As the latest Desert Island Discs castaway this Sunday morning the actor Stephen Mangan is happy to confess that his first big theatrical role was as Beauty in an infant production of Beauty and the Beast. The star of the popular television drama The Split also freely admits that he saw his childhood stint as a church altar boy chiefly as a chance to enjoy the limelight.
But the really surprising discovery for listeners is that if Mangan had not now been marooned as a guest on the long-running BBC programme by presenter Lauren Laverne, he could never have made his next show.
For on 17 February the actor takes to the Radio 4 airwaves again in The Island, a six-part sitcom set on the fictional, deserted isle that has become famous in the 80 years since Desert Island Discs was first broadcast.
In The Island Mangan is washed up on the sands of the tropical haven, although it soon turns out he is far from alone. Alongside him, scrabbling for existence among the palm trees and looking out for rescue, are all the other guests to have appeared on the show so far. As a result, the beach is awash with discarded copies of the obligatory Bible, as well as the coffee machines and broken pianos his fellow inhabitants have each chosen as a luxury item. Worse still is news that these previous arrivals have formed rival gangs and that “it’s all gone a bit Lord of the Flies”. It becomes clear over the series, available on BBC Sounds today, that the TV chef Nadiya Hussain has begun to hunt obsessively, that Richard Madeley has gone feral, and that Sandi Toksvig is hanging on to the conch.
Mangan, who describes himself to Laverne as having an “itchy brain”, also talks candidly about his Irish immigrant background in London and the impact of the scholarship to boarding school that he won. Mangan later studied law at Cambridge University, finding success in university drama productions.
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His mother was diagnosed with cancer soon after his graduation and he spent a year caring for her, forgoing a planned career as a barrister in favour of acting. Mangan has worked continuously since his three years in drama school. His big TV break came with the title role in Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole – The Cappuccino Years. He recalls that the author, who had the final approval for casting, was satisfied that he was not too handsome.
