Raymond Briggs

Writer and illustrator Raymond Briggs is castaway for a second time by Sue Lawley.

For millions of children, Christmas would be incomplete without Briggs's story The Snowman, which has been shown on TV every year since its first release, in 1982, and his enduringly popular Father Christmas.

Raymond was born in 1934 in Wimbledon. His mother, Ethel, was a lady's maid and his father, Ernest, a milkman. He wanted to draw cartoon strips from an early age but, at art school, found his tutors looked down on his aspirations.

After leaving, he quickly secured work as a commercial artist, doing illustrations for advertisements, journals and books. He said he was so appalled at the standard of the children's books he was asked to illustrate he thought he could do better himself. And he did - his first attempt was immediately accepted for publication and he went on to twice win the Kate Greenaway Medal - the principal award for illustration.

Raymond Briggs was originally castaway by Roy Plomley in 1983.

DISC ONE: The Intro and The Outro - The Bonzo Dog Band
DISC TWO: Saga - Jan Garbarek
DISC THREE: La Rotta - The Dufay Collective
DISC FOUR: Unsquare Dance - The Dave Brubeck Quartet
DISC FIVE: Big in Japan - Tom Waits
DISC SIX: Spiegel im Spiegel - Tasmin Little
DISC SEVEN: River Pulse Rain Mix - Nitin Sawhney
DISC EIGHT: Cristóbal de Morales's Parce Mihi Domine (from Officium Defunctorum) - Jan Garbarek (soloist) with The Hilliard Ensemble

BOOK CHOICE: Complete Works of Beachcomber - J B Morton
LUXURY CHOICE: A full-size billiard table with Radio 4 built into each of the legs
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Cristóbal de Morales's Parce Mihi Domine (from Officium Defunctorum) - Jan Garbarek (soloist) with The Hilliard Ensemble

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2005.