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Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island
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 serie...
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 Lib...
Barbara Taylor Bradford's first novel, A Woman of Substance, which was published in 1980, quickly became a huge international success. In co...
Robert Burchfield, who has been Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary since 1957, was born in New Zealand. After fighting in Italy d...
Joseph Allen, the physicist, joined NASA in 1967 as a scientist astronaut. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he describes his lengthy traini...
Doris Stokes, the medium, first heard spirit voices when she was only four years old. In conversation with Roy Plomley, she talks about her...
Richard Eyre is equally at ease whether he is directing in the theatre, for television or on film. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talk...
Gordon Beningfield's designs for postage stamps include a butterfly set and the recently-issued insect set. He is also well-known for his pa...
Alison Lurie is not only a part-time professor of English at Cornell University where she teaches creative writing and children's literature...
The pianist Jorge Bolet, who was born in Havana, Cuba, was given lessons first by his sister. He went on to study at the Curtis Institute in...
The actor Anthony Hopkins has recently returned to this country after 10 years in California. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks abo...
Michael Elkins was, for many years, the BBC correspondent in Jerusalem. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he recalls his childhood in New Yo...
Elly Ameling's career as a singer took off when she won the first prizes in two competitions. In conversation with Roy Plomley, she explains...
Julie Walters had a variety of jobs, including nursing, before she took up acting. An early London appearance was the result of Funny Peculi...
Madhur Jaffrey is an actress who has now become as well-known as a writer and broadcaster on Indian and Far Eastern cooking. In conversation...
John Harvey-Jones, who is Chairman of the giant company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), began his career in the Royal Navy and was a lie...
Tom Stoppard, the playwright, began his career as a journalist on a local newspaper in Bristol. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks a...
Sir Michael Tippett, who celebrated his 80th birthday three days ago, has come to be regarded as one of the foremost composers of this centu...
Ray Cooney, who is the Artistic Director of the very successful Theatre of Comedy, began his career as an actor. Before long, he started dir...
Sir John Burgh is the Director-General of the British Council, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In conversation with Roy...
Miklos Rozsa is best known for his many film scores, including those for The Thief of Baghdad, Ben-Hur and Spellbound, but he has also writt...
Robin Hanbury-Tenison divides his time between farming in Cornwall and exploring the remote corners of the world. In conversation with Roy P...
David Puttnam, now a very successful film producer, began his career as a messenger boy. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he describes how...
Vernon Handley, Associate Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, has made his name through his devotion to British music. In conver...
Tom Sharpe spent much of his early career in South Africa doing social work, teaching and finally running a photographic studio, until he wa...
David Rendall, the tenor, is singing in the new production of Madame Butterfly at the Coliseum in London, just one of the many engagements a...
Jonathan Lynn began his acting career in the Footlights at Cambridge University. From 1970 he also began directing plays and, for a while, h...
Michael Ffolkes, the cartoonist, works principally for the Daily Telegraph and Punch, which first published one of his cartoons when he was...
John Surman, who plays the baritone saxophone, has acquired an international reputation as a jazz musician and so spends much of his time ab...
John Hurt has built up a tremendous reputation as an actor, particularly for his performances in The Elephant Man, The Naked Civil Servant a...
Alfred Eisenstadt gave up being a belt-and-button salesman in 1929 to become a professional photographer, concentrating on what is now calle...
Gerry Cottle's latest circus is a fast-moving show with no ring-master and no animals, but it is very popular. In conversation with Roy Plom...
Catherine Cookson is a very successful writer with 61 novels, all in print, to her name. But she was brought up in very poor circumstances o...
George Abbott, who is 97 years old, has just directed a revival of his musical On Your Toes. He began his career as an actor, but before lon...
The writer Ved Mehta unfortunately lost his sight at the age of four: "Most blind people in India at that time were beggars, or stayed with...
Willie Rushton is a cartoonist, actor, writer and a regular member of quiz game panels. He tells Roy Plomley about how he came to be one of...
Ron Goodwin has composed the scores for many films, including Where Eagles Dare, 633 Squadron and Monte Carlo or Bust, but he started his ca...
Gayatri Devi, the Maharani of Jaipur, was brought up in the sumptuous Palace of Cooch Behar with its staff of 500. She tells Roy Plomley how...
Sir Alfred Ayer, the philosopher who was for many years the Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford University, is perhaps best known for Langu...
Natalia Makarova is starring in a revival of the musical On Your Toes, but she trained as a classical ballet dancer at the Kirov School in L...
The pianist Vlado Perlemuter, who was born 80 years ago in Lithuania, has spent most of his life in Paris, where he taught at the Conservato...
Lord Rothschild has spent much of his life as Assistant Director of the Research Department of Zoology at Cambridge University, but that has...
Zubin Mehta is the Musical Director of the New York and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestras. In conversation with Roy Plomley, he talks abou...
Hugh Johnson's career was spawned when he became a member of the Wine and Food Society at Cambridge University. He soon made a name for hims...
Rosalind Plowright, the soprano, began singing professionally with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera Company, but her career did not really tak...
Leo McKern tried various careers like engineering and art before he decided to become an actor. Although he now concentrates mainly on films...
David Lodge, who has written several successful novels, including Changing Places and The British Museum is Falling Down, is Professor of Mo...
Lucy Irvine has experienced the reality of life on a desert island, although for her year-long sojourn she did have a companion. In conversa...
Christopher Reeve is probably best-known for his film performances as Superman and Clark Kent, but he has made several other films, includin...
Paul Tortelier was born in Paris, where his first job at the age of 12 was playing the cello in a cinema orchestra. Although he was a prize-...