Derek Jameson

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is the journalist and broadcaster Derek Jameson. He'll be talking to Sue Lawley about his early poverty-stricken years in an East End foster home and his discovery, at the age of eight, that one of the girls in the home he had thought of as his older sister was, in fact, his mother. He'll also be describing how an aptitude for reading and writing, the encouragement of a concerned teacher and his own determination led him into journalism, where he started his career as an outdoor messenger at Reuters. From there, he went on to edit three Fleet Street newspapers and more recently, to become a popular radio personality.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Tosca Aria - E Lucevan Le Stelle by Giacomo Puccini
Book: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Luxury: Word processor