Review of Radio 4's new comedy based on Desert Island Discs

The Island is based on a wonderful, whimsical idea: what if the celebrities on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs really did get washed up on a remote beach?

That’s how Stephen Mangan  starts this six-part comedy series, flat on his back in the brutal tropical heat. He comes around on the sand, a sinister figure towering over him, prodding him with a large stick. Death? No, Delia Smith… and she’s very disappointed in him.

On this unforgiving isle, what use are more copies of the Bible and the Complete Works Of Shakespeare, let alone impractical ‘luxury items’ that are indulgences for a luvvie’s North London townhouse, not essentials for survival?

It turns out Delia is the leader of a tribe of stars, including kindly Tony Robinson and aloof Sandi Toksvig, competing for scant resources with the likes of Hugh Bonneville, a desperate scavenger bandit. I’m A Celebrity gone all Lord Of The Flies is the elevator pitch.

Unfortunately the execution doesn’t live up to the brilliant promise of the idea, at least on the first 15-minute episode. 

If you thought this might be an excuse for exaggerated impressions and portrayals, Stella Street-style – as well you might, given that producer Bill Dare was also behind Dead Ringers – you have another think coming.

Instead, Tom Oxenham and Simon Alcock take a more literary approach to their script, writing it like a first-person novel. Mangan – who really did appear on Desert Island Discs earlier ths month - narrates with his usual shabby warmth, but beyond the notion of familiar faces acting out of character, jokes are as rare as passing ships.

There’s the occasionally amusing aside, such as Bear Grylls not being quite the survivor we’ve been lead to believe, and clever references that will likely pass unnoticed, such as Bonneville’s luxury item being more or less what he actually asked Kirsty Young for eight years ago.

Perhaps The Island suits the gentler afternoon slot, as it’s certainly too low-key to stand among Radio 4’s 6.30pm comedies, mildly amusing rather than laugh-out-loud.

• All episodes of The Island are available now on BBC Sounds.

Review date: 17 Feb 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett