124 episodes

• Lindsey Hilsum

  17°55′S 033°57′W

  Lindsey Hilsum

  Lindsey Hilsum on impersonating a Red Cross worker

  Castaway · 30 March 2025·Lauren Laverne

• Stephen Mangan

  09°31′S 110°44′W

  Stephen Mangan

  Stephen Mangan on being inspected with a magnifying glass by Sue Townsend

  Castaway · 9 February 2025·Lauren Laverne

• Steven Knight

  21°26′S 035°54′W

  Steven Knight

  Steven Knight on writing to a Native American school as a 12-year-old

  Castaway · 11 August 2024·Lauren Laverne

• Gabby Logan

  02°30′S 065°15′W

  Gabby Logan

  Gabby Logan on leading her siblings out of the Bradford fire

  Castaway · 15 January 2023·Lauren Laverne

• Ruth Rogers

  03°36′S 148°20′W

  Ruth Rogers

  How a 685-entry competition brought Ruth Rogers to Paris

  Castaway · 2 August 2015·Kirsty Young

• Pamela Rose

  17°38′S 032°11′W

  Pamela Rose

  Pamela Rose on telling herself the stage could wait and the war can't

  Castaway · 31 May 2015·Kirsty Young

• Martina Navratilova

  00°16′S 109°15′W

  Martina Navratilova

  Martina Navratilova on her father telling her at age eight she would win Wimbledon

  Castaway · 8 July 2012·Kirsty Young

• Julian Fellowes

  06°59′S 104°25′W

  Julian Fellowes

  How a surprise phone call led Julian Fellowes to write for Robert Altman

  Castaway · 18 December 2011·Kirsty Young

• Francesca Simon

  16°56′S 041°35′W

  Francesca Simon

  Francesca Simon on telling her mother she'd never get married

  Castaway · 6 November 2011·Kirsty Young

• Felicity Green

  05°19′S 023°13′W

  Felicity Green

  How wearing skirts helped Felicity Green navigate Fleet Street's boardroom

  Castaway · 17 April 2011·Kirsty Young

• Ian McMillan

  02°48′S 149°56′W

  Ian McMillan

  Ian McMillan on his mother going to prison for love

  Castaway · 7 November 2010·Kirsty Young

• Lang Lang

  19°05′S 105°16′W

  Lang Lang

  Lang Lang on his father telling him to jump off a building

  Castaway · 31 October 2010·Kirsty Young

• Arlene Phillips

  22°38′S 152°50′W

  Arlene Phillips

  Arlene Phillips on deciding never to go home after a dance class

  Castaway · 28 June 2009·Kirsty Young

• Barry Humphries

  21°05′S 086°34′W

  Barry Humphries

  How a slip on a frozen stream nearly killed Barry Humphries

  Castaway · 24 May 2009·Kirsty Young

• Richard Madeley

  16°18′S 001°08′W

  Richard Madeley

  Richard Madeley on his wife's 'three pack' reply to his marriage proposal

  Castaway · 8 March 2009·Kirsty Young

• Shami Chakrabarti

  07°30′S 031°41′W

  Shami Chakrabarti

  Shami Chakrabarti on her earliest political memory of walking to the electric chair

  Castaway · 2 November 2008·Kirsty Young

• Greg Dyke

  22°11′S 135°59′W

  Greg Dyke

  Greg Dyke on reading Lord Hutton's report and knowing the public would side with the BBC

  Castaway · 20 May 2007·Kirsty Young

• Jack Higgins

  07°43′S 175°23′W

  Jack Higgins

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

  Castaway · 5 March 2006·Sue Lawley

• Betsy Blair

  00°43′S 013°00′W

  Betsy Blair

  Betsy Blair on kissing Gene Kelly goodbye a year before he died

  Castaway · 12 June 2005·Sue Lawley

• Matthew Bourne

  05°30′S 099°25′W

  Matthew Bourne

  How copying the moves helped Matthew Bourne get into dance school

  Castaway · 19 November 2004·Sue Lawley

• Sister Frances Dominica

  08°49′S 156°24′W

  Sister Frances Dominica

  Frances Dominica on the split-second she knew she had to become a nun

  Castaway · 8 February 2004·Sue Lawley

• Sir Trevor Nunn

  17°41′S 148°54′W

  Sir Trevor Nunn

  Trevor Nunn on the fragment about Grizabella that inspired the song Memory

  Castaway · 26 January 2003·Sue Lawley

• Rt Hon Robin Cook MP

  06°32′S 140°12′W

  Rt Hon Robin Cook MP

  Robin Cook on abandoning academia after a colleague's thesis on Victorian sanitation

  Castaway · 3 November 2002·Sue Lawley

• Paul Gambaccini

  19°11′S 131°04′W

  Paul Gambaccini

  Paul Gambaccini on realizing he was a 'freak' for his music knowledge

  Castaway · 13 October 2002·Sue Lawley

• Sue Johnston

  12°00′S 131°54′W

  Sue Johnston

  Sue Johnston on reliving her own attack while filming a rape storyline

  Castaway · 26 May 2002·Sue Lawley

• Wayne Marshall

  14°53′S 112°08′W

  Wayne Marshall

  Wayne Marshall on a Dublin concert where his organ's memory was wiped

  Castaway · 21 April 2002·Sue Lawley

• Kazuo Ishiguro

  12°58′S 153°53′W

  Kazuo Ishiguro

  Kazuo Ishiguro on greeting his classmates with 'Howdy?'

  Castaway · 17 February 2002·Sue Lawley

• Professor Sir Richard Doll

  22°16′S 057°00′W

  Professor Sir Richard Doll

  How three pints of strong ale cost Richard Doll his Cambridge scholarship

  Castaway · 18 February 2001·Sue Lawley

• Sir John Mortimer

  20°57′S 074°16′W

  Sir John Mortimer

  John Mortimer on his blind father hiding in the herbaceous border from visitors

  Castaway · 4 February 2001·Sue Lawley

• Stephen Sondheim

  02°03′S 015°45′W

  Stephen Sondheim

  How a lie from his mother led Stephen Sondheim to live with his father at 15

  Castaway · 31 December 2000·Sue Lawley

• Albie Sachs

  08°59′S 142°57′W

  Albie Sachs

  Albie Sachs on how the bomb that maimed him gave him optimism

  Castaway · 26 November 2000·Sue Lawley

• Professor Géza Vermes

  10°34′S 103°17′W

  Professor Géza Vermes

  Géza Vermes on becoming a priest because he couldn't go to university

  Castaway · 4 June 2000·Sue Lawley

• Al Alvarez

  00°21′S 087°36′W

  Al Alvarez

  Al Alvarez on ducking out when Sylvia Plath begged him to stay

  Castaway · 19 March 2000·Sue Lawley

• Robert McCrum

  18°25′S 140°24′W

  Robert McCrum

  Robert McCrum on crawling downstairs after his stroke

  Castaway · 5 March 2000·Sue Lawley

• Michael Crawford

  03°03′S 142°19′W

  Michael Crawford

  Michael Crawford on his first laugh with 'I took eight pairs of socks'

  Castaway · 24 December 1999·Sue Lawley

• Luise Rainer

  17°08′S 004°11′W

  Luise Rainer

  Luise Rainer on surviving on apples and eggs after leaving home

  Castaway · 28 March 1999·Sue Lawley

• Maria Ewing

  02°13′S 060°21′W

  Maria Ewing

  Maria Ewing on thinking her mother's compliment meant she couldn't play the piano

  Castaway · 21 February 1999·Sue Lawley

• Bill Bryson

  09°56′S 104°01′W

  Bill Bryson

  Bill Bryson on waking up in New Hampshire and realising his return to America was a catastrophe

  Castaway · 31 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

• Nicole Kidman

  21°40′S 006°08′W

  Nicole Kidman

  Nicole Kidman on her naked handshake deal with Sam Mendes

  Castaway · 15 November 1998·Sue 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 1998·Sue Lawley

• Rose Tremain

  19°40′S 062°44′W

  Rose Tremain

  Rose Tremain on filling a vacuum created by her father's leaving home

  Castaway · 12 October 1997·Sue Lawley

• Cleo Laine

  01°36′S 009°56′W

  Cleo Laine

  Cleo Laine on the New Year's Eve kiss with Johnny Dankworth

  Castaway · 31 August 1997·Sue Lawley

• Sian Phillips

  10°09′S 049°20′W

  Sian Phillips

  Sian Phillips on seeing her first pantomime with her grandmother

  Castaway · 25 May 1997·Sue Lawley

• Dr Susan Greenfield

  07°27′S 174°37′W

  Dr Susan Greenfield

  Susan Greenfield on her mother's question about seeing the colour red

  Castaway · 2 March 1997·Sue Lawley

• Gene Wilder

  11°04′S 139°05′W

  Gene Wilder

  Gene Wilder on making his mother laugh after her heart attack

  Castaway · 2 February 1997·Sue Lawley

• John Cleese

  09°46′S 156°21′W

  John Cleese

  John Cleese on fleeing the Footlights desk in confusion

  Castaway · 5 January 1997·Sue Lawley

• Bruce Forsyth

  05°35′S 020°52′W

  Bruce Forsyth

  How driving round the block three times helped Bruce Forsyth enter the London Palladium

  Castaway · 1 December 1996·Sue Lawley

• Lewis Wolpert

  06°30′S 110°37′W

  Lewis Wolpert

  Lewis Wolpert on his therapist talking him through a committee meeting

  Castaway · 6 October 1996·Sue Lawley

• George Martin

  09°04′S 131°26′W

  George Martin

  George Martin on the morning in June 1962 when the Beatles walked into Abbey Road

  Castaway · 19 November 1995·Sue Lawley