Gareth Southgate OBE is the most successful England men’s football manger in the modern game. He holds the record as the man who has represented England in more games than anyone else, with 102 games as men's senior team manager, 57 caps as a player and 37 as men's under-21 head coach, leading to a total of 196 games in which he has been involved as a player or coach.It’s a remarkable career and one which shows his resilience and determination. Ever since he joined a football team as a schoolboy, he dreamed of being a footballer and perhaps one day, wearing the England shirt. He was rejected by Southampton as a teenager and was determined to come back and succeed. He managed to do that, playing for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough as a defender and midfielder. After his playing career ended he went into management eventually becoming one of the England national team’s most successful managers. Along the way, his different approach to leadership in sport, together with his quest to understand what is Englishness makes him one of the most impressive football managers in England’s history. Southgate is an Ambassador for The Prince's Trust and Help for Heroes.DISC ONE: The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
DISC TWO: Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters
DISC THREE: Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
DISC FOUR: The Whole of the Moon - Waterboys
DISC FIVE: One - Mary J. Blige, U2
DISC SIX: Shape of You (Stormzy Remix) - Ed Sheeran
DISC SEVEN: Someone Like You - Adele
DISC EIGHT: Experience - Ludovico Einaudi
BOOK CHOICE: The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters
LUXURY ITEM: Coffee
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Experience - Ludovico Einaudi Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
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50:54
Cher, singer and actor
Cher has been a global star for over six decades. Her career has spanned music, television and film and throughout that time her outfits have made flamboyant fashion statements. She was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in El Centro, California and had a peripatetic childhood. Her mother married six times and with each new husband the family moved house.In 1962, when she was 16, Cher met Sonny Bono in a coffee shop. She moved in with Sonny as his housekeeper and personal assistant and began singing backing vocals for his boss, the music producer Phil Spector. In 1965 Sonny and Cher released I Got You Babe which reached number one in the US and UK charts – knocking the Beatles off the top of the chart.Cher is an award-winning actor who has starred in films including Silkwood, Mask and Moonstruck. In October 1998 she released her 22nd studio album Believe – the title track remains the biggest-selling number one by a solo female artist in British chart history.DISC ONE: Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
DISC TWO: Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley
DISC THREE: A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Ilene Woods
DISC FOUR: Evil - Stevie Wonder
DISC FIVE: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers
DISC SIX: I Can’t Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt
DISC SEVEN: Minute By Minute - The Doobie Brothers
DISC EIGHT: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
BOOK CHOICE: The Saracen Blade by Frank Yerby
LUXURY ITEM: An eyelash curler
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
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48:56
Ebony Rainford-Brent, former England cricketer
Former cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent is the first Black woman to play for England and she was part of the team which won the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2009. Today she is a broadcaster and cricket commentator for Channel 4, Sky Sports and the BBC’s Test Match Special.Ebony was born in south London and as a child it was football that caught her attention, especially Liverpool FC and her hero Robbie Fowler. At primary school she was encouraged to have a go at cricket through a charity called Cricket For Change which was set up to encourage more state school children into the sport. Holding a bat in her hands for the first time, she hit the ball as hard as she could and, as she watched it soar through the air, she was hooked.Ebony started out playing for Surrey Cricket Club’s Under 11’s team as a bowler. In 2003 a serious back injury forced her to stop playing and she thought her sporting career was over. She was determined to prove the medics wrong so she retrained as a batswoman as batting was easier on her back.In 2007 she made her debut for England and two years later was part of the World Cup-winning team. In 2020 Ebony joined forces with Surrey Cricket Club and founded the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE) to build grassroots cricket programmes for young people in black communities across the UK. In 2021 she was awarded an MBE for her services to cricket and charity.DISC ONE: Cold Sweat - James Brown
DISC TWO: Girlie Girlie - Sophia George
DISC THREE: Pass Me Over - Anthony Hamilton
DISC FOUR: A Long Walk - Jill Scott
DISC FIVE: Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin
DISC SIX: Never Forget - Take That
DISC SEVEN: Superheroes - Stormzy
DISC EIGHT: Work To Do - The Isley Brothers
BOOK CHOICE: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
LUXURY ITEM: A drum kit
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: A Long Walk - Jill Scott Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
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50:03
Mark Steel, comedian
Mark Steel is a writer, comedian and radio presenter. His performing career began as a poet in the alternative comedy scene in the early eighties at the Comedy Store. A regular presenter on Radio 4, he began his award winning series, Mark Steel’s in Town in 2009. Alongside his performing career, he’s been a regular newspaper columnist writing for the Guardian and Independent Newspapers.
Mark was born in 1960 and adopted at ten days old by Doreen and Ernie. He grew up in Swanley, Kent and left home at 18 to live in a squat in Crystal Palace.
After his own son was born, Mark spent many years tracing his birth parents and eventually met up with his genetic father who had been a professional gambler and a friend of Lord Lucan.
Mark has two children and lives in London.DISC ONE: My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
DISC TWO: Janie Jones - The Clash
DISC THREE: San Quentin (Live at San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, CA - February 1969) - Johnny Cash
DISC FOUR: Killing in the Name - Rage Against The Machine
DISC FIVE: Trøllabundin - Eivør Pálsdóttir
DISC SIX: Love Me or Leave Me - Nina Simone
DISC SEVEN: Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
DISC EIGHT: 1977 - Ana Tijoux
BOOK CHOICE: Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
LUXURY ITEM: A piano
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Love Me or Leave Me - Nina SimonePresenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
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50:17
Classic Desert Island Discs - Ian Wright
Lauren Laverne talks to Ian Wright in an episode first broadcast in 2020.Ian Wright is a former professional footballer and now a football pundit on TV and radio. He began his career at Crystal Palace before moving to Arsenal where he became their highest goal scorer of all time, a record only surpassed eight years later by Thierry Henry.Born to a Jamaican couple in south-east London, Ian grew up with his mother and step-father. His biological father had left the family when Ian was under two years old. Things at home were difficult and Ian spent as much time as possible outside playing football.At his primary school a teacher, Mr Pigden, took him under his wing and Ian would later credit him with changing his life. He left his secondary school at the age of 14 to get a job. Although he took part in trials for many professional football clubs as a teenager, he was never selected. He continued to play for amateur sides. By the age of 21, he had three children to provide for, so when Crystal Palace came calling in 1985, he turned them down three times before accepting a two-week trial, followed by a three-month contract. His football career had finally begun.After impressing as a forward at Palace, he was bought by Arsenal for a record fee in 1991. He was called up to the England squad the same year and would go on to collect 33 caps. He spent his last couple of years in professional football at a number of clubs around the country and in total, he played 581 league games, scoring 387 goals for seven clubs in England and Scotland. Since his retirement from football in 2000, he has had a career as a pundit on both TV and radio.He has eight children and has been happily married to his second wife, Nancy, since 2011.DISC ONE: The Marriage of Figaro: Duettino - Sull'aria by Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, composed by Lorenzo Da Ponte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
DISC TWO: Looking For You by Kirk Franklin
DISC THREE: River Deep Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner
DISC FOUR: Redemption Song by Bob Marley & The Wailers
DISC FIVE: Mysteries of the World by MSFB
DISC SIX: Endlessly by Randy Crawford
DISC SEVEN: Crown by Stormzy
DISC EIGHT: Just Fine by Mary J BligeBOOK CHOICE: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
LUXURY ITEM: A seven iron golf club and golf balls
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Endlessly by Randy CrawfordPresenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Cathy Drysdale