Stephen Graham shared untold stories as he talked about his all-time favourite tunes, from a throwback Motown hit to a local Leicester band.

The British film and TV legend is the talk of the town with his latest role in the number one Netflix show Adolescence, but at the heart of everything he does is the love for his wife Hannah and their two children. The actor shared the eight tracks he couldn't live without on BBC's Desert Island Discs, many of which conjure up fond memories with his childhood sweetheart.

He went on to share the tracks that have soundtracked his life, and despite his star-studded career across numerous films and TV series, they all come back to his family. One particular song that they loved to play in the car together, he claimed, is a Dizzie Rascal hit, How Love Begins by DJ Fresh and High Contrast, featuring the British rapper.

Graham shared: "I just love it. When we’re on a long car journey, or at some point, especially when the sun's cracking the flags, the windows go down, and that tune gets blasted, and we all just go ballistic.”

Kicking things off earlier in the candid chat with presenter Lauren Laverne, Stephen shared that "one of the best bands he's ever seen live" are Kasabian and chose to list one of his favourite songs as Fire. He explained: “It’s just the joy this track in particular has brought me and my family. They’re a local band, and whenever Leicester City Football Club scores, it's played at the ground. I live in Leicester, and they’ve adopted me as one of their own.”

A song that reminds him of his younger years and made the "virtually impossible" to narrow down list is Save The Children by Marvin Gaye. “My mum used to play loads of Motown,” he recalled. "It was just me and my mum for the first 10 or 11 years of my life.

"She had me when she was 20, and you know, I’m mixed race, and it was kind of frowned upon in those days. She strived, and she went to college and got an education." It's songs like that Motown track that take him back to the Merseyside days before fame.

Taking the number one spot, as his ultimate favourite is the 1989 classic Ain’t Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan, or as he likes to call it, "Our song". Graham said: "No matter where we are, if we’re at a family gathering or a christening or any kind of event, we’re like two little meerkats; our heads just pop up and we look for each other, and we go dance with each other.”

He shared another anecdote about the special song, explaining that if either of them hears it on the radio, they call one another. Phones pressed up to the speaker, he and his wife will always sing along together, no matter where or when the song plays.

There was an honourable mention of Oasis in his track listing, specifically that of Noel Gallagher's songwriting abilities, as Graham praised the song "Talk Tonight", which he also dedicates to his wife.

"I just love the sentiment," he said. "I love the words, I love what it’s about, and it reminds me of – well, this is another song to Hannah, I suppose.

"The words in this are beautiful, and this track in particular is one of my favourites." Other favourites listed by the actor were Young MC, Know How, Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond and I Need by Maverick Sabre.