Desert Island Discs

The singer Adele was cast away by Lauren Laverne in 2022. In 2008, she released her debut album, 19, and the following year she won the first of many Grammys. Her next three albums, 21, 25 and 30, consolidated her superstar status. She told Lauren about the day she signed her first record deal. You can listen to the fu

In 2015, the forensic anthropologist, Professor Dame Sue Black, was cast away by Kirsty Young. Brought up on the west coast of Scotland and in Inverness, she fell in love with biology at secondary school and read Human Anatomy at the University of Aberdeen. After graduation, she worked at London's St Thomas' Hospital a

The poet Lemm Sissay was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2015. As a poet, writer and playwright, much of his work tells the story of his search for his birth parents. Born to a young Ethiopian woman who wanted him temporarily looked after while she completed her studies, he was with a foster family until he was 12. Lemn t

The former footballer Jill Scott was cast away by Lauren Laverne in 2023. Jill was part of the Lionesses’ winning team at the Euros 2022. When Jill was starting out in her career, the women players had to settle for second-hand kit and miserly wages. She spoke to Lauren about the challenges she faced when she started h

In 2023, the comedian and writer Adrian Edmondson was cast away by Lauren Laverne. Adrian met his comedy partner, the late Rik Mayall, at university. They bonded over their shared interests in double acts, violent slapstick and the plays of Samuel Beckett. It was the start of a long performing partnership and friendshi

After completing her PhD, Dr Fox took up a post-doctoral fellowship at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland. In 2010, she became the project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe, humanity’s first mission to a star. Shortly after she began working on the Parker Solar Probe project, she was away on work busines