1661 episodes

• Tito Gobbi

  22°29′S 039°34′W

  Tito Gobbi

  Tito Gobbi on eating lawn grass to survive

  Castaway · 30 June 1979·Roy Plomley

• Ed McBain

  11°09′S 030°26′W

  Ed McBain

  Ed McBain on using a typewriter with only capital letters in the Navy

  Castaway · 23 June 1979·Roy Plomley

• Irene Thomas

  00°48′S 021°18′W

  Irene Thomas

  Irene Thomas on being rejected by the Welsh quiz team

  Castaway · 16 June 1979·Roy Plomley

• Ian Carmichael

  12°32′S 103°25′W

  Ian Carmichael

  Ian Carmichael on his first role as a robot

  Castaway · 9 June 1979·Roy Plomley

• Sir Robert Mayer

  23°53′S 112°33′W

  Sir Robert Mayer

  Robert Mayer on his first children's concert in 1923

  Castaway · 2 June 1979·Roy Plomley

• Jack Brymer

  22°06′S 015°04′W

  Jack Brymer

  Jack Brymer on the phone call that opened with ‘Mister Brimer, I believe you play the clarionet’

  Castaway · 26 May 1979·Roy Plomley

• Alec McCowen

  09°27′S 024°12′W

  Alec McCowen

  Alec McCowen on learning the Gospel of Mark three verses at a time

  Castaway · 19 May 1979·Roy Plomley

• Peter Blake

  00°25′S 177°48′W

  Peter Blake

  Peter Blake on starting art school in short trousers

  Castaway · 12 May 1979·Roy Plomley

• James Cameron

  11°46′S 006°56′W

  James Cameron

  How a six-pound weekly budget sent James Cameron to France

  Castaway · 5 May 1979·Roy Plomley

• Edward Fox

  18°29′S 050°36′W

  Edward Fox

  How a fear of appearing naked made Edward Fox turn down a film test at age ten

  Castaway · 28 April 1979·Roy Plomley

• Patricia Highsmith

  05°49′S 059°44′W

  Patricia Highsmith

  Patricia Highsmith on the 300-page novel she abandoned at 23

  Castaway · 21 April 1979·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

• Sir Adrian Boult

  07°08′S 041°28′W

  Sir Adrian Boult

  Castaway · 7 April 1979·Roy Plomley

• Burl Ives

  17°33′S 140°51′W

  Burl Ives

  Burl Ives on singing hymns on pitch at the family pump organ

  Castaway · 31 March 1979·Roy Plomley

• Ray Reardon

  06°12′S 132°43′W

  Ray Reardon

  Ray Reardon on being buried alive for three hours

  Castaway · 24 March 1979·Roy Plomley

• Ileana Cotrubas

  23°29′S 088°03′W

  Ileana Cotrubas

  Ileana Cotrubas on being congratulated by Nadia Boulanger for her French

  Castaway · 17 March 1979·Roy Plomley

• David Attenborough

  12°09′S 079°55′W

  David Attenborough

  David Attenborough on predicting horseshoe crabs breeding in Chesapeake Bay

  Castaway · 10 March 1979·Roy Plomley

• Lauren Bacall

  21°11′S 105°19′W

  Lauren Bacall

  How a phone call to Howard Hawks saved Lauren Bacall’s crooked eyebrows

  Castaway · 3 March 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

• Sir Arthur Bryant

  03°07′S 052°31′W

  Sir Arthur Bryant

  Arthur Bryant on becoming the youngest headmaster in England at 23

  Castaway · 17 February 1979·Roy Plomley

• Norris McWhirter

  16°47′S 044°23′W

  Norris McWhirter

  Norris McWhirter on running the 100 yards in just over 10 seconds

  Castaway · 10 February 1979·Roy Plomley

• Robert Stephens

  01°48′S 070°47′W

  Robert Stephens

  Robert Stephens on the worst film ever made

  Castaway · 3 February 1979·Roy Plomley

• Benjamin Luxon

  14°28′S 061°39′W

  Benjamin Luxon

  Benjamin Luxon on being called to tour Russia with the English Opera Group

  Castaway · 27 January 1979·Roy Plomley

• Elia Kazan

  10°53′S 127°58′W

  Elia Kazan

  How seeing Eisenstein's films gave Elia Kazan his first goal

  Castaway · 20 January 1979·Roy Plomley

• Allan Prior

  21°14′S 135°06′W

  Allan Prior

  Allan Prior on knocking over his boss's inkwell to land his first job

  Castaway · 13 January 1979·Roy Plomley

• Robert Powell

  08°34′S 144°14′W

  Robert Powell

  Robert Powell on keeping his eyes open without blinking

  Castaway · 6 January 1979·Roy Plomley

• Norman Parkinson

  19°55′S 153°22′W

  Norman Parkinson

  Norman Parkinson on moving to a desert island to be well rehearsed

  Castaway · 30 December 1978·Roy Plomley

• Sir Robert Helpmann

  06°15′S 162°30′W

  Sir Robert Helpmann

  Robert Helpmann on seeing his mother in Katherine Hepburn's Portia

  Castaway · 23 December 1978·Roy Plomley

• Dinsdale Landen

  17°36′S 171°38′W

  Dinsdale Landen

  Dinsdale Landen on seeing Paul Schofield play Alexander the Great

  Castaway · 16 December 1978·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

• Vladimir Ashkenazy

  15°17′S 008°54′W

  Vladimir Ashkenazy

  How Vladimir Ashkenazy was told to compete or forget his career

  Castaway · 2 December 1978·Roy Plomley

• Joan Fontaine

  02°38′S 017°02′W

  Joan Fontaine

  How a slap from Alfred Hitchcock helped Joan Fontaine cry on cue

  Castaway · 25 November 1978·Roy Plomley

• David Bellamy

  13°58′S 026°10′W

  David Bellamy

  David Bellamy on a dolphin attempting to mate with him

  Castaway · 18 November 1978·Roy Plomley

• Michael Crawford

  15°54′S 164°25′W

  Michael Crawford

  Michael Crawford on forgetting to put his ragged pants on during an opera

  Castaway · 11 November 1978·Roy Plomley

• John Wain

  04°33′S 155°17′W

  John Wain

  How failing exams led John Wain to Oxford on his father's money

  Castaway · 4 November 1978·Roy Plomley

• Jule Styne

  09°58′S 037°13′W

  Jule Styne

  Jule Styne on jumping on stage to imitate Harry Lauder aged five

  Castaway · 28 October 1978·Roy Plomley

• Colin Wilson

  22°37′S 028°05′W

  Colin Wilson

  Colin Wilson on sleeping out on Hampstead Heath while writing The Outsider

  Castaway · 21 October 1978·Roy Plomley

• Noel Edmonds

  11°16′S 019°57′W

  Noel Edmonds

  Noel Edmonds on quitting a £3,000-a-year job at 19 with nothing to fall back on

  Castaway · 14 October 1978·Roy Plomley

• Christopher Fry

  00°56′S 011°49′W

  Christopher Fry

  Christopher Fry on taking letters to the post at midnight

  Castaway · 7 October 1978·Roy Plomley

• Alec Clifton-Taylor

  05°20′S 072°45′W

  Alec Clifton-Taylor

  Alec Clifton-Taylor on escaping his family to rush into a church as a child

  Castaway · 30 September 1978·Roy Plomley

• Alan Jay Lerner

  18°59′S 063°37′W

  Alan Jay Lerner

  How losing an eye in an accident led Alan Jay Lerner to musical theatre

  Castaway · 23 September 1978·Roy Plomley

• Cathy Berberian

  07°39′S 054°29′W

  Cathy Berberian

  Cathy Berberian on singing baritone, bass and coloratura as a child because nobody told her she couldn't

  Castaway · 16 September 1978·Roy Plomley

• Tennessee Williams

  20°18′S 046°21′W

  Tennessee Williams

  How seeing Ibsen's Ghosts moved Tennessee Williams out of his seat

  Castaway · 9 September 1978·Roy Plomley

• Gian Carlo Menotti

  00°33′S 167°20′W

  Gian Carlo Menotti

  Gian Carlo Menotti on being dumped by his mother in Philadelphia at 16

  Castaway · 2 September 1978·Roy Plomley

• Rt Hon. Denis Healey

  11°53′S 175°28′W

  Rt Hon. Denis Healey

  Denis Healey on inventing a welly box

  Castaway · 26 August 1978·Roy Plomley

• Fred Trueman

  10°21′S 110°12′W

  Fred Trueman

  Fred Trueman on thinking his Test call-up was a hoax

  Castaway · 19 August 1978·Roy Plomley

• Janet Suzman

  21°41′S 118°20′W

  Janet Suzman

  Janet Suzman on the phone call offering her an RSC part

  Castaway · 12 August 1978·Roy Plomley

• Simon Rattle

  12°40′S 092°56′W

  Simon Rattle

  Simon Rattle on the terrifying moment before his first rehearsal with an orchestra

  Castaway · 5 August 1978·Roy Plomley

• Barbara Pym

  23°00′S 101°04′W

  Barbara Pym

  Barbara Pym on 16 years of publisher rejection

  Castaway · 29 July 1978·Roy Plomley

• Patricia Batty Shaw

  14°58′S 074°40′W

  Patricia Batty Shaw

  How 'Can't we try a little longer?' made Patricia Batty Shaw WI secretary

  Castaway · 22 July 1978·Roy Plomley