrishnan

  Venki Ramakrishnan on thinking his Nobel Prize call was an elaborate prank

  Castaway · 21 October 2018·Lauren Laverne

• Sir Peter Lampl

  23°04′S 056°58′W

  Sir Peter Lampl

  Peter Lampl on funding the campaign for a handgun ban after Dunblane

  Castaway · 13 May 2018·Kirsty Young

• Pinky Lilani

  05°22′S 113°18′W

  Pinky Lilani

  Pinky Lilani on cooking in a bad mood ruining her food

  Castaway · 8 January 2017·Kirsty Young

• Gareth Malone

  07°41′S 096°02′W

  Gareth Malone

  Gareth Malone on the painful moment he couldn't sing, with his father and teacher joining in

  Castaway · 25 December 2016·Kirsty Young

• Sir Philip Craven

  00°58′S 052°22′W

  Sir Philip Craven

  Philip Craven on seeing wheelchair basketball just two days after his accident

  Castaway · 4 December 2016·Kirsty Young

• Commander Chris Hadfield

  12°35′S 017°43′W

  Commander Chris Hadfield

  Chris Hadfield on the undignified pre-flight ritual of enemas and alcohol rubs

  Castaway · 20 December 2015·Kirsty Young

• Professor Monica Grady

  14°56′S 157°28′W

  Professor Monica Grady

  Monica Grady on punching the air as the comet probe landed

  Castaway · 26 July 2015·Kirsty Young

• Sarah Millican

  15°10′S 038°09′W

  Sarah Millican

  Sarah Millican on waking up to a blood-soaked bed because her shoes were too tight

  Castaway · 14 December 2014·Kirsty Young

• Miranda Hart

  21°59′S 176°50′W

  Miranda Hart

  Miranda Hart on Eric Morecambe turning to camera and smiling at her

  Castaway · 22 December 2013·Kirsty Young

• Sir Terry Leahy

  22°52′S 108°34′W

  Sir Terry Leahy

  Terry Leahy on being the class clown at school

  Castaway · 3 February 2013·Kirsty Young

• Bear Grylls

  18°15′S 023°19′W

  Bear Grylls

  Bear Grylls on crying uncontrollably at the summit of Everest

  Castaway · 27 November 2011·Kirsty Young

• Nicola Horlick

  17°08′S 120°31′W

  Nicola Horlick

  Nicola Horlick on Sky vans and film crews arriving at her door

  Castaway · 29 July 2007·Kirsty Young

• Jack Mapanje

  20°29′S 073°01′W

  Jack Mapanje

  Jack Mapanje on a phone call in Gaelic that may have saved his life

  Castaway · 24 October 2004·Sue Lawley

• Martha Lane Fox

  15°31′S 020°04′W

  Martha Lane Fox

  Martha Lane Fox on her father's horror if she'd become a banker

  Castaway · 4 January 2004·Sue Lawley

• Sir John Sulston

  23°51′S 153°03′W

  Sir John Sulston

  John Sulston on holding the human genome on a CD-ROM

  Castaway · 13 May 2001·Sue Lawley

• Kathleen Turner

  01°32′S 077°53′W

  Kathleen Turner

  Kathleen Turner on weeping in her dressing room after a nude scene

  Castaway · 14 May 2000·Sue Lawley

• Richard Dreyfuss

  11°12′S 057°59′W

  Richard Dreyfuss

  How waking up under a car ended Richard Dreyfuss's drug habit

  Castaway · 9 May 1999·Sue Lawley

• Ian Stewart

  21°23′S 042°13′W

  Ian Stewart

  How a broken collarbone saved Ian Stewart for mathematics

  Castaway · 15 March 1998·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

• Isabel Allende

  12°08′S 056°23′W

  Isabel Allende

  Isabel Allende on her family playing the roles from The House of the Spirits

  Castaway · 12 September 1993·Sue Lawley

• Jonathon Porritt

  07°39′S 144°03′W

  Jonathon Porritt

  Jonathon Porritt on being taken aback by Mrs Thatcher's environmental speech

  Castaway · 11 June 1989·Sue Lawley

• Bob Champion

  08°19′S 046°15′W

  Bob Champion

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

  Castaway · 20 November 1988·Michael Parkinson

• Neil Kinnock

  20°11′S 011°39′W

  Neil Kinnock

  Neil Kinnock on his mother dying of a broken heart

  Castaway · 1 May 1988·Michael Parkinson

• Brendan Foster

  21°34′S 084°38′W

  Brendan Foster

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

  Castaway · 13 March 1988·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

• Phil Edmonds

  02°05′S 161°50′W

  Phil Edmonds

  Phil Edmonds on his family being ostracized as 'Kaffa Booties' in Zambia

  Castaway · 19 October 1986·Michael Parkinson

• Rt Hon Shirley Williams

  14°33′S 084°21′W

  Rt Hon Shirley Williams

  How a tip-off about concentration camps sent Shirley Williams to America

  Castaway · 23 March 1986·Michael Parkinson

• David Lodge

  10°13′S 075°57′W

  David Lodge

  David Lodge on writing his first novel while in the army

  Castaway · 21 April 1984·Roy Plomley

• Geoffrey Moorhouse

  12°51′S 059°05′W

  Geoffrey Moorhouse

  Geoffrey Moorhouse on the baby who survived a five-floor chimney fall

  Castaway · 16 April 1983·Roy Plomley

• Delia Smith

  01°37′S 092°38′W

  Delia Smith

  Delia Smith on washing up in a restaurant to learn to cook

  Castaway · 5 June 1982·Roy Plomley

• Marti Webb

  23°18′S 109°54′W

  Marti Webb

  Marti Webb on how a friend’s suggestion led to her taking over as Evita

  Castaway · 22 May 1982·Roy Plomley

• Joan Plowright

  03°54′S 100°33′W

  Joan Plowright

  Joan Plowright on turning down a seven-year film contract

  Castaway · 24 January 1981·Roy Plomley

• Sir Edmund Hillary

  20°47′S 032°20′W

  Sir Edmund Hillary

  Edmund Hillary on concluding that the Yeti is mythological

  Castaway · 14 April 1979·Roy Plomley

• Nana Mouskouri

  10°50′S 096°11′W

  Nana Mouskouri

  Nana Mouskouri on the blow-up with her professor over jazz

  Castaway · 24 February 1979·Roy Plomley

• Barry John

  04°57′S 179°46′W

  Barry John

  Barry John on deciding to quit rugby at his peak

  Castaway · 9 December 1978·Roy Plomley

• James Bolam

  07°42′S 047°22′W

  James Bolam

  James Bolam on having his on-screen family murdered while being assessed for a comedy part

  Castaway · 12 March 1977·Roy Plomley

• Valerie Masterson

  18°56′S 149°14′W

  Valerie Masterson

  Valerie Masterson on how her father's stories inspired her love of theatre

  Castaway · 22 February 1975·Roy Plomley

• Bruce Tulloh

  09°28′S 114°51′W

  Bruce Tulloh

  Bruce Tulloh on getting the idea to run across America from the Guinness Book of Records

  Castaway · 23 November 1974·Roy Plomley

• Margaret Lockwood

  02°12′S 053°25′W

  Margaret Lockwood

  Margaret Lockwood on imitating Charlie Chaplin all the way home

  Castaway · 16 September 1972·Roy Plomley