Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu is Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at University College London and President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. She has devoted her career to harnessing the potential of nanoparticles – which are less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair - to take medicines to hard-to-reach areas of the body such as the back of the eye and the brain. Using nanoparticles in this way is said to increase the efficacy of medicines and reduce side effects. Ijeoma was born in London where her parents had settled from Nigeria. At 13 she moved with her family to Nigeria where she developed an enduring love of chemistry.In 2010 she co-founded a pharmaceutical company Nanomerics with her husband. The company is currently developing eyedrops to treat blindness and a nasal spray to target pain which she hopes will go some way to addressing the opioid crisis. Earlier this year Ijeoma was appointed a DBE in the King’s New Years Honours List.Ijeoma lives in Cambridge with her husband Andreas. Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinleyDISC ONE: Chop My Money (I Don’t Care) - P-Square
DISC TWO: Joromi - Sir Victor Uwaifo
DISC THREE: Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer
DISC FOUR: Zombie - Fela Kuti
DISC FIVE: Coat of Many Colours - Dolly Parton
DISC SIX: I Have Nothing - Whitney Houston
DISC SEVEN: Touch Me in The Morning - Diana Ross
DISC EIGHT: I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today - The Crusaders with Joe CockerBOOK CHOICE: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
LUXURY ITEM: A variety of seeds
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today - The Crusaders with Joe Cocker
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Danny Dyer, actor
Actor Danny Dyer became a household name when he joined the cast of EastEnders as Mick Carter, landlord of the Queen Victoria pub. He recently stole the show from some stiff competition playing Freddie Jones in the television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel Rivals which won him a Royal Television Society Award for Best Supporting Actor.Danny was born in Custom House, East London in 1977. He loved drama at school and, with his teacher’s encouragement, he signed up for after-school classes in north London which were run by a charity called Wac Arts. When he was 14 he was cast in the television drama Prime Suspect 3 alongside Helen Mirren and David Thewlis. He went on to star in a series of films including Human Traffic and Football Factory. In 2000 he played the waiter in Harold Pinter’s new play Celebration and went on to appear in two other productions by the playwright - No Man's Land and The Homecoming.In 2013 he took over the Queen Vic and his performances earned him three National Television Awards. He appeared on the BBC genealogy programme Who Do you think you Are? in 2016 and discovered he was descended from King Edward III and related to Thomas Cromwell. Danny lives in Essex with his wife Jo. They have three children and three grandchildren.DISC ONE: Slave to Love - Bryan Ferry
DISC TWO: Rebel Yell - Billy Idol
DISC THREE: Move Closer - Phyllis Nelson
DISC FOUR: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
DISC FIVE: Playing with Knives - Bizarre Inc
DISC SIX: Columbia - Oasis
DISC SEVEN: Nebraska - Lucy Rose
DISC EIGHT: Wicked Game - Chris Isaak BOOK CHOICE: Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft: A Handbook of Survival
LUXURY ITEM: A Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Playing with Knives - Bizarre Inc Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Jack Thorne
Jack Thorne, screenwriter and playwright, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would want with him if cast away on a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Dame Joan Plowright
Sue Lawley talks to the actor Dame Joan Plowright in a programme first broadcast in 2006. Dame Joan died in January at the age of 95.
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Colm Toibin
Kirsty Young interviews writer Colm Toibin in a programme first heard in 2016.
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