Main content

Kirsty Young invites pioneering surgeon Ara Darzi to choose eight records to take to Radio 4's mythical desert island.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the pioneering surgeon Professor Ara Darzi. He was born in Iraq and brought up in Baghdad but he moved to Ireland when he was 17 to study medicine. He came to England to finish his training and, highly talented and ambitious, was made a consultant when he was barely out of his 20s. Since then he's been nick-named 'Robo-doc' for spearheading the use of keyhole surgery in Britain and for introducing robotics to the operating theatre.

For the past year he has combined his surgical work with a position in government - he is a health minister and, on the eve of the NHS's 60th birthday, he is charged with reshaping the NHS in England. It is, he says, the greatest challenge he has yet faced.

Favourite track: Seven Seconds by Youssou N鈥橠our and Neneh Cherry
Book: Yes, Minister by Jonathan Lynn
Luxury: Pencil and paper

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 27 Jun 2008 09:00
大象传媒 Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

Peter Carey

Next

Posy Simmonds

See all episodes from Desert Island Discs

Music Played

  • Vahan Petelian

    Yekeghetsin Haikakan

    Choir: Haissmavourk Choir Conductor: Mihran Ghazelian

    • The Music Of Armenia Volume One: Sacred Choral Music.
    • Celestial Harmonies.

  • Mike Oldfield

    Tubular Bells

    • The Best of Tubular Bells.
    • Virgin.

  • The Dubliners

    Finnegan's Wake

    • Original Greatest Hits.
    • Chyme.

  • Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush

    Don't Give Up

    • Now That鈥檚 What I Call Music 8.
    • Virgin/EMI.

  • Pink Floyd

    Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2

    • A Collection of Great Dance Songs.
    • EMI.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Youssou Ndour & Neneh Cherry

      7 Seconds

      • Now That鈥檚 What I Call Music 29.
      • NOW.

  • Hubert Parry

    Jerusalem (from the soundtrack to Chariots of Fire)

    Choir: The Ambrosian Singers

    • Chariots of Fire: Soundtrack.
    • Polydor.

  • Supertramp

    The Logical Song

    • Supertramp: Breakfast in America.
    • A & M.

  • Book Choice

    • Yes, Minister - Jonathan Lynn

  • Luxury Choice

    • Pencil and paper

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Ara Darzi

Broadcasts

  • Sun 22 Jun 2008 11:15
    大象传媒 Radio 4
  • Fri 27 Jun 2008 09:00
    大象传媒 Radio 4

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