Tag: Desert Island Discs

Categories Audio Music Radio

‘It’s a show about love’: Desert Island Discs celebrates 80 years on air

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Helen McCrory’s DID is among the 5 Key Shows

By Donna Ferguson | The Guardian | January 23, 2022

As the radio classic marks a major anniversary, it’s the shared human experience revealed by the castaways that keeps us hooked

Louis Armstrong, Helen McCrory and George Michael were all guests on the show.
Louis Armstrong, Helen McCrory and George Michael were all guests on the show. Composite: Redferns; REX/Shutterstock; Getty

A familiar theme tune is playing in my ears as I step out of my front door and start running. It is a cold, frosty day in Cambridge but as I make my way towards Midsummer Common and the River Cam, I am transported to a much warmer climate. A desert island, where I know I will find exactly eight tracks of music, the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare and an incongruous luxury.

I am, of course, listening to Desert Island Discs, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary next weekend. First broadcast on 29 January 1942, it is the jewel in BBC Radio 4’s crown, to the extent that being on it is “kind of like getting a people’s knighthood”, observes the Observer’s radio critic, Miranda Sawyer. “There is no better radio show,” she says. “And I think, because it’s been for so long, there’s a status attached to getting picked – like, if you get asked to be on Desert Island Discs, that means somehow that you’ve made it.”

There are now more than 2,300 episodes of the show available online from the BBC archive. The oldest available dates back to 1951, when Roy Plomley interviewed the actress Margaret Lockwood and the famous theme tune was heralded by squawking seagulls and the crash of waves.

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Categories Anna Karenina Damian Lewis Fearless Feed NHS Harry Potter Leaving Peaky Blinders Prince's Trust Print Media Quiz Scene & Heard Skyfall The Deep Blue Sea The Queen

In Memoriam: Helen McCrory

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A tribute to Helen McCrory and her extensive filmography

by Carly Horne | April 17, 2021 | The Courier

Following the announcement of Helen McCrory’s death on Twitter by husband Damian Lewis, comes the reflection of a life and career so full of exuberance and love. Although hers was a life cut far too short, it was also one marked by displays of endless generosity and incomprehensible levels talent which will surely be missed by all.

My first exposure to Helen McCrory came with the release of Skyfall in 2012. Something about her portrayal of Clair Dowar MP, a minor role relative to the scale of the film, just mesmerised me.

As Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, she shone. The mother of school bully, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and wife to notorious Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs) – Narcissa could easily have been a two-dimensional character. A ‘bad’ character. It’s hard to get away from the fact Narcissa Malfoy was a prejudicial pure-blood, but Helen McCrory brought so much humility and poise to what might have otherwise been an insignificant role.

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Categories Charity Feed NHS Print Media Tributes

Helen McCrory: a towering, irreplaceable figure of stage and screen

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Helen McCrory had star quality

by The Newzly Desk |April 16, 2021 | The Newzly
Helen McCrory: a towering, irreplaceable figure of stage and screen
Helen McCrory’s final stage performance now stands as a monument to a towering, irreplaceable figure of stage and screen. In 2016, as Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea, she turned Terence Rattigan’s heroine into a woman who is simply too big for the confining 1950s world she has been born into. The performance was a gift; she electrified every inch of the National Theatre’s stage.
Categories Appearances Audio Feed NHS Personal and Family Life Podcast Radio

Helen McCrory on Desert Island Discs Podcast

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Helen Dishes About Her Better Half

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | June 28, 2020

Helen McCrory OBE is one of the most versatile and critically acclaimed actresses working today. On screen she has played Anna Karenina, Cherie Blair (twice), Harry Potter‘s Narcissa Malfoy and the Peaky Blinders matriarch Aunt Polly. Her theatre roles range from Yelena in Uncle Vanya to Euripides‘ Medea.

A diplomat’s daughter, she spent her early childhood in Africa before continuing her education in the UK. After a bruising and unsuccessful audition at the Drama Centre in London – she was instructed to find out more about life before learning to act – she travelled to Italy where she discovered art and love and came back to try again. This time she passed the audition.

In 1993 she made her mark in Richard Eyre’s production of Trelawny of the Wells at the National Theatre and went on to perform leading roles on some of London’s most prestigious stages, winning two Olivier Award nominations. She was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2017.

She met her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, when they both starred in a play called Five Gold Rings. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic Helen and Damian, together with the comedian Matt Lucas, co-founded the Feed NHS campaign which raises money to provide hot meals to frontline NHS workers.

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