Desert Island Discs: Archive 1991-1996 – Details, episodes & analysis

Sue Lawley's guest on Desert Island Discs today is the writer Martin Amis. He describes his books as comedies, but, like London Fields and Other People, they are frequently dark and disturbing.

He says that he has no choice as to the subjects of his books. "They come from nowhere and feel like a little gulp in your digestive system". Although he admits that he's sometimes appalled by the characters he creates, writing itself is something he loves.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Yesterdays by Buddy Rich Book: Complete Works by John Milton Luxury: Cable Television

The castaway on Desert Island Discs this week is Absolutely Fabulous! Jennifer Saunders began "doing funny things with props" in the early 1980s. With her stage partner Dawn French, she toured the clubs and comedy venues making people laugh with acts like The Menopause Sisters. As part of the Comic Strip performers, she burst onto our TV screens as one of the famous, if rather manic, five.

Now through her characters Edina and Patsy, she has created a comedy classic. But as she tells Sue Lawley, Absolutely Fabulous came about because, having taken a year off from French and Saunders, the phone was ominously silent, and she had absolutely nothing else to do.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No by Blondie Book: Traveller's Prelude by Freya Stark Luxury: Tribute Heads By Elisabeth Frink

The ball rolled past the gap between him and Gordon Banks and into the back of the net. The Germans were one goal up.

This week's castaway, Jackie Charlton, recalls the match which was to bring him to his knees in relief and joy as England went on to win the 1966 World Cup. Just one of the crowning moments of a career that could so easily have ended down the pit, except for his talent with the ball. Nicknamed "The Boss" because of his straight talking, Jackie describes his relationship with his brother "Our Kid" Bobby Charlton and his success as manager of Ireland.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: September Song by Frank Sinatra Book: Encyclopaedia of How To Survive Luxury: Fishing rod

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the Director of the Promenade Concerts John Drummond. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his years at the BBC, starting as a general trainee, leaving it to become Director of the Edinburgh Festival and returning as Controller of Music and then Controller of Radio Three. He'll be discussing his passionate attachment to fine music and musicianship and his conviction that such music should not just be heard, but must be properly listened to.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Soave Sia Il Vento from Cosi fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Book: Encyclopaedia of the libretti of all the well-known operas Luxury: Small theatre

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the controversial art critic Brian Sewell. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he did not go to school until he was 11, hated it when he got there, but managed, much against the wishes of the school, to teach himself history of art. He'll also be describing how he felt when his friend and mentor, Sir Anthony Blunt, the Keeper of the Queen's Pictures, was denounced as a spy in 1979. Sewell was thrust into the public eye as Blunt's protector. He's been there ever since - attacking what he regards as the excesses of contemporary art, and attracting much criticism himself as a result of his attitudes.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Fidelio Aria - 'Komm Hoffnung' by Ludwig van Beethoven Book: Songs from the 1880s with piano accompaniment by Franz Schubert Luxury: Pieta sculpture by Michelangelo

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Zoe Wanamaker. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the roles she has taken on in theatre and television - in Love Hurts, Prime Suspect and, more recently, in the West End hit Dead Funny. She'll also be describing how she has tried to cope with the death of her father - the distinguished actor Sam Wanamaker - at the end of last year.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Requiem Offertorio by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Greek Myths by Robert Graves Luxury: Samson tobacco and liquorice Rizla papers

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is Milton Shulman. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about how he came to Britain from Toronto as an Intelligence Officer during the Second World War, after which he wrote a book called Defeat in the West, which was based on interviews he conducted with defeated German officers. It was this book which brought him to the attention of Lord Beaverbrook, leading to his promotion from humble diarist on the London Evening Standard to its film critic. He then went on to become the paper's chief theatre critic - a job he did for 38 years, during which time he reckons to have been to 5,500 first nights, but, to his mind, no great plays.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Capriccio Italien by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Book: The Cookery Book by Constance Spry Luxury: Tennis racket and ball machine

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the jockey Peter Scudamore. The son of a jockey who had won the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup - Scu, as he is known throughout the racing fraternity - resisted all attempts to turn him into an estate agent, and followed in his father's footsteps. Having broken nearly every bone in his body, he retired in 1993 after a career which encompassed 1,678 National Hunt victories and the title of Champion Jockey a record eight times. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about jockeys, jumping and his new career, journalism.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Laid by James Book: Book of Verse by Rudyard Kipling Luxury: Snorkeling equipment

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the actress Britt Ekland. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about her miraculous transformation from an overweight, buck-toothed ugly duckling with large ears to a beautiful peroxided teenager. She'll also be describing her turbulent marriage to Peter Sellers and her passionate affair with the rock star Rod Stewart.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Mother by John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band Book: Recent editions of magazines, e.g. Vanity Fair; Vogue Luxury: Case of Evian water filled with champagne

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the BBC's Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie. She'll be talking to Sue Lawley about the pleasures and perils of a job which has taken her to some of the world's most dangerous trouble spots. She'll also be describing how she felt when she was recently reunited with her natural mother after having been happily brought up by her adoptive family in Sunderland.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Symphony No 6 In E Minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams Book: Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Luxury: Large Victorian bath with claw feet