204 episodes

Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island

Desert Island Discs: Archive 1981-1985 BBC Radio 4

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.4 • 42 Ratings

Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island

    Sheila Steafel

    Sheila Steafel

    Sheila Steafel, the actress who was born in South Africa, went to drama school in London and had her first big break in the television series The Frost Report. Since then, as she tells Roy Plomley, her career has been extremely varied, including music hall, opera, theatre, a one-woman show and a long spell on Radio 4's Week Ending programme.
    [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
    Favourite track: Concerto in D Minor For Violin, Oboe & Strings by Johann Sebastian Bach
    Book: Dictionary
    Luxury: Artist's equipment

    • 35 min
    Rt Hon David Steel MP

    Rt Hon David Steel MP

    The Rt Hon David Steel MP has been leader of the Liberal Party since 1976. After leaving university, his first job was with the Scottish Liberal Party as Assistant Secretary. In 1965, he won a seat in the Borders and became the youngest member of that parliament. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his career and chooses the eight records he would take to the mythical island.
    [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
    Favourite track: Symphony No 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven
    Book: Do-it-yourself manual
    Luxury: Cathedral organ

    • 33 min
    Barbara Taylor Bradford

    Barbara Taylor Bradford

    Barbara Taylor Bradford's first novel, A Woman of Substance, which was published in 1980, quickly became a huge international success. In conversation with Roy Plomley, she recalls her childhood in Leeds, her first job as a reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post at the age of 16, becoming a Fleet Street journalist, and her eventual move to New York.
    [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
    Favourite track: Jerusalem by Blake/Parry
    Book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    Luxury: Family photograph album

    • 33 min
    Robert Burchfield

    Robert Burchfield

    Robert Burchfield, who has been Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary since 1957, was born in New Zealand. After fighting in Italy during the war, he came to England to complete his education and stayed on to be a lecturer at Oxford University. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks about his career and discusses the many problems associated with compiling dictionaries.
    [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

    • 37 min
    Joseph Allen

    Joseph Allen

    Joseph Allen, the physicist, joined NASA in 1967 as a scientist astronaut. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he describes his lengthy training as an astronaut, the problems of space flight, and he describes his recent trip in the space shuttle to recover two satellites, which necessitated an unfettered walk in space.
    [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
    Favourite track: Minor Blue by David Darling
    Book: A number of Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Luxury: Family pocket watch

    • 34 min
    Doris Stokes

    Doris Stokes

    Doris Stokes, the medium, first heard spirit voices when she was only four years old. In conversation with Roy Plomley, she talks about her experiences which include a brief visit to the spirit world, and she explains how she uses her gift to help others by putting them in touch with relations who have passed over.
    [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
    Favourite track: One Day At A Time by Lena Martell
    Book: The complete Andy Capp
    Luxury: Photograph album of family, friends and pets

    • 34 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
42 Ratings

42 Ratings

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