Main content

Charlie Brooker

Kirsty Young interviews satirist and writer Charlie Brooker.

Charlie Brooker is a satirist, broadcaster and writer. He created the Emmy-award winning series, Black Mirror, and presents Screenwipe and Newswipe which won Best Comedy Entertainment Show award at the British Comedy Awards in 2011.

Born in 1971, his career has been influenced both by his early love of technology - he was a keen computer gamer - and by his passion for the anarchic, surreal and experimental comedy of Monty Python and The Young Ones. After creating his own comic while at school, he went on to provide cartoons for the magazine Oink! at the age of 15. He cultivated his acerbic style and satirical pessimism as a writer of games reviews and features for PC Zone magazine.

His online creation TVGo91热爆, an often caustic parody of television listings in the style of Radio Times, brought him to the attention of the Guardian newspaper where he began writing a TV review column entitled Screen Burn in 2000. This was adapted into a 91热爆 Four television series, and various spin-offs, including Gameswipe and Newswipe, followed.

The first two series of Black Mirror, an anthology of unrelated dramas focused around the unexpected consequences of new technologies, aired on Channel 4. The third series was released on Netflix in 2016, followed by a fourth at the end of 2017.

Charlie is married to former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq and they have two young sons.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

36 minutes

Last on

Fri 12 Jan 2018 09:00
91热爆 Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

75 Years of Desert Island Discs

Next

Angela Hartnett

See all episodes from Desert Island Discs

  • The award-winning writer and broadcaster on self-confidence, fear and family.

Clips

See all clips from Charlie Brooker (2)

Music Played

  • The Beatles

    Tomorrow Never Knows

    • Revolver.
    • EMI.
    • 14.

  • Eric Thompson

    Florence's Sad Song

    • Dougal and the Blue Cat.
    • MFP.

  • Jonathan Dunn

    Robocop

  • Pixies

    Debaser

    • Doolittle.
    • 4 A.D. Limited.
    • 1.

  • Richie Warburton

    The Scoops

  • Irma Thomas

    Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)

    • Dave Godi鈥檚 Deep Soul Treasures: Taken from the Vaults Volume 1..
    • EMI.
    • 4.

  • Radiohead

    Present Tense

    • A Moon Shaped Pool.
    • XL Recordings.
    • 1.

  • CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE

    • Denim

      The New Potatoes

      • Novelty Rock.
      • Virgin Records.
      • 1.

  • BOOK CHOICE

    Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

  • LUXURY ITEM

    Nintendo Switch games console

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Charlie Brooker
Producer Cathy Drysdale

Broadcasts

  • Sun 7 Jan 2018 11:15
    91热爆 Radio 4
  • Fri 12 Jan 2018 09:00
    91热爆 Radio 4

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast