Desert Island Discs is 80 years old and to celebrate this milestone the BBC has planned an event unprecedented in the show’s long history. It is also one that will surely have its creator and original presenter, Roy Plomley, spinning in his grave. Desert Island Discs Live will take place at London’s Palladium over three nights later this month with host Lauren Lavern in conversation with celebrity guests Russell T. Davies, Katherine Ryan, Lemn Sissay, Ellie Simmonds, Dara Ó Briain, Sue Perkins ‘and more to be announced’.
The whole charm of the show, and the reason for its longevity, is its intimacy
If this sounds like your sort of thing then it’s not too late to book – there is, at the time of writing, a whole raft of tickets still available from between £44 and £92. It is perhaps surprising that a show which gets an audience in the millions has so far failed to sell out a venue with a capacity of just 2,000. Perhaps its because regular DID listeners know it is an extraordinarily bad idea.
The whole charm of the show, and the reason for its longevity, is its intimacy. The programme captures the sense of solitude and reflection that being cast away, alone, might bring. The host then gently encourages to share those feelings – with the music selections both articulating and puncturing the intimacy. Desert Island Discs whispers rather than shouts. The studio becomes a confessional.
We listeners don’t necessarily want guests to break down but it’s certainly memorable when they do. One thinks of Ian Wright on his inspirational school teacher, Ade Edmondson on the death of his comedy partner Rik Mayall, Richard E. Grant on how broken he was by the death of his wife, Stephen Graham on having been suicidal, Lemn Sissay on being cruelly taken from his mother.