Julian Clary

Comedian Julian Clary is castaway by Sue Lawley.

Julian brought camp out of the closet and into the TV mainstream.

In the late 1980s, he burst onto our screens as The Joan Collins Fan Club, attracting a surprisingly broad audience with his extreme make-up and innuendo.

The son of a policeman and a probation officer, Julian was born and brought up in Teddington and Surbiton, and as a child was deeply religious.

He discovered his comic talent at Goldsmith's University in the late 1970s where, as well as taking part in rather serious drama productions, he and a friend created the duo Glad and May - two over-made-up cleaning ladies with a passion for 'rummaging' through the handbags of their hapless audience.

In recent years, Julian has toned down the make-up and innuendo in order to take on a new role - Julian Clary, family favourite, star of prime time.

Where once he had cult status, he now has serious mainstream appeal, recently presenting the new National Lottery show on BBC1 and reaching the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

DISC ONE: Dana Gillespie - Big Fat Mammas are back in Style Again
DISC TWO: Aretha Franklin - So Damm Happy
DISC THREE: T. Rex - 20th Century Boy
DISC FOUR: Mary Schneider Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture
DISC FIVE: Barb Jungr - Peace in the Valley
DISC SIX: Divaria - Giacomo Puccini’s Nessun dorma
DISC SEVEN: Gail Mackinnon - Il Adore
DISC EIGHT: Dana Gillespie - Garu Nanaka Ji Ki Jai Kar

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Dana Gillespie - Garu Nanaka Ji Ki Jai Kar
BOOK CHOICE: Stop Thinking, Start Living - Richard Carlson
LUXURY CHOICE: All-purpose prosthetic arm

Producer: Leanne Buckle

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2005.