Paralympic gold medalist Tanni Grey-Thompson gets a bit flustered when asked about which records she's chosen for her appearance on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs this weekend.

It's not the fact that she can't actually remember all of the eight gramophone records she chose off the top of her head, more that they're all pop records. There isn't a single piece of classical music among them.

"I spend a huge amount of time in my car so I have something on most of the time and I have music on while training on the treadmill," says Welsh-born Tanni, who lives in Redcar with wheelchair athlete husband Ian Thompson.

There's also the matter of the Abba song which, she says, is "probably the most embarrassing bit". She had good reason for picking the Swedish group's hit Waterloo, which she remembers from watching them win the Eurovision Song Contest with that number.

"Abba is very good music to train to because it's upbeat and lively with a very familiar background beat," she explains.

She was pleased to be asked to be castaway on Desert Island Discs as she listens to Radio 4 a lot. "Having heard so many people on the programme, it's quite exciting to take part," she says.

"The hard part was picking the eight tunes. It took quite a few days thinking and talking about it, going through my CD collection and trying to pick stuff that was not too embarrassing."

Some records were chosen simply because she likes them. That applies to Soft Cell's Tainted Love - "I chose that purely because it's my favourite". Another song, Cwm Rhodda (Bread Of Heaven), had special meaning as a hymn sung at her wedding.

Forced by presenter Sue Lawley to pick just one of the eight to take to her desert island, Tanni selected a comedy clip featuring spoof BBC presenter Alan Partridge. "I know all the songs so they'll always be in my head but the comedy stuff isn't," she says.

She reckons life as a castaway would be tolerable for about a month and then she'd become bored. Her luxury item would help her pass the time - juggling balls.

"I've been learning for years," she says. "I can do three really well, can do four for a little while and am trying to learn five. So, I guess, they'd help keep me busy on the island."

Tanni will have lots of company in her next competition when she competes in the London Marathon later this month. This will be the 11th time she's taken part, but the first since becoming the most successful Paralympic champion in history with four gold medals, in the wheelchair 100, 200, 400 and 800 metre events.

She was competing in the Paralympics in Sydney until the end of October so only started training for the marathon just before Christmas.

She's also been busy with a house move. "I'm spending my whole life unpacking," she adds.

* Desert Island Discs is on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday at 11.15am.