Desert Island Discs Revisited

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BBC Radio 4 Extra

Factual: Life Stories

Selected castaway gems from the BBC Desert Island Discs archive.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Absent Friends 2023: Len Goodman

Len Goodman

Absent Friends 2023

Desert Island Discs

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desert Island Discs Revisited, Absent Friends 2023, Len Goodman

Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman is castaway by Kirsty Young.

4 Extra Debut. From Harry Belafonte to Gene Kelly. Strictly Come Dancing’s Len Goodman shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From 2011.

"7".  TV ballroom dance judge Len Goodman shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young.

Len became a star of BBC TV's 'Strictly Come Dancing' and the US show 'Dancing with the Stars', after a 40-year career as a ballroom dancer and judge.  

Born in London's East End, as a kid he was a barrow-boy, selling fruit and veg on his grandfather's stall. He went on to work on the docks as a welder. But come Saturday night he would don his best threads and head for the Embassy ballroom in Welling.  

It was later in life, when Len found international fame and it was, he says, perfect timing.  

"If it had happened when I was 30, I'd have been one of these people that would be seen rolling out of nightclubs drunk, with a couple of dolly-birds on my arm.  The pilot was on my 60th birthday and I think it was the perfect age because I was sensible by then, my feet were planted firmly on the ground."

DISC ONE: Good Morning - Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor & Debbie Reynolds
DISC TWO: Pencil Full of Lead - Paolo Nutini
DISC THREE: Tiger Rag - The Mills Brothers
DISC FOUR: The Moulin Rouge theme - Edmundo Ros and His Orchestra
DISC FIVE: Fat Sam’s Grand Slam - Bugsy Malone
DISC SIX: Take Five - Dave Brubeck
DISC SEVEN: In My Life - The Beatles
DISC EIGHT: Island in the Sun - Harry Belafonte

BOOK CHOICE: An Anthology of British poetry
LUXURY CHOICE: Set of golf clubs and balls
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Pencil Full of Lead - Paolo Nutini

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.

Desert Island Discs Revisited: Absent Friends 2023

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Remembering some castaways from Desert Island Discs who passed away in 2023.

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