Main content

Loyd Grossman

Sue Lawley's castaway is television presenter Loyd Grossman.

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the television presenter Loyd Grossman. His career has allowed him to peer through the keyholes of the rich and famous and comment on their homes. He once described Tony Blackburn's house as like that of a maiden aunt in Eastbourne. It's a formula which has lasted 14 years. Although he was well into his 20s before he learnt to cook, some 20 million viewers watch him as he deliberates, cogitates and digests the culinary efforts of his would-be masterchefs. As a boy his dream was to be a rock star or a historian. In the end, he gave up both, forsaking his study of the gin-drinking experiences of 18th-century Londoners and forgoing his evenings spent dodging beer cans thrown on stage. He turned instead to journalism and Harpers & Queen. It was by accident that he was picked out to present for the new fledgling television station, TVAM, but by the time they realised their mistake his TV career was launched.

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

Favourite track: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Book: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Luxury: Fishing rod

Available now

40 minutes

Last on

Fri 5 Dec 1997 09:05

Music Played

  • Don Henley

    The Boys Of Summer

    • Building The Perfect Beast.
    • Geffen Records.
  • The Kinks

    All Day And All Of The Night

    • The Kinks Collection.
    • Castle Communications.
  • Howlin’ Wolf

    Smokestack Lightning

    • Moanin' And Howlin'.
    • Chess.
  • Arthur Conley

    Sweet Soul Music

    • Soul Spectrum Vol. 5.
    • Â鶹Éç Radioplay.
  • Sons of the Pioneers

    Ragtime Cowboy Joe

    • 20 Of The Best: The Sons Of The Pioneers.
    • RCA.
  • ABC

    All Of My Heart

    • The Lexicon Of Love.
    • Mercury.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    ´Ü²¹Ã¯»å±ð

    Orchestra: Staatskapelle Berlin Soloist: Edith Mathis, Bernhard Klee, Peter Schreier

    • Mozart: Zaide: Der Schauspeildirektor.
    • Philips.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Cyndi Lauper

      Girls Just Want To Have Fun

      • So Long Baby!.
      • Castle Communications.
  • Book Choice

    • Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

  • Luxury Choice

    • Fishing rod

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Sue Lawley
Interviewed Guest Loyd Grossman

Broadcasts

  • Sun 30 Nov 1997 12:15
  • Fri 5 Dec 1997 09:05

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast