- Has been broadcasting since 1945, when he effectively conned Ceylon's British Forces Broadcasting station - Radio SEAC - in Colombo into believing he was highly experienced in the field. A fellow DJ was David Jacobs; the two struck up a lifelong friendship.
- His extensive radio career includes stints with the BBC Drama Repertory Company, Radio Luxembourg, and the BBC Light Programme (including "Album Time", "Movie-Go-Round" and "Housewives' Choice"). In addition to his regular weekly show, he also presented "After Seven", "Iconic Fifties" and "Icons of the 50s" for BBC Radio 2 during the 2000s and 2010s.
- Voted British Radio Personality of the Year 1991.
- Has been regularly broadcasting a weekly BBC Radio 2 series since Sunday 4th October 1981; originally entitled "Radio 2's All-Time Greats" it is now "The Music Goes Round", broadcast live from the studio at his Scottish home.
- In the 1960s, spent four years fronting UK television's 'Swap' advertisements for Daz washing powder.
- In 1989 Desmond won an International Award for his radio scripts and production.
- A former resident of Pluckley in Kent - which gained a Guinness Book of Records entry as the "most haunted village in Britain" - he confessed to cheerily fabricating a string of ghost stories about the area for a 1950s "TV Times" interview with journalist Bill Evans.
- He owned 4 Siamese cats.
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