
Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 4
Categories: Music
Listen to the last episode:
Norma Percy is a documentary film-maker. She has been making programmes for over three decades and her productions have featured a range of political leaders from Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to Mikhail Gorbachev and Slobodan Milošević.
Her film-making method, which she developed alongside her colleague Brian Lapping, tells the stories of our times by taking viewers into the room where the big decisions were made, with the people who made them.
Norma was born in New York City and majored in Government at Oberlin College in Ohio. In 1963 she moved to London where she studied at the London School of Economics, before finding a job in the House of Commons as a researcher for the MP John Mackintosh.
In 1972 she became a researcher for Brian Lapping, working on the Granada series State of the Nation. Later she produced The Second Russian Revolution and the award-winning Watergate – a five-part BBC series about the Watergate scandal.
Her programmes have won an Emmy, two BAFTAs and four Royal Television Awards. Norma lives in London with her husband, the geneticist Professor Steve Jones.
DISC ONE: Be Prepared - Tom Lehrer DISC TWO: Waltz in C sharp-minor, Op.64 No. 2. Composed by Frederic Chopin and performed by Khatia Buniatishvili DISC THREE: Well, Did You Evah? - Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra DISC FOUR: Hard Day’s Night - The Beatles DISC FIVE: Never Say No - The Fantasticks New Off-Broadway Cast DISC SIX: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH.12 / Act 3: The Black Swan. Composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and performed by Erich Gruenberg (violin), London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Bonynge DISC SEVEN: It Ain’t Me Babe - Joan Baez DISC EIGHT: Political Science - Randy Newman
BOOK CHOICE: In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust LUXURY ITEM: A hot shower CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: It Ain’t Me Babe - Joan Baez
Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley
Previous episodes
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2591 - Norma Percy, film-maker Sun, 20 Jul 2025
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2590 - Lord Alf Dubs, politician and campaigner Sun, 13 Jul 2025
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2589 - Professor Lucy Easthope, emergency planner Sat, 05 Jul 2025
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2587 - Romesh Ranganathan, comedian and broadcaster Sun, 29 Jun 2025
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2585 - Abdulrazak Gurnah, writer Sun, 22 Jun 2025
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2583 - Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, scientist Sun, 15 Jun 2025
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2581 - Danny Dyer, actor Sun, 08 Jun 2025
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2574 - Lindsey Hilsum, journalist Sun, 27 Apr 2025
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2573 - Donna Ockenden, midwife Sun, 20 Apr 2025
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2572 - Professor Carl Jones, conservation biologist Sun, 13 Apr 2025
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2571 - Cyndi Lauper, singer-songwriter Sun, 06 Apr 2025
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2570 - William Boyd, writer Sun, 30 Mar 2025
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2569 - Sir Jony Ive, designer Sun, 23 Mar 2025
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2568 - Stephen Mangan, actor Sun, 09 Mar 2025
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2567 - Mina Smallman, activist Sun, 16 Mar 2025
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2566 - Nemone Lethbridge, lawyer and writer Sun, 02 Mar 2025
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2565 - Nick Cave, singer and writer Sun, 23 Feb 2025
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2564 - Harriet Wistrich, lawyer Sun, 16 Feb 2025
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2563 - Laurie Anderson, artist Sun, 09 Feb 2025
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2562 - Mark-Anthony Turnage, composer Sun, 02 Feb 2025
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2561 - Marianela Núñez, ballerina Sun, 26 Jan 2025
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2559 - Gareth Southgate OBE, football manager Sun, 19 Jan 2025
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2557 - Cher, singer and actor Sun, 12 Jan 2025
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2556 - Lesley Manville, actor Sun, 05 Feb 2023
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2555 - Ebony Rainford-Brent, former England cricketer Sun, 05 Jan 2025
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2553 - Mark Steel, comedian Sun, 29 Dec 2024
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2548 - Classic Desert Island Discs - Ian Wright Sun, 08 Dec 2024
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2527 - Steven Knight, writer Sat, 07 Sep 2024
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2526 - Mark Knopfler, musician Sat, 31 Aug 2024
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2525 - Sarah Raven, gardener and writer Sun, 25 Aug 2024
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2524 - David Nicholls, writer Sat, 17 Aug 2024
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2523 - Errollyn Wallen, composer Sun, 11 Aug 2024
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2522 - Rob Delaney, actor and comedian Sun, 04 Aug 2024
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2521 - Professor Patricia Wiltshire, forensic scientist Sun, 28 Jul 2024
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2520 - Anthony Joshua, boxer Sat, 20 Jul 2024
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2519 - Clive Myrie, journalist Sun, 14 Jul 2024
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2518 - Shirine Khoury-Haq, businesswoman Sun, 07 Jul 2024
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2512 - Rebel Wilson, actor Sun, 30 Jun 2024
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2511 - John Boyne, writer Sat, 22 Jun 2024
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2510 - Dame Sarah Storey, athlete Sat, 15 Jun 2024
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2509 - Greg Davies, comedian Sun, 09 Jun 2024
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2503 - Professor Tim Spector, scientist Sat, 27 Apr 2024
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2502 - Professor Alice Roberts, scientist and broadcaster Sun, 21 Apr 2024
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2501 - Jenny Sealey, theatre director Sat, 13 Apr 2024
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2500 - Desert Island Discs at 75 Sat, 28 Jan 2017
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2499 - Caitlin Moran Sun, 22 Jan 2017
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2498 - Wayne McGregor Sun, 15 Jan 2017
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2497 - Pinky Lilani Sun, 08 Jan 2017
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2496 - Sir Kenneth Grange Sun, 01 Jan 2017
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2495 - Gareth Malone Sun, 25 Dec 2016