Professor Russell Foster
Russell Foster on his headmaster describing him as entirely non-academic
Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Composer
60 episodes
Chosen over the decades
60
Total castaways
1980s
Peak decade
7
Decades seen
Castaways who chose this
Russell Foster on his headmaster describing him as entirely non-academic
Kate Atkinson on burying her father the day before winning the Whitbread Book of the Year
How a coin toss saved Bill Frankland's life
Gyles Brandreth on applying to become an MP the day his youngest daughter became a teenager
Diana Athill on discovering the facts of life at age 11 in a book by Mary Stopes
Cormac Murphy O'Connor on waking up at three in the morning and wondering if it's all true
Fay Maschler on being caught in disguise as Shirley Bassey by Marco Pierre White
David Jenkins on the violence of the reaction to his questioning of the virgin birth
Shirley Porter on being denied head girl, possibly because of her Jewish name
How timing bubbles helped Robin Knox-Johnston navigate when his log failed
How a two-book deal for Phil Edmonds started his wife's writing career
Elwyn-Jones on the emotional ordeal of reading the death sentence in court
Alan King-Hamilton on nearly swooning when he mistook a VC for a KC
Douglas Reeman on getting his best friend to swim for him in a full duck uniform
Ralph Richardson on putting wrong checks in wrong envelopes at an insurance office
How Gerald Ellison handled the Oxford sinking in the Boat Race
Valerie Masterson on how her father's stories inspired her love of theatre
Eddie Waring on being the first rugby league writer to tour Australia in 1946
Anthony Lawrence on being told the only way to be a journalist is to be one