Ann Daniels

From Abba to Nina Simone. Polar explorer Ann Daniels shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young.

Before she was 30, Ann hadn't so much as walked with a rucksack and had no experience of navigating with a compass. Then her husband saw a newspaper advert seeking ordinary women to join an all-women relay to the North Pole. Ann was successful and since then she has walked to both Poles, become a Polar guide and set her sights set on being the first British woman to walk solo to the North Pole.

While she is on her expeditions, the life she leaves behind is also far from routine - she is a mother to four children including triplets. She has met some criticism for leaving her children for long periods, but she responds by saying that they are her inspiration - she wants to demonstrate to them how to live life to the full.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.