Maria Aitken

This week's Desert Island Discs castaway is actress Maria Aitken, who will be talking to Sue Lawley about her current reputation as the finest exponent of Noel Coward's leading ladies and her film roles; among them John Cleese's wife in A Fish Called Wanda. She'll also be discussing her many other careers as writer, chatshow hostess and journalist.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Duet (from La Traviata) by Giuseppe Verdi Book: Fun in a Chinese Laundry by Josef von Sternberg Luxury: Amazonian rain maker