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The BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs invites castaways to choose eight pieces of music, a book (in addition to the Bible – or a religious text appropriate to that person's beliefs – and the Complete Works of Shakespeare) and a luxury item that they would take to an imaginary desert island, where they will be marooned indefinitely. The rules state that the chosen luxury item must not be anything animate or indeed anything that enables the castaway to escape from the island, for instance a radio set, sailing yacht or aeroplane. The choices of book and luxury can sometimes give insight into the guest's life, and the choices of guests between 1981 and 1990 are listed here.
| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury | More info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 January 1981 | Robin Cousins | ShōgunbyJames Clavell | Marzipan | more |
| 10 January 1981 | John Fowles | Dictionary of National Biography | Field glasses | more |
| 17 January 1981 | Princess Margaret | War and PeacebyLeo Tolstoy | Piano | more |
| 24 January 1981 | Joan Plowright | Three novels by Aldous Huxley | Piano | more |
| 31 January 1981 | Jeffrey Archer | ReunionbyFred Uhlman | Plasticine model of Roy Plomley and a pin | more |
| 7 February 1981 | Mary O'Hara | The Lord of the RingsbyJ. R. R. Tolkien | Tennis practice equipment | more |
| 14 February 1981 | David Broome | Collected Speeches by Winston Churchill | Wine | more |
| 21 February 1981 | Frederic Raphael | Bilingual edition of poetry by Giorgos Seferis | Painting materials | more |
| 28 February 1981 | Carla Lane | Dictionary of quotations | French Shampoo | more |
| 7 March 1981 | Daniel Massey | EgobyJames Agate | Wine | more |
| 14 March 1981 | Peter Nichols | Collected essays by George Orwell | Vibraphone | more |
| 21 March 1981 | Russell Harty | A History of CravenbyThomas Dunham Whitaker | Flagpole and Union Jack | more |
| 28 March 1981 | Patricia Ruanne | The Lord of the RingsbyJ. R. R. Tolkien | Sunglasses | more |
| 4 April 1981 | Gary Glitter | Times Concise Atlas | Elastoplast | more |
| 11 April 1981 | Sir Fitzroy Maclean | War and PeacebyLeo Tolstoy | Writing materials | more |
| 18 April 1981 | Princess Grace of Monaco | Plays by George Kelly | Pillow | more |
| 25 April 1981 | Stewart Granger | Collected works by Ernest Hemingway | Gold statuette of Winston Churchill | more |
| 2 May 1981 | Sir Frederick Ashton | In Search of Lost TimebyMarcel Proust | Cards | more |
| 9 May 1981 | Buddy Rich | Story of ObyPauline Réage | Ferrari | more |
| 16 May 1981 | John Gielgud | In Search of Lost TimebyMarcel Proust | more | |
| 23 May 1981 | Edmund Rubbra | Winnie-the-PoohbyA. A. Milne | Music manuscript paper | more |
| 30 May 1981 | Eric Shilling | Collin's Albatross Book of VersebyLouis Untermeyer | Astronomical telescope | more |
| 6 June 1981 | William Whitelaw | The World That Fred MadebyBernard Darwin | Bath with a hot water system | more |
| 13 June 1981 | Richard Leakey | Touch the Earth by T. C. McLuhan | Pillow | more |
| 20 June 1981 | Giuseppe Di Stefano | MariabyArianna Stassinopoulos | Roulette table | more |
| 27 June 1981 | Morris West | Meditations Upon Our Human ConditionbyJohn Donne | Pencils and paper | more |
| 4 July 1981 | Gloria Swanson | The ProphetbyKahlil Gibran | Telephone | more |
| 11 July 1981 | Gillian Lynne | French language course | Eyelash curler | more |
| 18 July 1981 | Carl Sagan | Boy Scout handbook | Reflecting telescope | more |
| 25 July 1981 | Roger Moore | Noble HousebyJames Clavell | Video player and films of family | more |
| 1 August 1981 | Julian Lloyd Webber | History of Leyton Orient F.C. | Cello | more |
| 8 August 1981 | Terry Hands | Dictionary | Cello | more |
| 15 August 1981 | Sebastian Coe | The Penguin Dorothy ParkerbyDorothy Parker | Bed | more |
| 22 August 1981 | Paul Eddington | Experiences of an Irish R.M.byMartin Ross | Boathouse at DawnbyIvon Hitchens | more |
| 29 August 1981 | Frank Oz | Complete works by Emily Dickinson | Clean sheets | more |
| 5 September 1981 | Alan Jones | Eagle in the SkybyWilbur Smith | Australian lager | more |
| 12 September 1981 | Jessye Norman | The Diary of Virginia Woolf | Perrier water | more |
| 19 September 1981 | Malcolm Muggeridge | Writings by Samuel Johnson | Beehive | more |
| 26 September 1981 | James Mason | AdabyVladimir Nabokov | Guitar | more |
| 3 October 1981 | Beaux Arts Trio | Books about gardening, painting and boat handling | Violin and strings and piano | more |
| 10 October 1981 | Montserrat Caballé | Record box | more | |
| 17 October 1981 | Elspeth Huxley | Novels by P. G. Wodehouse | Camera and film | more |
| 24 October 1981 | Joseph Cotten | Gardening manual | Boat building book | more |
| 31 October 1981 | Patrick Lichfield | Book with blank cork pages | Astronomical telescope | more |
| 7 November 1981 | Glyn Daniel | Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | Wine | more |
| 14 November 1981 | James Clavell | Koran | more | |
| 21 November 1981 | Diana Dors | Her autobiography | Chocolates | more |
| 28 November 1981 | Douglas Bader | Complete works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson | Sand iron and golf balls | more |
| 5 December 1981 | Alan Howard | Piano manual | Piano | more |
| 12 December 1981 | Jack Higgins | Four QuartetsbyT. S. Eliot | Writing materials | more |
| 19 December 1981 | Helene Hanff | Memoirs by Louis de Rouvroy | Scrabble | more |
| 26 December 1981 | George Lascelles | Anthology of poetry | Typewriter | more |
| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury | More info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1983 | Rachel Billington | Anna KareninabyLeo Tolstoy | Writing materials | more |
| 8 January 1983 | Steve Davis | The Throwback and WiltbyTom Sharpe | Snooker table | more |
| 15 January 1983 | Baroness Maria von Trapp | True funny stories in German | Statue of Madonna and Child, 17th Century | more |
| 22 January 1983 | Gwyneth Jones | The ProphetbyKahlil Gibran | Piano with bath salts | more |
| 29 January 1983 | Tim Severin | Pax BritannicabyJan Morris | Herb garden | more |
| 5 February 1983 | Beryl Reid | Forever AmberbyKathleen Winsor | Silk garment | more |
| 12 February 1983 | Zandra Rhodes | Mrs Beeton's Household Management | Sketchbook, pens and pencils | more |
| 19 February 1983 | James Ivory | A La Recherche Du Temps PerdubyMarcel Proust | Shower with hot water | more |
| 26 February 1983 | Tom Keating | Lives of the ArtistsbyGiorgio Vasari | Mattock | more |
| 5 March 1983 | Kenneth Macmillan | The RackbyA E Ellis | Godiva chocolates from Belgium | more |
| 12 March 1983 | Douglas Reeman | The Admiralty Seamanship Manual | Orchid-growing kit | more |
| 19 March 1983 | Michael Wood | Other Men's FlowersbyLord Wavell | Pair of field glasses | more |
| 26 March 1983 | Jan Morris | Her own book on Venice | Astronomical telescope with 'Catalogue of Nebulae' | more |
| 2 April 1983 | James Fox | Colour reproduction of Renaissance artists | Watercolour equipment | more |
| 9 April 1983 | Ruggiero Ricci | The letters of Beethoven | The Plowden Guarneri violin | more |
| 16 April 1983 | Geoffrey Moorhouse | The Dictionary of National Biography | Recording of curlews and Indian spices | more |
| 23 April 1983 | Max Boyce | I Can't Stay LongbyLaurie Lee | Oil-painting equipment | more |
| 30 April 1983 | A N Wilson | The Golden TreasuarybyFrancis Palgrave | Bed and blankets | more |
| 7 May 1983 | Arthur English | Britain's HeritagebyJohn Julius Norwich | Weekend in Paris | more |
| 14 May 1983 | Alan King-Hamilton | Barclay's World of CricketbyJim Swanton | Television set | more |
| 21 May 1983 | Terry Wogan | His favourite books by P G Wodehouse | Vodka | more |
| 28 May 1983 | Sinéad Cusack | The novels of John le Carré | Writing materials | more |
| 4 June 1983 | Raymond Briggs | The Complete Works of Beachcomber | Billiard table with snooker balls and cue | more |
| 11 June 1983 | Sir Peter Pears | A book by E M Forster | Painting from his collection | more |
| 18 June 1983 | Fleur Cowles | Blank paper | Painting materials | more |
| 25 June 1983 | Peter Maxwell Davies | UlyssesbyJames Joyce | Music manuscript paper and pens | more |
| 2 July 1983 | Terry Jones | The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer | Pencil and paper | more |
| 9 July 1983 | Julian Bream | more | ||
| 16 July 1983 | Sir John Pritchard | Lucia novels by E F Benson | Italian wine | more |
| 23 July 1983 | John Gunter | The Complete Works of Flann O'Brien | More William Walton records | more |
| 30 July 1983 | Keith Waterhouse | A year's supply of the Exchange & Mart | Solar-powered television, video and eight films | more |
| 6 August 1983 | Sir Frederick Gibberd | Scrapbook of poetry | Bottle of sleeping tablets | more |
| 13 August 1983 | Peter Bull | Brideshead Revisited (in Greek) by Evelyn Waugh | Crystal ball | more |
| 20 August 1983 | Malcolm Bradbury | If on a Winter's Night a TravellerbyItalo Calvino | Word processor | more |
| 27 August 1983 | Cindy Buxton and Annie Price | A book on explorers and Johnny Livingstone's SeagullbyRichard Bach | Cow and a box of soap | more |
| 3 September 1983 | Paul Jones | Political works and music criticism by George Bernard Shaw | Harmonica | more |
| 10 September 1983 | Charlotte Lamb | Pride and PrejudicebyJane Austen | Typewriter and paper | more |
| 17 September 1983 | Lionel Hampton | Science and HealthbyMary Baker Eddy | Tape recorder | more |
| 24 September 1983 | Ian Richardson | Book of quotations | Large supply of paper and pencils | more |
| 1 October 1983 | Rosemary Sutcliff | KimbyRudyard Kipling | Flowers delivered daily by bottle | more |
| 8 October 1983 | Mollie Harris | The five-volume works by Anthony Wood | Union Jack | more |
| 15 October 1983 | Topol | Great Treasury of Western Thought by Mortimer J Adler | Artist's kit | more |
| 22 October 1983 | Linda Esther Gray | Anthology of poetry | Garlic, chocolate and wine | more |
| 29 October 1983 | Sir Ranulph Fiennes | The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations | Tube of Antisan cream | more |
| 5 November 1983 | Shirley MacLaine | Dictionary and hexalingual thesaurus | Blank paper | more |
| 12 November 1983 | Sir Peter Hall | The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians | Photograph of his children | more |
| 19 November 1983 | Sir Hugh Greene | The Penguin Complete Sherlock HolmesbySir Arthur Conan Doyle | Portable typewriter and much paper | more |
| 26 November 1983 | Thomas Keneally | Oxford Book of 20th Century English VersebyPhilip Larkin | Collection of The Times crosswords | more |
| 3 December 1983 | Marvin Hamlisch | Phone book | Picture of his mother when she was 17 | more |
| 10 December 1983 | John Piper | The Complete Works of William Blake | Pianola | more |
| 17 December 1983 | James Stewart | Robinson CrusoebyDaniel Defoe | Family photo album | more |
| 31 December 1983 | M M Kaye | Indian TalesbyRudyard Kipling | Writer's kit |
| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury | More info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 January 1988 | Adele Leigh | Alice in WonderlandbyLewis Carroll | Loofah | more |
| 17 January 1988 | Rt. Hon. Michael Heseltine | The Dictionary of Trees and Shrubs | Mosquito net | more |
| 24 January 1988 | Gemma Craven | Floyd on FishbyKeith Floyd | Manicure set | more |
| 31 January 1988 | Lord Donoughue | Unknown | Unknown | more |
| 7 February 1988 | Margaret Kelly – Miss Bluebell | History of the English-Speaking PeoplesbyWinston Churchill | Her first dress worn on stage | more |
| 14 February 1988 | William Davis | The Dictionary of Samuel Johnson | Telescope | more |
| 21 February 1988 | Dennis Potter | SpycatcherbyPeter Wright | Train set | more |
| 28 February 1988 | Stephanie Beacham | The Ascent of ManbyDr Jacob Bronowski | Photograph of her children | more |
| 6 March 1988 | James Burke | The works of Homer | Guitar and strings | more |
| 13 March 1988 | Brendan Foster | The Lakeland Peaks (photographs) by W. A. Poucher | Tea | more |
| 27 March 1988 | Lord Hailsham | The works of Homer | Bathtub and some soap | more |
| 3 April 1988 | Jane Asher | Tess of the d'UrbervillesbyThomas Hardy | Hot bath with extra tap for cold champagne | more |
| 10 April 1988 | Arthur Scargill | Huckleberry FinnbyMark Twain | The Mona Lisa | more |
| 17 April 1988 | Mary Archer | Remembrance of Things PastbyMarcel Proust | Needles, cotton and material | more |
| 24 April 1988 | Michael Gambon | Republican Party ReptilebyP. J. O'Rourke | Car (in which to listen to music) | more |
| 1 May 1988 | Neil Kinnock | Essays on EqualitybyR. H. Tawney | Radio 4 | more |
| 8 May 1988 | Peggy Makins | The biggest atlas in the world | Little rosebush | more |
| 15 May 1988 | Rowan Atkinson | Uncle Fred in SpringtimebyP. G. Wodehouse | Car (to clean) | more |
| 22 May 1988 | Anita Roddick | Prince of TidesbyPat Conroy | Comfortable bed with pillows and sheets | more |
| 29 May 1988 | Rabbi Lionel Blue | The biggest volume of pure maths | Toilet bag | more |
| 5 June 1988 | Anton Mosimann | Opera di M. Bartolomeo Scappi (recipe book of the Pope's chef in 1525) | Steamer for cooking | more |
| 12 June 1988 | Rt. Hon. Douglas Hurd | Oxford Book of 20th Century English Verse | Champagne | more |
| 19 June 1988 | Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies | No other book requested | Large bottle of toilet water | more |
| 26 June 1988 | Jeremy Isaacs | A compilation of Benny Green | Frogman's outfit and snorkel | more |
| 3 July 1988 | Dr David Owen | His own anthology of poems | Hot bath | more |
| 10 July 1988 | David Essex | The Guinness Book of Records | Set of cricket equipment | more |
| 17 July 1988 | Dame Edna Everage | Filofax | Madge Allsop | more |
| 24 July 1988 | Lord Armstrong | The collected works of Jane Austen | Music manuscript paper, pencil and rubber | more |
| 31 July 1988 | Joan Turner | Introduction to the Devout LifebyFrancis de Sales | Baked beans | more |
| 7 August 1988 | Reverend Ian Paisley | Foxe's Book of Martyrs | High-powered radio | more |
| 14 August 1988 | Patricia Neal | A collection of short stories | Toothbrush and toothpaste | more |
| 21 August 1988 | Lord Dacre of Glanton | The collected Works of Virgil | Paper, pen and ink | more |
| 28 August 1988 | Anita Dobson | The Picture of Dorian GraybyOscar Wilde | Bed | more |
| 4 September 1988 | Alfred Wainwright | Two photographs (one of his wife; one of 1928 Blackburn Rovers team) | Mirror | more |
| 11 September 1988 | Peter Donohoe | The Complete Scripts of Billy Connolly | Waterbed | more |
| 18 September 1988 | Salman Rushdie | Arabian Nights | Unlisted radio telephone | more |
| 25 September 1988 | Trevor Huddleston | Oxford Book of English Verse | Binoculars | more |
| 2 October 1988 | Athene Seyler | The Disinherited by Gareth Jones | Case of champagne | more |
| 9 October 1988 | Terry Wogan | The collected works of P. G. Wodehouse | Radio-cassette player and language tapes | more |
| 16 October 1988 | Cilla Black | Aesop's Fables | Manicure set and nail varnish | more |
| 23 October 1988 | Michael Foot | Don JuanbyLord Byron | Alarm clock encased in Welsh tinplate | more |
| 30 October 1988 | Germaine Greer | The Oxford English Dictionary | Hot spices | more |
| 6 November 1988 | Claus Moser | Volume of James Thurber | Concert grand Steinway piano | more |
| 13 November 1988 | Bob Hoskins | Catch-22byJoseph Heller | Telescope | more |
| 20 November 1988 | Bob Champion | Fraser's Horse Book | Abronze statue of the racehorse Aldaniti | more |
| 27 November 1988 | Stephen Fry | Jeeves OmnibusbyP. G. Wodehouse | Suicide pill | more |
| 4 December 1988 | Baroness Warnock | The Last Chronicle of BarsetbyAnthony Trollope | Pen and paper | more |
| 11 December 1988 | Charles Dance | A Dream in the LuxembourgbyRichard Aldington | Guitar | more |
| 18 December 1988 | Edward Heath | A volume of the works of Impressionist painters | Suntan lotion | more |
