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Desert Island Discs

Arena celebrates Roy Plomley's classic radio favourite with the help of famous castaways, including Frankie Howerd, Arthur Askey and Paul McCartney. First transmitted in 1982.

Arena celebrates Roy Plomley's Desert Island Discs with the help of many famous castaways, including Frankie Howerd, Russell Harty, Trevor Brooking, the Lord Mayor of London, Professor JK Galbraith and Arthur Askey. The special guest for the 40th anniversary programme was Paul McCartney, who was also a fan of the show.

First transmitted in 1982.

Available now

46 minutes

Music Played

  • Brian Eno

    Another Green World

  • Jack Nitzsche

    Turner's Murder (feat. Merry Clayton Singers)

BBC Four Arena at 40 Collection

BBC Four Arena at 40 Collection
This programme is part of a collection of classic documentaries chosen to celebrate Arena's 40th anniversary.


Arena at 40

About BBC Four Collection programmes

Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current BBC editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required.

Credit

Role Contributor
Executive Producer Anthony Wall

Broadcasts

  • Tue 23 Feb 1982 22:10
  • Wed 29 Dec 1982 15:05
  • Sun 2 Jun 1985 22:55
  • Mon 3 Jun 1985 23:45
  • Mon 27 Jan 1992 21:00
  • Mon 29 Mar 1999 21:00
  • Mon 5 Jul 1999 21:00
  • Mon 5 Sep 2005 22:25
  • Tue 2 Oct 2007 23:40
  • Mon 29 May 2017 22:05
  • Sun 12 Jan 2020 23:30
  • Thu 28 Jan 2021 01:00
  • Mon 31 Jan 2022 22:20
  • Mon 24 Mar 2025 20:15
  • Tue 25 Mar 2025 23:55

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