Rt Hon David Steel MP

Sheila Steafel, the actress who was born in South Africa, went to drama school in London and had her first big break in the television series The Frost Report. Since then, as she tells Roy Plomley, her career has been extremely varied, including music hall, opera, theatre, a one- ...  Show more

Barbara Taylor Bradford's first novel, A Woman of Substance, which was published in 1980, quickly became a huge international success. In conversation with Roy Plomley, she recalls her childhood in Leeds, her first job as a reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post at the age of 16, ...  Show more

The castaway in this week's Desert Island Discs is a man who prefers to shun any sort of label, but has already attracted quite a number of them - writer, actor, raconteur, wit - but it is as a so-called 'alternative comedian' that Stephen Fry has been most remarkable, and he'll ...  Show more

Jackie Stewart was world champion in Formula One motor racing before he retired in 1973. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he recalls his upbringing in Scotland and talks about his life as a racing driver and about his more recent career as a businessman. He also chooses th ...  Show more

Sue Lawley's guest this week is Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. His musicals dominate London's West End, including Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Starlight Express. He traces a career which began more than 30 years ago when he teamed up with Tim Rice to write Joseph and the Amazing Tech ...  Show more

This week Sue's castaway is the award winning actor Bill Nighy. Originally from Caterham in Surrey, he left school at 15 without any qualifications and ended up working at his local employment office. He hoped to become an author and began work on The Field magazine as a messenge ...  Show more