Anna Ford

TV news presenter Anna Ford shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young.

In a specially extended edition for BBC Radio 4 Extra, Anna shares her life story and explains her musical choices, book and luxury choices.

One of the first high profile women in news, she worked for Granada, ITV and the BBC before retiring after more than 30 years on our screens.

One of Anna's professional pairings was presenting ITV's News at 10 with Reginald Bosanquet. She remembers how he would try to unsettle her during broadcasts:

"I adored Reggie. He would land either obscene poems or love poems on my script just before I was to about to read it to camera and I would catch just a sight of this and it was almost impossible not to laugh."

DISC ONE: It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t got that Swing - Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
DISC TWO: Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins and Strings in D Minor - Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh with the Great Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Alexander Orlov
DISC THREE: Dawn Chorus: seasonal birdsong (sound effects) recorded in May in Kent
DISC FOUR: Masters of War - Bob Dylan
DISC FIVE: Isaac Albéniz’s Mallorca - Julian Bream
DISC SIX: Carolina in My Mind - James Taylor
DISC SEVEN: You can call me Al - Paul Simon
DISC EIGHT: J’Attendrai - Tino Rossi

BOOK CHOICE: Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times edited by Neil Astley
LUXURY CHOICE: Endless supply of leaf tea, teapot, mug and semi skimmed milk
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: You can call me Al - Paul Simon

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in September 2012.