Geraldine James

Geraldine James

Author: BBC Radio 4 May 30, 2004 Duration: 36:47

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is one of Britain's best known actresses - Geraldine James. Geraldine James became a household name 20 years ago for her performance as Sarah Layton in the epic, lavish series The Jewel in the Crown. But she is also used to far more earthy roles - one of her first television performances was portraying the real-life story of a deaf/mute prostitute from Bradford for which she won a TV Critics' award. The TV role she took after Jewel in the Crown was as the redoubtable and beefy Lady Maud in Blott on the Landscape and, later, more northern prostitutes in Band of Gold.

She is a well respected stage actress - key roles include Portia in the Merchant of Venice opposite Dustin Hoffman and When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout. Her most recent screen work was as the prim and disapproving Women's Institute leader in the hugely successful film Calendar Girls. After school she studied drama at the Drama Centre, London, and spent three years in repertory theatre and school theatre before embarking on her television career; most recently as Lady Rowley in Trollope's He Knew He was Right. She was made an OBE in 2003.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: In Tears of Grief, Dear Lord We Leave Thee by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes Luxury: iPod


The Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005 podcast opens a unique window into a pivotal era, drawing from the BBC Radio 4 archives. This isn't just a collection of interviews about music; it's a deeply personal exploration of life, ambition, and memory through the voices of the early 21st century. Each episode presents a guest from this period-be they an artist, a politician, a scientist, or an activist-facing the program's enduring and revealing premise: selecting the eight pieces of music they would take if stranded alone. The conversation that unfolds around these choices is where the magic happens. The host gently guides them from their selections into stories of childhood influences, career-defining moments, personal triumphs, and profound losses. You'll hear the crackle of a vinyl record lead into a confession, or a symphony cue a tale of resilience. Listening to this podcast feels like uncovering a time capsule of cultural and emotional history, where a pop song can explain a political stance and a classical adagio can frame a love story. It’s an intimate study of character and a testament to how the soundtrack of our lives shapes our identity. These archived conversations, preserved in this podcast, remain compelling because they bypass the superficial, using music as the key to unlock genuine human experience.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Desert Island Discs: Archive 2000-2005
Podcast Episodes
Martha Lane Fox [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:05
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the dot-com millionaire and businesswoman Martha Lane Fox. She says that as a child she was confident and bossy - tormenting her younger brother and, in games of teachers and pupils, al…
Paul O'Grady [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:07
Sue Lawley's castaway is the entertainer Paul O'Grady. Best known as the 'Blonde Bombshell', Lily Savage, he's one of the most popular figures on television with his outrageous clothes and wigs. Originally from Tranmere…
Emmylou Harris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:55
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the country rock singer Emmylou Harris. Born in Alabama in 1947, her musical influences were folk rather than country. Initially, she wanted to be an actress, but, influenced by Joan Ba…
Nicholas Grimshaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw. An interest in engineering runs in the Grimshaw genes - one great-grandfather was responsible for seeing a proper drainage and sanitation system ins…
Pat Barker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:03
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the Booker prize-winning novelist Pat Barker. Pat Barker was 39 when she had the phone call every writer dreams about - her first book, Union Street, was to be published. The book went…
Henry Blofeld [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:54
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the cricket commentator Henry Blofeld. Blofeld's become known as much for his musings on pigeons, planes, double decker buses, tea ladies, cakes and his catchphrase 'my dear old thing'…
Sir Christopher Meyer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:07
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission Sir Christopher Meyer. Sir Christopher joined the PCC earlier this year after a glittering career in the diplomatic service. His last pos…
Jeremy Clarkson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:46
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is the motoring journalist and motor-mouth Jeremy Clarkson. He came from a comfortable background - his mother was a teacher and his father a travelling salesman. But his parents had great…
Christopher Frayling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:06
This week Sue Lawley's castaway is Professor Sir Christopher Frayling the Rector of the Royal College of Art and a champion of popular culture. He was born into an affluent family living in London. His father, Major Arth…
Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:58
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the leader of the Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy. Born in Inverness, Charles grew up on a croft near Fort William spending his early life learning how to shear sheep and milk cows on…