Desert Island Discs

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Castaway guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

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Desert Island Discs: Adam Kay, writer

18/06/2023

Adam Kay, writer

BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Adam Kay, writer

Adam Kay, writer, shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.

Adam Kay, writer and former doctor, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Adam Kay is a writer whose memoir This is Going to Hurt; Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor won the Book of the Year prize at the National Book Awards and has sold over three million copies.  It was adapted for television as a BBC series that won four BAFTAs this year, including Adam’s award for best drama writer.

Adam was born in Brighton in 1980 and studied medicine at Imperial College London.  In 2004 he started working as a junior doctor, specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology.  In 2010 he left medicine following a catastrophic incident in surgery.

He had kept a diary throughout his medical career, partly to help cope with the long shifts and stressful environment that came with life as a hospital doctor. In 2016 Adam read from his diaries for a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the positive reception he received from audiences encouraged him to use them as the basis for a memoir. The book became a publishing sensation, and Adam has published further books and enjoyed considerable success with his live performances. 

Adam lives in Oxfordshire with his husband James.  

DISC ONE: Chopsticks - Liberace
DISC TWO: Mis-shapes - Pulp 
DISC THREE: Chopin: Waltz No. 14 in E Minor, Op. posth. (no intro) Composed by Frédéric Chopin and performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy  
DISC FOUR: Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat - Stubby Kaye, Original Cast Chorus (from Guys and Dolls)        
DISC FIVE: Forgot About Dre - Dr Dre & Eminem  
DISC SIX: Poisoning Pigeons - Tom Lehrer  
DISC SEVEN: A Lady of a Certain Age - The Divine Comedy  
DISC EIGHT: San Diego Serenade - Tom Waits

BOOK CHOICE: York Notes for the Complete Works of Shakespeare
LUXURY ITEM: A diary and pen       
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE:  San Diego Serenade - Tom Waits

Presenter  Lauren Laverne
Producer  Paula McGinley

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