Desert Island Discs: James Graham joins Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4 - who is he?

Desert Island Discs is back on BBC Radio 4 this weekend, with a star-studded guest set to join host Lauren Laverne.

The timeless show, first aired in 1942, transports guests to an imaginary setting of a desert island, where they are tasked with selecting eight cherished audio recordings that serve as musical memoirs of their lives. Toward the end of the show, guests pick one recording they hold in the highest regard.

In addition, guests must choose a book to accompany them during their hypothetical isolation and a luxury item that offers no means of accessing the world beyond the desert island. Notable guests who have appeared on the show include David Attenborough, Yoko Ono and Maya Angelou.

So who will join Lauren Laverne on this week's instalment of Desert Island Discs? Here's everything you need to know.

Who is on Desert Island Discs this week?

British playwright and screenwriter James Graham will be joining Lauren Laverne this weekend to make his Desert Island Discs choices. Graham broke onto the scene with his first professional play Albert's Boy in 2005, produced by Finborough Theatre.

As its playwright-in-residence, he continued to premier new material at the west London theatre including Eden's Empire, Little Madam, Sons of York, and The Man. In 2012, Graham received widespread acclaim for his play This House which was commissioned by the Royal National Theatre and later transferred to the Olivier Theatre.

The show was recommissioned in 2016 and ran for two years including a stint in the West End. This House was voted as Play of the Decade in Bloomsbury's '60 Years of Modern Plays' and saw Graham receive his fist Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play.

Graham's later works Labour of Love and INK ran concurrently in the West End during 2018. Both plays were nominated for Olivier Awards with the former winning in the Best New Comedy category.

His most recent production, Dear England, based on Gareth Southgate's England football team, became a smash hit at the National Theatre and has been transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End.

Outside of his productions, Graham wrote the book for the Broadway musical, Finding Neverland. He's also seen more recent success as a screenwriter of numerous TV dramas including Channel 4's 'Coalition', which won the Royal Television Society award for Best Single Drama, and HBO's 'Brexit: The Uncivil War' starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

In 2015, Graham wrote the screenplay for his debut feature film X&Y, a British drama directed by Morgan Matthews and starring Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins.

Graham was appointed an OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours for his contribution to British theatre.

What time is Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4?

Desert Island Discs airs on BBC Radio 4 at 11.15am on Sunday, March 10 2024, with repeats available on BBC Sounds.