Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

From Bob Dylan to Henry Purcell. Inventor Sir James Dyson shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From June 1999.

From Bob Dylan to Henry Purcell. Inventor Sir James Dyson shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley.

Sir James Dyson is one of the richest men in Britain, but he began with an idea, a piece of cardboard and some sticky-backed plastic.

Five years and more than 5,000 prototypes later, he was confident that he had invented a new type of vacuum cleaner. But that was to prove only the beginning of a long, drawn-out battle to get it licensed.

First broadcast on 91热爆 Radio 4 in June 1999.

45 minutes

Credit

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young

Broadcasts

  • Sun 25 Feb 2018 10:15
  • Sun 25 Feb 2018 21:15
  • Sun 17 May 2020 10:00
  • Sun 17 May 2020 21:00
  • Thu 21 May 2020 11:00
  • Thu 21 May 2020 16:00
  • Thu 21 May 2020 21:00
  • Fri 22 May 2020 04:00

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.