Robert Hardy

Actor Robert Hardy shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young.

Robert became a household name as the vet Siegfried Farnon in the hit BBC TV series All Creatures Great and Small and, to a younger generation, he is the Minister of Magic in the Harry Potter films.

But the role he is best known for is Winston Churchill - he won a BAFTA for his performance in ITV's Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.

He believes actors are born rather than made and his own ambitions crystallised when, as a very young boy, he was a page boy at a wedding:

"I walked down the aisle with my head held high and as I went, every eye was turned towards me and something inside me said, "That's it, get every eye on you".

Born on 29th October 1925, Robert joins 4 Extra's 100 Club and is one of our Centenary Castaways. He died aged 91 in 2017.

DISC ONE: Pearl Bailey - What is a Friend For?
DISC TWO: BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini - Beethoven’s 7th symphony in A Major, 2nd movement
DISC THREE: Enya - The Longships
DISC FOUR: The Paris Orchestra conducted by Semyon Bychkov - Hector Berlioz’s The Waltz from the Symphonie Fantastique
DISC FIVE: The Paris Orchestra conducted by Semyon Bychkov – Poulenc’s Suite Francaise: Pavanne
DISC SIX: City of Birmingham Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle – Sibelius’s 6th Symphony in D Minor, 4th movement
DISC SEVEN: The Medici String Quartet – Beethoven’s String Quartet in B flat, 2nd movement
DISC EIGHT: The Westminster Abbey Choir, the BBC Singers & London Brass conducted by Martin Baker - John Hardy’s De Profundis

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Medici String Quartet – Beethoven’s String Quartet in B flat, 2nd movement
BOOK CHOICE: The Great Warbow - Robert Hardy & Matthew Strickland
LUXURY CHOICE: Young lady in profile 1495 - De Predis

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.