The Television & Radio Industries Club (TRIC) has announced that Desert Island Discs has won this year’s Outstanding Achievement Award.
TRIC’s Outstanding Achievement Award is the sole award presented at the annual TRIC Christmas Lunch, recognising the long-standing achievement of either a personality or production that has made an indelible contribution to the industry.
Previous winners include Gloria Hunniford and the late Dame June Whitfield, while last year’s award was presented to the entire team of BBC Bitesize in recognition of their excellent work during the Covid pandemic.
The TRIC Christmas Lunch was hosted by the 2022 TRIC President, Alex Jones, and held for the first time at The Londoner hotel, Leicester Square.
The very first episode of Desert Island Discs was recorded in the BBC’s bomb-damaged Maida Vale Studio on 27th January 1942, and now 80 years on, it’s welcoming A-list Hollywood talent such as Steven Spielberg and Cate Blanchett who are lined up to appear as ‘castaways’ over the Christmas period.
Lauren Laverne notes of the award:
“The entire ‘Desert Island Discs’ team is so grateful for this wonderful honour. It is the greatest privilege to bring our castaways’ stories to our listeners each week, and a testament to the genius of Roy Plomley’s original format that 80 years on, ‘Desert Island Discs’ is still a jewel in the crown of British radio – and now of course the podcast world! Thank you TRIC and thank you to all who listen and care about the programme as much as we do!”
Since it was first heard on 29th January 1942, the BBC Radio 4 show has welcomed more than 3,000 individuals, who have spoken about their lives and chosen eight tracks, a book and a luxury item that they would take with them to a desert island. It has featured public figures from all walks of life, from Noel Coward and Margaret Thatcher through to Sophia Loren, George Michael and Princess Margaret.
The celebrated format was devised by Roy Plomley, who hosted the show until 1985, after which it was presented by Michael Parkinson until 1988, Sue Lawley until 2006 and Kirsty Young until 2018 when current host Lauren Laverne took over the reigns.
