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Astu lugude lõputusse maailma

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BBC Radio 4


Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.


Desert Island Discs

Lennie James is a British actor and writer. In 2025, he received the BAFTA for Leading Actor for his portrayal of Barrington Walker in the TV adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo’s novel Mr. Loverman.

This award adds to his collection, which also includes accolades for writing. At seventeen, he wrote Trial and Error and won the National Youth Theatre–Texaco Playwriting Competition, earning the title of Most Prominent Playwright Under 21.

For a decade, Lennie played Morgan Jones in The Walking Dead and its spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, gaining such global recognition that he was even recognised by Vatican guards.

He also created and starred in the critically acclaimed Sky Atlantic drama Save Me, which premiered in 2018. Its second season, Save Me Too, won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series in 2021.

Raised by his mother Phyllis, who emigrated from Trinidad to work as a nurse, Lennie faced hardship after her death when he was eleven. He and his brother Kestor were placed in a children’s home, and later Lennie moved into foster care after the home was sold by Wandsworth Council.

Encouraged by a youth theatre group, Lennie pursued acting and later trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

He met his wife, Giselle, at seventeen in the same youth theatre group. They have three daughters and divide their time between the US and the UK.

DISC ONE: Touch The Hem Of His Garment - Gene Martin 
DISC TWO: I Found Lovin’ - Fatback Band 
DISC THREE: Doesn't Make It Alright - The Specials 
DISC FOUR: Living For The City - Stevie Wonder 
DISC FIVE: Any Old Time - Artie Shaw and his Orchestra with Billie Holiday 
DISC SIX: For me... Formidable - Charles Aznavour 
DISC SEVEN: Champagne Supernova - Oasis 
DISC EIGHT: Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding 

BOOK CHOICE: The Collected Novels of Toni Morrison
LUXURY ITEM: A guitar
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: For me... Formidable - Charles Aznavour 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor

Desert Island Discs has cast many actors and writers away including the author of Mr. Loverman, Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo and the creator of Line of Duty, Jed Mercurio. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Lennie James, actor

Mary Greenwell is a makeup artist who has worked with some of the most famous faces in the world including Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, David Bowie and Cate Blanchett. Her less-is-more approach has won her plaudits in the beauty industry and she became Princess Diana’s makeup artist of choice.

Mary was born in Sussex and left school at 16. By the mid-1970s she was living in Los Angeles where she started out on the door at the legendary Joe Allen restaurant, escorting the likes of Paul Newman and Jack Lemmon to their tables. She received her one and only makeup lesson from the award-winning Ilana Harkavi and shortly afterwards created a look for 12-year-old actor Brooke Shields.

Mary’s big break came when she moved to Paris in 1984 and began working with the original supermodels; Christy Turlingon, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Tatiana Patitz. In 1990 she met Princess Diana on a Vogue photo shoot and became her go-to makeup artist and friend.

In 2025 Mary was appointed an MBE for services to the beauty and fashion industries and her charity work.

Mary lives in London. 

DISC ONE: Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan 
DISC TWO: I Am Enough - Tallulah Rendall 
DISC THREE: Suzanne - Leonard Cohen 
DISC FOUR: Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed 
DISC FIVE: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd 
DISC SIX: Cold Little Heart - Michael Kiwanuka 
DISC SEVEN: Diamonds - Rihanna 
DISC EIGHT: Heroes - David Bowie 
 
BOOK CHOICE: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima
LUXURY ITEM: A bed
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Am Enough - Tallulah Rendall 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We’ve cast away other hair and beauty experts including the makeup artist Pat McGrath, and hairdressers Vidal Sassoon and Trevor Sorbie. Cate Blanchett, one of Mary’s clients, is in our archive too. You can find their episodes on BBC Sounds or on our Desert Island Discs website.

Mary Greenwell, makeup artist

Ronnie Wood is a musician and artist who has been a major player on the UK music scene for over 60 years. In 1975 Ronnie became a member of the Rolling Stones, one of the most influential and enduring bands of the rock era.

Ronnie’s parents were born and worked on barges moving cargo up and down the canals between Manchester, Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Ronnie and his two older brothers were the first in the family to be born on dry land.

Ronnie’s brothers, Ted and Art, were accomplished musicians and played in highly respected bands. Ronnie made his debut at nine-years-old when he played the washboard in Ted’s band during a performance at their local cinema. Ronnie formed his first band, The Birds, with some friends. In 1967 he joined the Jeff Beck Group with his lifelong friend Rod Stewart. Two years later they formed the Faces with the remaining members of the Small Faces. 

Ronnie joined the Rolling Stones in 1975, replacing the band’s previous guitarist Mick Taylor. Ronnie’s love of art developed in childhood and he studied at Ealing College of Art. His work has been shown in exhibitions around the world.

Ronnie lives in Hertfordshire with his wife Sally and their two children.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

DISC ONE: Guitar Shuffle - Big Bill Broonzy 
DISC TWO: Shame, Shame, Shame - Jimmy Reed 
DISC THREE: Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf 
DISC FOUR: You Need Love - Muddy Waters 
DISC FIVE: Adelaide - Frank Sinatra 
DISC SIX: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467: II. Andante \"Elvira Madigan\". Performed by Géza Anda (piano) and Camerata Salzburg (Orchestra)
DISC SEVEN: Roll Over Beethoven – Chuck Berry
DISC EIGHT: Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney 
 
BOOK CHOICE: Just for Today: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts by Narcotics Anonymous
LUXURY ITEM: A chest containing art materials and a carpet
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf 

There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We have cast away other musicians and songwriters including Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper. Ronnie’s fellow Stones, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, are in our archive too along with Ronnie’s friend Paul McCartney. You can find their episodes on BBC Sounds or on our Desert Island Discs website.

Ronnie Wood, musician

Angela Harding is an artist, printmaker and illustrator. Based in Rutland, Angela’s work is inspired by the countryside of the British Isles, and in particular British birds. Alongside her many prints and artistic creations, her award-willing illustrations can be found adorning many a book cover.

Angela was born in Stoke-on-Trent in June 1960, the middle of three daughters to Stephen and Joan Harding. It was an artistic household: her father, a headteacher, passed on his love of poetry to Angela, her mother taught pottery, and all three sisters would end up going to art college. 

She left school at sixteen and, at her mother’s behest, did a pre-nursing course before pursuing her passion for art. She studied Fine Art at Leicester Polytechnic from where she graduated with a first in 1982. 

After indulging her love of travel – both on her bike around Britain as well as on a Magic Bus across Europe – Angela spent twenty years working in the art world, from teaching to consultancy. During these years, she married and raised two children, then divorced and married her second husband, Mark.

In 2008, she made the life changing decision to pursue a career as a professional artist: she abandoned the media she had previously worked in and concentrated on linocuts and silkscreen printing. 

She has worked as a magazine illustrator and today her prints can be found on everything from book covers to tea towels and greeting cards. Her advent calendars – first produced in 2015 – have become a collector’s item. She has also published several books of her own.

When she’s not on her boat sailing around the British Isles, Angela lives in Rutland, with her husband Mark and her whippet, Oaty. 

DISC ONE: I Wanna Thank Ya (featuring Snoop Dogg) - Angie Stone 
DISC TWO: The Thought Fox. Written and read by Ted Hughes
DISC THREE: Britten: Songs from \"Friday Afternoons\", Op. 7: Songs From Friday Afternoons, Op. 7: \"Cuckoo!\". Performed by Choir of Downside School, Purley, Viola Tunnard (piano), Benjamin Britten (conductor)
DISC FOUR: Rise - Public Image Ltd. 
DISC FIVE: My Lady Story - Anohni and the Johnsons 
DISC SIX: La conga blicoti - Joséphine Baker 
DISC SEVEN: Skeleton Tree - LYR 
DISC EIGHT: Marie douceur - Marie colère - Marie Laforêt 

BOOK CHOICE: Bird School - Adam Nicolson
LUXURY ITEM: A lino printing set with champagne
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I Wanna Thank Ya (featuring Snoop Dogg) - Angie Stone 

Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor

There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We have cast away other notable artists including Helen Oxenbury, Maggie Hambling and Quentin Blake. You’ll also find the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage in our archive too. You can find their episodes on BBC Sounds or on our Desert Island Discs website.

Angela Harding, artist

Michael Sheen is an award-winning actor.

After finding his love for the stage with the West Glamorgan Youth theatre as a teenager, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. 

He spent the 1990s making a name for himself as a stage actor, shining in the classics from Romeo and Juliet to Peer Gynt as well as in 20th century masterpieces such as Look Back in Anger and Amadeus, receiving several Olivier Award nominations along the way.

A relocation to the US in the early 2000s with his then partner, the actress Kate Beckinsale, and their young daughter Lily prompted a move into films. His breakthrough came in 2003 when he portrayed Tony Blair in a Stephen Frears film called The Deal. It was the beginning of what became an unlikely specialism: morphing into real people from recent history: Kenneth Williams, David Frost, Brian Clough, Chris Tarrant, and Prince Andrew – with two more outings as Tony Blair thrown in for good measure.

Michael was born in Newport, South Wales, in February 1969, the eldest of two children to Meyrick and Irene. He grew up in Port Talbot from the age of eight and considers it his hometown. 

His first love was football, and he was spotted as youngster by an Arsenal talent scout to play for their youth team. His parents decided against moving the family to London and he turned to acting instead and graduated from RADA in 1991.

Alongside the classic dramas, his range extends to appearing in fantasy and science fiction films such as The Twilight Saga and Tron: Legacy. 

Michael has said that the most meaningful project to him was a modern restaging of the passion play in Port Talbot in 2011, which involved the participation of a thousand local people, because it opened his eyes to the difficulties many of them were experiencing. He has since used his own money to fund the 2019 Homeless World Cup in Cardiff and set up an organisation which supports community groups. 

Michael lives in Wales with his partner, the actress Anna Lundberg, and their two young daughters. 

DISC ONE: Vienna - Ultravox 
DISC TWO: The Ecstasy Of Gold - Ennio Morricone 
DISC THREE: Desire - Talk Talk 
DISC FOUR: Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones 
DISC FIVE: Ready for Drowning - Manic Street Preachers 
DISC SIX: Passion - Peter Gabriel 
DISC SEVEN: Dark Secret - Lau
DISC EIGHT: Oh Yeah - Yello 

BOOK CHOICE: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell 
LUXURY ITEM: A football
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Vienna - Ultravox 

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor

There are more than 2000 programmes in our archive available for you to listen to. We have cast away other notable actors including Sir Anthony Hopkins and some of the people Michael has played including Kenneth Williams, Chris Tarrant and Tony Blair. You can find all those episodes and more by searching BBC Sounds.

Michael Sheen, actor

The rock legend Bruce Springsteen was cast away by Kirsty Young back in 2016.

Bruce has won 20 Grammys, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and his albums sell in their millions around the world. He grew up in New Jersey in a family that teetered on the brink of poverty. His first guitar was rented rather than bought, and he spent his apprentice years as a musician and singer with local bands before landing a record deal in 1972.

He spoke to Kirsty about his love of dancing and his first live performances.

You can find the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Bruce Springsteen on the joy of dancing

In 2024, the athlete Dame Sarah Storey was cast away by Lauren Laverne.

Sarah Storey is Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian. She was just 14 when she took two weeks off school to compete as a swimmer in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics where she won her first two gold medals.

She spoke to Lauren about the first time she watched the Olympics on TV.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Sarah Storey on her sporting dreams

In 2015, the American lawyer Bryan Stevenson was cast away by Kirsty Young.

Bryan is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a private, not-for-profit organisation in the US working on death penalty cases, prison and sentencing reform, and issues of race and poverty.

He spoke to Kirsty about racism in the American criminal justice system.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Bryan Stevenson on race and criminal justice in America

The broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2012 for the 70th anniversary of Desert Island Discs.

Sir David told Kirsty about his passion for fossils, which began as a child and inspired his love of the natural world.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

David Attenborough on his connection to the natural world

The actor Dustin Hoffman was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2012.

He has been a leading man in Hollywood for over fifty years. His career includes movies such as The Graduate, All The President's Men, Kramer v Kramer, Tootsie and Rain Man.

He spoke to Kirsty about his relationship with his father.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.

Dustin Hoffman on his father

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman.

In spite of being in charge of one of our leading 'style bibles' for more than 20 years, her reputation is that of someone rather down to earth. She thinks designers cut clothes too small, refuses to let superstars have photo and copy approval and when she was first appointed editor, she'd never even been on a fashion shoot. During her tenure Vogue's circulation has increased.

Her first job as editor was with the men's magazine GQ and she's had spells at Tatler, the Sunday Telegraph and writing a weekly column for the Daily Mail.

She says, "Vogue is not my personal taste, really. I think of it more as a kind of newspaper, reporting on what's out there."

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Alexandra Shulman

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