Jo Brand

From Kate Bush to Talking Heads.

Stand-up comedian Jo Brand shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young.

From the word go, Jo always anticipated she’d be heckled about her weight and appearance. While most people would run a mile at the thought of standing in front of a rowdy, aggressive and largely drunk audience, she says that the worst that can happen is humiliation - and Jo adds that as a woman, she was already equipped to deal with this, because people felt free to comment disparagingly on her appearance in everyday life.

Jo’s first career was as a psychiatric nurse - and for several years she would spend the day working in a psychiatric unit before appearing at a comedy club in the evening. Both careers demand an ability to be calm in extreme situations and to display a confidence that is often not felt.

Her extreme act meant that for many years, Jo was labelled a man-hating feminist - but she confounded critics by getting married and having two children.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2007.