# List of Desert Island Discs episodes (2021–present)

The BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs invites guests to choose eight pieces of music which they would take with them to a hypothetical desert island. They are also invited to select a book of their choosing (in addition to the Bible or a comparable religious text for the guest, and the complete works of William Shakespeare), and one luxury item (provided it is inanimate and would not help them escape the island). The following is a list of episodes that have been broadcast since 2021, detailing the guest on each episode, their chosen book, and their luxury item.

## 2021

| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
| 10 January 2021 | David Olusoga | The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell: An Age Like This, 1920–40 | Acoustic guitar |
| 17 January 2021 | Samantha Power | The Irish Times Book of Favourite Irish Poems by Colm Tóibín | A guitar |
| 24 January 2021 | Tim Peake | An atlas | A telescope |
| 31 January 2021 | Monica Galetti | The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde | Scuba diving gear |
| 7 February 2021 | George McGavin | A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor | Hot sauce |
| 14 February 2021 | Malala Yousafzai | Complete Works of Plato | Lip balm |
| 21 February 2021 | Sophia Loren | Letters from a Young Father by Edoardo Ponti | A pizza oven |
| 28 February 2021 | Claire Horton | A book by Dick Francis | A piano and sheet music |
| 7 March 2021 | Mark Strong | Magnum Streetwise: The Ultimate Collection of Street Photography | A wind up radio |
| 14 March 2021 | Dame Louise Casey | The collected works of Jane Austen | A supply of wine |
| 21 March 2021 | Maggie O'Farrell | Selected Stories by Alice Munro | National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology |
| 28 March 2021 | Professor Sir Simon Wessely | A Teach Yourself Russian book | A Viennese café |
| 9 May 2021 | Billie Piper | The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy | Her children's art work |
| 16 May 2021 | Brian Greene | Philosophical Explanations by Robert Nozick | A solar powered particle collider |
| 23 May 2021 | Alexei Sayle | The Sword of Honour Trilogy by Evelyn Waugh | A Chinese Broadsword |
| 30 May 2021 | Amanda Khozi Mukwashi | Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson | Quality Street chocolates |
| 6 June 2021 | Heather Hallett | Inspector Morse Mystery Series Collection by Colin Dexter | A solar-powered iPad |
| 13 June 2021 | Yo-Yo Ma | Encyclopaedia Britannica | A Swiss Army knife |
| 20 June 2021 | Richard Wilson | The poetry of Robert Burns | A subscription to The Guardian newspaper |
| 27 June 2021 | Margaret Busby | Return to My Native Land by Aimé Césaire | An endless supply of Ghanaian chocolate |
| 4 July 2021 | Paul Costelloe | Reynard the Fox by Anne Louise Avery | A painting kit |
| 11 July 2021 | Professor Noel Fitzpatrick | Oscar Wilde: Essays and Letters, Plays and Poems, Stories | A guitar |
| 18 July 2021 | Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill | The Wonders of Life by Professor Brian Cox | A photo album |
| 25 July 2021 | Robert Macfarlane | Collected works of Gerard Manley Hopkins | A chilli plant |
| 1 August 2021 | Nazir Afzal | To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee | A guitar |
| 12 September 2021 | Michael Holding | Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela | A football |
| 19 September 2021 | Baroness Hale of Richmond | A Desert Island survival manual | A solar-powered computer with sudoku puzzles and a writing application |
| 26 September 2021 | Tracey Ullman | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend | Nuts |
| 3 October 2021 | Tom Ilube | The Wormwood Trilogy by Tade Thompson | A solar-powered puzzle generator, designed by Tom |
| 10 October 2021 | Dame Sarah Connolly | The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter | A grand piano with a tuning kit |
| 17 October 2021 | Deborah Meaden | A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor | A sketch book and pencil |
| 24 October 2021 | Michael Sandel | The Collected Dialogues of Plato | Binoculars |
| 31 October 2021 | Peter Schmeichel | The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) | His guitar |
| 7 November 2021 | Joanne Harris | The Collected Works of Victor Hugo | Her own shed |
| 19 November 2021 | Dame Jo da Silva | The Boardman Tasker Omnibus by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker | A charpoi (traditional Indian rope bed) |
| 21 November 2021 | Carl Hester | The Centenary Book of Sark: a history and description of the artist William A Toplis by Chris Andrews, Fiona Kelly and Amy McKee | His own pillow |
| 28 November 2021 | Neil Gaiman | The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe | A Victorian accounts ledger, a fountain pen and an unlimited supply of ink |
| 5 December 2021 | Helen Macdonald | The Karla Trilogy by John le Carré | Luxury bedding |
| 12 December 2021 | Jack Thorne | Miller Plays: 1 by Arthur Miller | TV with Channel 4 archive only |
| 19 December 2021 | Dame Prue Leith | Ulysses by James Joyce | Writing materials |
| 26 December 2021 | Richard Osman | Hercule Poirot: the Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie | A pad of paper, a pen and dice |

## 2022

| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
| 9 January 2022 | Simon Reeve | Moonshine for Beginners and Experts by Damian Brown | Bird seed |
| 16 January 2022 | Deborah Levy | The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C. G. Jung) | A silk sheet |
| 23 January 2022 | John Caudwell | A Desert Island survival manual | Sunblock |
| 30 January 2022 | Lyse Doucet | A Persian language book | Essential oils |
| 6 February 2022 | Professor David Spiegelhalter | Ultimate Survival Handbook by Bear Grylls | An unlimited supply of printed Killer Sudoku |
| 13 February 2022 | Leslie Caron | The Sixth Sense of Animals by Maurice Burton | A cutlass |
| 20 February 2022 | Anne Tyler | The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty | A supply of pet food |
| 27 February 2022 | Professor Nick Webborn | The Complete Works of Charles Dickens | His adapted Segway, with a built-in espresso machine |
| 6 March 2022 | Oti Mabuse | Will by Will Smith | A photo of her and her Grandma |
| 13 March 2022 | Robert Plant | The Earliest English Poems, translated by Michael Alexander | A basket containing photos of homing pigeons |
| 20 March 2022 | Alan Cumming | Desert Gardening for Beginners: How to grow vegetables, flowers, and herbs in an Arid Climate by Cathy Cromell, Linda A. Guy, Lucy K. Bradley | Marijuana seeds |
| 27 March 2022 | Winnie Byanyima | The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir | A basket weaving needle |
| 8 May 2022 | Fiona Hill | Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll | Crystallised ginger |
| 15 May 2022 | Bradley Walsh | The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas | A set of golf clubs and balls |
| 22 May 2022 | Ellie Simmonds | The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins | A diary and pen |
| 29 May 2022 | David Harewood | The Sandman by Neil Gaiman | A disco dancefloor |
| 5 June 2022 | Jon Ronson | A Magnum photography book | Legal medical marijuana |
| 12 June 2022 | Frances O'Grady | History by Elsa Morante | A painting set with edible paints |
| 19 June 2022 | Rita Tushingham | Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | A photograph album |
| 26 June 2022 | Bono | Ulysses by James Joyce | A Spanish guitar |
| 3 July 2022 | Adele | The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur | A self-inflated mattress |
| 10 July 2022 | Andrew Ramroop | Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace | A tenor steel pan drum |
| 17 July 2022 | Kate Ewart-Biggs | The Complete Novels of Jane Austen | An asthma inhaler |
| 24 July 2022 | Kate Moss | The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | A cashmere blanket |
| 31 July 2022 | Clare Smyth | The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien | A chef's knife |
| 7 August 2022 | John Legend | The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow | A piano |
| 18 September 2022 | Sue Barker | All In by Billie Jean King | New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine |
| 25 September 2022 | Jay Blades | The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X | A reclining massage chair |
| 2 October 2022 | Dr Waheed Arian | The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryan Mealer and William Kamkwamba | Pen and paper |
| 9 October 2022 | Kevin Sinfield | The Edge: The Guide to Fulfilling Dreams, Maximizing Success and Enjoying a Lifetime of Achievement by Howard E. Ferguson | A self-propelled treadmill |
| 16 October 2022 | Maxine Peake | One Moonlit Night by Caradog Prichard | A solar-powered epilator |
| 23 October 2022 | Rick Rubin | The Red Book by Carl Jung | Tarot cards |
| 30 October 2022 | Professor Angela Gallop | A collection of works by Robert Harris | A church organ and sheet music |
| 6 November 2022 | Richard E. Grant | Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll | A piano |
| 18 November 2022 | Professor Jean Golding | The Oxford Book of Twentieth-century English Verse | A mobility power chair |
| 20 November 2022 | Barry Hearn | The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway | A fishing rod and rocking chair |
| 27 November 2022 | Baz Luhrmann | War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy | A silk eye mask |
| 4 December 2022 | Edward Enninful | Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson | A pair of embroidered slippers |
| 11 December 2022 | Cate Blanchett | Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit | Time |
| 18 December 2022 | Steven Spielberg | The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck | H-8 Bolex camera |
| 25 December 2022 | Kirsty Young | The Most of Nora Ephron by Nora Ephron | A cinema and film archive |

## 2023

| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
| 8 January 2023 | Sir Malcolm Walker | Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe | A cast iron cooking pot |
| 15 January 2023 | Gabby Logan | Every Ruddy Word by Alan Partridge | A piano |
| 22 January 2023 | Michael Pollan | Ulysses by James Joyce | Dark chocolate |
| 29 January 2023 | Professor Corinne Le Quéré | World Atlas of the Oceans by Dave Monahan | A mask and snorkel |
| 5 February 2023 | Lesley Manville | A Botanical Encyclopedia | A bed with linen, duvet and pillows |
| 12 February 2023 | David Sedaris | A German dictionary | Pencils and paper |
| 19 February 2023 | Jenny Beavan | The Complete Novels of Jane Austen | A cello |
| 26 February 2023 | Sonia Boyce | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl | Champagne |
| 5 March 2023 | Robert Webb | Cultural Amnesia by Clive James | Top hat and tails |
| 12 March 2023 | Amanda Blanc | Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | A photo album |
| 19 March 2023 | Liz Carr | The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | A pair of ruby slippers |
| 26 March 2023 | Dara Ó Briain | The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman | Astrophotography equipment |
| 7 May 2023 | Professor Peter Hennessy | Poetry in the Making by Ted Hughes | A fountain pen, ink and paper |
| 14 May 2023 | Simon Pegg | The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks | A coffee maker |
| 21 May 2023 | Professor Sharon Peacock | The Oxford Textbook of Medicine | A projector and photos |
| 28 May 2023 | Ronnie O’Sullivan | Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn | A painting set |
| 4 June 2023 | Jeremy Bowen | The Complete Novels of George Orwell | A manual typewriter |
| 11 June 2023 | Claudia Rankine | As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner | A solar powered television, playing tennis matches |
| 18 June 2023 | Adam Kay | York Notes for the Complete Works of Shakespeare | A diary and pen |
| 25 June 2023 | Kate Mosse | Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot | A jukebox |
| 2 July 2023 | Stanley Tucci | Westward Ha! by S.J. Perelman | Art supplies |
| 9 July 2023 | Peter Doig | A scrapbook | A cutlass |
| 16 July 2023 | Jill Scott | The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend | A notebook and pens |
| 23 July 2023 | Simon Woolley | Football in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano | A razor blade |
| 30 July 2023 | Toto Wolff | The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas | Diving fins and a mask |
| 6 August 2023 | Shirley Collins | A collection of Brodie detective novels by Kate Atkinson | A solar powered fridge filled with Italian ice cream and two lipsticks |
| 17 September 2023 | Adrian Edmondson | Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett | A tab of acid |
| 24 September 2023 | Lucinda Russell | Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery by Andris J. Kaneps, Kenneth William Hinchcliff, and Raymond J. Geor | A camper van |
| 1 October 2023 | Katherine Ryan | The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler | A hat and skincare set |
| 8 October 2023 | Greg Jackson | The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'Brien | A pinball machine |
| 15 October 2023 | Dame Donna Langley | Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez | Tarot cards |
| 22 October 2023 | Patrick Grant | Green Woodwork: Working with Wood the Natural Way by Mike Abbott | A complete set of woodworking tools |
| 29 October 2023 | Professor Dame Lesley Regan | The Works of George Eliot | Marmite on toast |
| 5 November 2023 | Lea Salonga | The Complete Far Side by Gary Larson | Typewriter |
| 17 November 2023 | Peter White | The 1962 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack | Pear drops |
| 19 November 2023 | Pia Sinha | A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry | Chilli sauce |
| 26 November 2023 | Dr Nicola Fox | Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan | Lego |
| 3 December 2023 | Marina Abramović | In Search of the Miraculous by Peter D. Ouspensky | A cashmere blanket |
| 10 December 2023 | Shirley Ballas | Unleash the Power Within by Tony Robbins | Cotton knickers |
| 17 December 2023 | Greta Gerwig | The Complete Poems: Emily Dickinson | A writing set |
| 24 December 2023 | Delia Smith CH CBE | Sister Wendy’s 100 Best-loved Paintings by Wendy Beckett | The Desert Island Discs archive |

## 2024

| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
| 7 January 2024 | Graham Nash | The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto | A sleeping bag |
| 14 January 2024 | Guli Francis-Dehqani | The Book of Kings | Photo albums |
| 21 January 2024 | Sheku Kanneh-Mason | The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman | A cello and strings |
| 28 January 2024 | Jamie Dornan | Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak | A golf club and balls |
| 4 February 2024 | Val Wilmer | The Collective Works of Langston Hughes | Nail scissors |
| 11 February 2024 | Cillian Murphy | Samuel Beckett: The Complete Dramatic Works | An acoustic guitar and strings |
| 18 February 2024 | Clive Oppenheimer | The Vivisector by Patrick White | A seismometer |
| 25 February 2024 | Sandy Powell | Josef Koudelka: Gypsies | A lemon tree |
| 3 March 2024 | Rita Rae, Lady Rae | The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and their Peoples by David Gilmour | A solar powered car |
| 10 March 2024 | James Graham | A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking | A keg of Single Malt Scotch Whisky |
| 17 March 2024 | Jenny Sealey | The Complete Works of Armistead Maupin | A photography kit |
| 24 March 2024 | Professor Alice Roberts | Middlemarch by George Eliot | A kayak |
| 31 March 2024 | Professor Tim Spector | A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens | A fermenting set |
| 12 May 2024 | Greg Davies | TBC: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck/The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend | Sausages |
| 19 May 2024 | Dame Sarah Storey | The Chimp Paradox by Professor Steve Peters | A snorkel and mask |
| 26 May 2024 | John Boyne | The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot | A cinema screen showing The Devil Wears Prada |
| 2 June 2024 | Rebel Wilson | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl | A bath tub and bath salts |
| 9 June 2024 | Shirine Khoury-Haq | The Quran | A photo frame |
| 16 June 2024 | Clive Myrie | The Metropolitan Museum of Art catalogue | Hot pepper sauce |
| 23 June 2024 | Anthony Joshua | A Bear Grylls survival book | A punchbag |
| 30 June 2024 | Professor Patricia Wiltshire | Children's Encyclopedia Volume Set by Arthur Mee | A cooking pot |
| 7 July 2024 | Rob Delaney | The Collected Works of Alice Munro | A piano |
| 14 July 2024 | Errollyn Wallen | A collection of Bach sheet music | Wigmore Hall |
| 21 July 2024 | David Nicholls | Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy | A piano and sheet music |
| 28 July 2024 | Sarah Raven | The Flowers of Crete by John Fielding & Nicholas Turland | An ever-cleaning linen sheet bed with a hot (and cold) water bottle |
| 4 August 2024 | Mark Knopfler | The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald | A guitar |
| 11 August 2024 | Steven Knight | The Greek Myths by Robert Graves | A solar powered laptop |
| 1 December 2024 | Mark Steel | Wisden Cricketers' Almanack | A piano |
| 8 December 2024 | Ebony Rainford-Brent | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | A drum kit |
| 15 December 2024 | Cher | The Saracen Blade by Frank Yerby | A eyelash curler |
| 22 December 2024 | Gareth Southgate OBE | The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters | Coffee |
| 29 December 2024 | Marianela Núñez | The Collected Works of Jorge Luis Borges | A cashmere blanket |

## 2025

| Date | Castaway | Book | Luxury |
| 5 January 2025 | Mark-Anthony Turnage | Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier | A grand piano and tuning kit |
| 12 January 2025 | Laurie Anderson | Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov | A dog collar |
| 19 January 2025 | Harriet Wistrich | Middlemarch by George Eliot | A fridge with an endless supply of white wine |
| 26 January 2025 | Nick Cave | The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi | A suit |
| 2 February 2025 | Nemone Lethbridge | The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam | A doll |
| 9 February 2025 | Stephen Mangan | Collected Works of Seamus Heaney | A piano |
| 16 February 2025 | Mina Smallman | The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins | Hair moisturiser |
| 23 February 2025 | Sir Jony Ive | The complete set of Jeeves & Wooster novels by P G Wodehouse | A bed |
| 2 March 2025 | William Boyd | Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov | A piano |
| 9 March 2025 | Cyndi Lauper | Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris | A luxury hotel |
| 16 March 2025 | Professor Carl Jones | The Collected Works of Dylan Thomas | Binoculars |