Private Passions

Family is at the heart of the work of the writer Louisa Young. Her first book was about her grandmother, Kathleen, a sculptor who was also the widow of the Antarctic explorer Captain Scott.
She’s written five books for younger readers with her daughter Isabel, under the pen-name Zizou Corder, including the best-selling Lionboy trilogy.
She’s also written an acclaimed memoir, You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol, about her relationship with the composer Robert Lockhart.
And her most recent book, The Golden Hours, continues much-loved The Cazalet Chronicles, the sequence of novels written by her aunt Elizabeth Jane Howard.
Louisa's music includes works by Chopin, Franck and Puccini.

The actor Sylvester McCoy was a familiar face to millions of TV viewers when he played the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who in the 1980s. On the big screen, he has played the eccentric wizard Radagast the Brown in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, and on stage, he has played the Fool opposite Ian McKellen’s King Lear for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
His route into acting was unconventional. He spent his teenage years preparing for the priesthood, then later honed his physical comedy skills in Ken Campbell's maverick Roadshow. His music choices include tracks by Stravinsky, Satie, Beethoven, and Britten's Shakespearean opera A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Presenter Michael Berkeley.
Producer Graham Rogers

When Lyse Doucet was a child growing up in a small town in eastern Canada, she borrowed a library book called How to Become a Journalist. It clearly made an impact. She is now the BBC’s chief international correspondent and has reported from some of the world’s most challenging countries, including Afghanistan and Iran, for more than 40 years.
This year she won the Women’s Prize for non-fiction for her first book, The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan, in which she explores the country’s recent history through the story of Kabul’s landmark Inter-Continental Hotel.
Lyse's choices include music by Elgar, Sibelius, Bach and Einaudi.

In the world of dance, Carlos Acosta is a superstar. He grew up in a poor part of Havana, where he was the 11th child in his family, and began his training at the National Ballet School of Cuba.
At the age of just 18, he became the youngest principal dancer at the English National Ballet. After gaining further international experience, he joined the Royal Ballet in 1998 and made it his home for nearly two decades, dancing almost every major classical role.
He’s now Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, where he’s fostered some unexpected collaborations, including a ballet danced to the music of local heavy rock legends Black Sabbath as well as productions of classics such as Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. And this summer, he returns to the stage of the Royal Ballet in London with a programme called Myths and Modern Masters.
Carlos' music choices include works by Prokofiev, Khachaturian, Massenet and Ennio Morricone.

Leslie Cavendish left school at the age of 15 years, without any artistic qualifications, and decided to become a hairdresser. Within three years, his clients included Terence Stamp, Keith Moon, the Bee Gees, Jane Asher – and the Beatles.
He began by cutting Paul McCartney’s hair - and soon became part of the band’s inner circle. He attended Beatles recording sessions and joined them on their Magical Mystery Tour. They even invited him to open a salon at their Apple Tailoring boutique on the Kings Road in Chelsea.
Leslie's music includes Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Beethoven.