David Mitchell
Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
BBC
4.4 • 804 Ratings
🗓️ 19 July 2009
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kirsty Young's castaway is comedian David Mitchell. Mitchell has won two Bafta awards and, as a sitcom actor, sketch show writer and humorous columnist, has never been in greater demand.
But as a child, Mitchell was sure he wasn't funny and it was only when he was at university, he says, that he learnt how to have fun. It is now just the rest of his life that Mitchell needs to address - beginning, he says, by tidying up his flat and then, maybe, even getting a girlfriend.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Rainbow Connection by Jim Henson Book: Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh Luxury: DVDs of sitcoms and DVD player.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.7 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.4 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping |
| 0:22.7 | you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together |
| 0:28.7 | by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Krista Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. |
| 0:41.8 | For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:45.0 | The program was originally broadcast in 2009. |
| 1:07.5 | Music My castaway this week is the comedian David Mitchell. |
| 1:12.8 | As a teenager, he was something of a swat, suffered crippling shyness, and would rather stay in and watch telly than join any of the clubs or sports that his peers enjoyed. Now, he's won an |
| 1:18.3 | armful of awards for his TV and radio sketch shows, and for the Channel 4 sitcom, Peep Show, |
| 1:23.9 | in which he stars alongside his comedy partner, Robert Webb. It was written especially for them |
| 1:28.6 | and portrays the broadly dismal lives of two flatmates, failing to take life by the scruff of the |
| 1:34.4 | neck and living in some squalor. I think the reason it works has a lot to do with just being |
| 1:39.8 | honest about what your life is like, he says. So it's quite consoling if you feel ever so slightly isolated |
| 1:45.6 | or not quite in the mainstream |
| 1:47.1 | or a complete loser to see us doing considerably worse. |
| 1:51.9 | So I'm guessing, David Mitchell, |
| 1:54.8 | that you're a sort of glass-half-empty kind of a guide. |
| 1:57.2 | Does that seem unfair? |
| 1:59.4 | No, I am a glass-half-empty person, I suppose, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.