Roy Plomley by the guest's choice of music. His contract was renewed for a further 15 shows. In the end he presented 1,791 editions of the programme stretching over 43 years. Its success was attributed to his skill as an interviewer and to his meticulous research. Plomley was succeeded as presenter by Michael Parkinson (1985–1988), then by Sue Lawley (1988–2006), and most recently by Kirsty Young. "Desert Island Discs" is the second longest-running radio programme in the world (after the Grand Ole Opry), and it is still running. Until late September 2009, unlike many other BBC radio programmes, "Desert Island Discs" was
Kirsty Young One from 2008-2015. Young was born in East Kilbride. Her media career began as a continuity announcer for BBC Radio Scotland in 1989. In 1992 she moved to Scottish Television as a presenter of "Scotland Today" and her short lived chat show, "Kirsty". She left Scottish TV and Scotland itself in 1996 to become a relief presenter for "The Time, The Place" and appeared on the "Holiday" programme. She co-hosted a consumer show "The Street" on BBC Two. In 1997, she joined the news team of the new terrestrial channel, Channel 5. She left Channel 5 to join ITV in