Joanna Lumley was not slow in agreeing to spend nine days on a desert island off the coast of Madagascar with the bare minimum of kit. This is the fascinating diary of her experiences. She rises to the rough challenge of the island: builds her A-frame bed, survives a tropical storm, finds fresh food and water as well as learning to tolerate the intense heat and the myriad of blood-sucking insects. But Girl Friday is much more than just an account of physical survival. It is an intimate and honest record of how it feels to live in solitude as Joanna describes her excitements and joys and her increasing sense of isolation.