Andy McNab

Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the former SAS soldier turned author Andy McNab.

After being abandoned as a baby, he was adopted and was brought up in the Peckham area of South London. A life of minor crime followed until he joined the infantry with the Royal Green Jackets in 1976 progressing to the SAS. In the Gulf War, McNab commanded the Bravo Two Zero patrol, given the task of destroying underground communication links in Iraq and mobile Scud launchers. Three of the eight-man patrol were killed, one escaped and four were taken prisoner by the Iraqis and tortured over a six-week period. He's been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal and was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he left the SAS in 1993. His book Bravo Two Zero became a bestseller and this was followed by his autobiography Immediate Action. Since then, he's published seven novels about a former soldier who then works for British Intelligence.

Elements of this programme may offend or upset some listeners.

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

Favourite track: Sweet Thing by David Bowie Book: Any book by Charles Dickens Luxury: A gollock