Desert Island Discs

Anna Maxwell Martin is an award-winning actor whose versatility is evident from the breadth of parts she has played in popular television programmes including Motherland, Ludwig and Line of Duty.
Anna was born and brought up in Yorkshire and loved acting and performing from a young age putting on shows with her friends in the cul-de-sac where they all lived. She read history at Liverpool University and then won a place at LAMDA.
She made her professional debut in the Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse directed by Marianne Elliott. Her breakthrough came in 2003 playing Lyra Belacqua in the National Theatre’s landmark production of His Dark Materials.
In recent years she has become an advocate for vulnerable children and their families – especially those navigating the SEND – special educational needs and/or disabilities – system in schools. She was motivated to take on this role after struggling to get help for her daughters who were struggling with profound grief following the death of their father.
Anna lives in London with her daughters.
DISC ONE: I Love To Boogie – T. Rex
DISC TWO: The Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston
DISC THREE: Together In Electric Dreams - Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder
DISC FOUR: Gianni Schicchi: "O mio babbino caro" (Lauretta) Composed by Giacomo Puccini and performed by Maria Callas (soprano) and Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Tullio Serafin
DISC FIVE: When A Knight Won His Spurs – The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral, directed by David Halls
DISC SIX: Dry Your Eyes - The Streets
DISC SEVEN: Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell
DISC EIGHT: Tell Him - Lauryn Hill
BOOK CHOICE: Jackson Brodie Series by Kate Atkinson
LUXURY ITEM: Anna’s lucky conker
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley
Desert Island Discs has cast away many actors to the island over the years including Julie Walters, Jessie Buckley and Adeel Aktar. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Peter Layton is a pioneering British glass artist and the founder of London Glassblowing, one of the most influential glass studios and galleries in the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the development of the studio glass movement, helping to establish glass as an artistic medium.
Born in Prague to Jewish parents, he and his family escaped in 1939 and settled in Bradford, where Peter counted the artist David Hockney among his friends. A trip to the United States in the 1960s to teach ceramics led him to his first encounter with glassblowing, and when he returned to the UK he set up a studio called London Glassblowing. Its ethos of collaboration and openness remains the same 50 years after its founding, and members of the public are welcome to see Peter and his colleagues create spectacular pieces of art out of glass.
Peter’s work is influenced by many things: early pieces tackled political issues, and he finds clouds, pebbles and other natural forms particularly inspiring. Peter lives in London with his wife Ann. He has three children and seven grandchildren.
DISC ONE: When I’m Cleaning Windows - George Formby
DISC TWO: Kol Nidrei, Op. 4, composed by Max Bruch, performed by Jacqueline du Pré (cello) and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim
DISC THREE: Take Five - Dave Brubeck
DISC FOUR: Blowin’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan
DISC FIVE: White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
DISC SIX: Lute Concerto in D Major, RV 93: II. Largo, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, performed by Paul O'Dette (lute) The Parley of Instruments conducted by Peter Holman
DISC SEVEN: Suzanne - Nina Simone
DISC EIGHT: Elegy for the Arctic - Ludovico Einaudi
BOOK CHOICE: The Choice by Edith Eger
LUXURY ITEM: A solar-powered digital picture frame
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Suzanne - Nina Simone
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Tim Bano
Desert Island Discs has cast away many artists to the island over the years, including Peter’s friend David Hockney, as well as the sculptor Anthony Gormley and Cornelia Parker. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Guy Martin is a television presenter, mechanic and former motorcycle racer. During his career he achieved 17 podium finishes at the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) Races – one of the most prestigious and dangerous motorcycling events in the world. His television programmes often focus on his daredevil nature and combine two of his greatest loves - engineering and history.
Guy was brought up in the village of Kirmington in North Lincolnshire. When he was five his father, who raced bikes himself, bought him his first motorcycle which he promptly crashed into the rose garden. His father is a mechanic and Guy used to sit and watch him at work in the shed from a young age and at 12 he began working for him at weekends and during school holidays.
Guy’s first race meeting was at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire when he was 19. Less than a minute into the race he crashed. He was not badly injured but the bike was destroyed in the process. In 2004 he made his debut at the biggest road race of them all – the Isle of Man TT, finishing seventh in the Senior race and winning the Newcomers Trophy.
Guy retired from racing in 2015 after a very bad crash at the Ulster Grand Prix. After that he turned to his bicycle and has taken part in several endurance cycling events, including the Tour Divide, to test his resolve and stamina and fill the adrenaline gap.
Guy lives in Lincolnshire with his wife Sharon, their daughter Dottie and three dogs.
DISC ONE: Bam Ba Lam (Here Comes Daddy) - Alabama 3
DISC TWO: Testify - Rage Against the Machine
DISC THREE: Blinded by the Light - The Streets
DISC FOUR: Getaway - The Music
DISC FIVE: Me and my Monkey - Robbie Williams
DISC SIX: Hurt – Johnny Cash
DISC SEVEN: The Day is My Enemy - The Prodigy
DISC EIGHT: With or Without You - U2
BOOK CHOICE: Stealing Speed by Mat Oxley
LUXURY ITEM: The back catalogue of Race Engine Technology magazine
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: With or Without You - U2
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

Emily Watson is an award-winning actor, widely regarded as one of the finest character actors of her generation.
She began her career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company before rising to prominence in 1996, when she was cast as Bess McNeill in Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination. She received a second Oscar nomination for Hilary and Jackie, for which she learned to play the cello to portray Jacqueline du Pré.
Watson has built a reputation for a level of commitment that is as intense as it is acclaimed. She describes her craft not merely as a profession but as a profound internal necessity, stating: "I love the sense of creating and inhabiting something. That feeling of making it feel magically real. That's the addiction".
She grew up in London and was a passionate reader before leaving home to study English at Bristol University. Her parents were members of the School of Economic Science which proscribed that followers eschew TV and popular culture. Emily joined in with the university drama productions and followed her passion, with her parents’ blessing, to pursue a career in acting.
Emily Watson lives in London with her husband, and they have two children.
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
Desert Island Discs has cast other actors away over the years including Emily’s fellow actor from Hamnet, Jessie Buckley. The writer, Maggie O’Farrell is in there too along with Emily’s friend from university, the writer David Nicholls. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.

Journalist Gary O’Donoghue is the Chief North America Correspondent for BBC News. Last year his coverage of the 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump won the Royal Television Society Breaking News Award. He made the news himself in 2025 when he secured a 20-minute exclusive phone interview with Trump who was by then the US President.
Gary was born in London and brought up in Essex. When he was eight he lost his sight and attended specialist schools for blind and partially sighted children. He read philosophy and modern languages at the University of Oxford before embarking on his BBC career.
He has reported on mass shootings, filed stories from the Macedonian border during the Kosovo conflict, covered the Iraq War and chronicled seven British general elections. He became the BBC’s Washington correspondent in 2014 and, as well as Donald Trump’s two terms, has covered the administrations of Presidents Obama and Biden.
Gary is based in Washington DC and when in the UK lives in West Yorkshire with his partner Sarah.
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley
Desert Island Discs has cast other journalists away to the island over the years including Lyse Doucet, Clive Myrie and Lindsey Hilsum, You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.
This episode was recorded before the shooting at the White House Correspondent's Dinner on 25th April 2026.