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
John Dunn (radio presenter) Dunn's regular closing theme music for his afternoon-early evening Radio 2 programme was 'Imogene' by Les Reed. In 1998, John Dunn was awarded a Gold Sony Radio Award for the best drivetime music programme. He was married with two daughters, and lived in Croydon, Surrey, where he died, aged 70, after a long-suffering battle with cancer. John Dunn (radio presenter) John Churchill Dunn (4 March 1934 – 27 November 2004), professionally known simply as "John Dunn", was a British disc jockey and radio presenter who worked for many years on BBC Radio. He was also known as "Long John" Dunn