The Archers

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The Archers

The Archers logo used on the BBC website
Genre Soap opera
Running time 12 minutes (formerly 15 minutes)
Country United Kingdom
Language(s) English
Home station BBC Light Programme[1]
later BBC Home Service
now BBC Radio 4
Creator(s) Godfrey Baseley
Editor(s) Sean O'Connor[2]
Producer(s) Julie Beckett
Recording studio BBC Birmingham
Air dates since 29 May – 2 June 1950 (pilot)
1 January 1951 – present
No. of episodes 17,268 (as of 04 Feb 2014)[3]
Six per week, plus 75 mins. omnibus
Audio format Stereophonic sound
Opening theme Barwick Green
Website Archers homepage
Podcast The Archers podcast

The Archers is a long-running British radio soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. Originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", it is best described as "contemporary drama in a rural setting".[4] With over 17,250 episodes, it is not only the world's longest-running radio soap opera, but also since the cancellation of the American soap opera Guiding Light in September 2009, the world's longest-running soap opera in any format.[5]

The Archers is the most listened to Radio 4 non-news programme,[6] with over five million listeners,[7] and, with over one million listeners via the Internet, the programme holds that BBC Radio record.[8]

Outline

The Archers is set in the fictional village of Ambridge in the fictional county of Borsetshire, in the English Midlands. Borsetshire is situated between the (in reality contiguous) counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, south of Birmingham in the West Midlands, although it has been occasionally misinterpreted as Dorsetshire in South West England. Various villages claim to be the inspiration for Ambridge: Ambridge's public house, The Bull, is modelled on The Old Bull in Inkberrow,[9] whereas Hanbury's St Mary the Virgin is often used as a stand-in for Ambridge's parish church, St Stephen's.[10][11]

Other fictional villages include Penny Hassett, Loxley Barrett, Darrington, Hollerton, Edgeley, Waterley Cross and Lakey Green. The county town of Borsetshire is Borchester, and the nearest big city is the cathedral city of Felpersham. Felpersham also has a university. Anywhere further from Ambridge may be referred to humorously with comments such as 'that's on the other side of Felpersham!', but characters do occasionally venture further: several attended the Countryside Alliance march in London,[12] there have been references to the gay scene in Manchester's Canal Street, and a number of scenes have taken place abroad or in other places around the country, with some characters resident overseas in South Africa and Hungary, and other characters have visited Norfolk. Birmingham is a favourite destination for shopping.

Since Easter Sunday 1998 there have been six episodes a week from Sunday to Friday, after the news summary at around 19:02. All except the Friday evening episode are repeated the following day at 14:02. The six episodes are re-run unabridged in the Sunday morning omnibus at 10:00.

Characters

  • Many of the storylines concern the title family, the middle-class Archers, who own and manage Brookfield Farm. The farm has been passed down the generations from the original owner Dan (now deceased) to his son Phil (until his death on 13 February 2010, the oldest surviving character), and is now co-owned by three of Phil's four children: David (who manages it with his wife Ruth), Elizabeth and Kenton.
  • the prosperous Aldridges, portrayed as money-driven practitioners of agribusiness. Brian, the head of the family, has been a serial adulterer,
  • the rich and elderly Woolleys. Jack, who was badly affected by Alzheimer's disease, died on January 2, 2014.[13]
  • the Grundys, formerly struggling tenant farmers who were brought to prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s as comic characters, but are now seen as doggedly battling adversity,
  • the urban, nouveau riche "incomers": pretentious and domineering, Lynda Snell is the butt of many jokes, although her sheer energy makes her a stalwart of village life. She is partnered by the long-suffering Robert,
  • the perpetually struggling Carters,
  • the milkman and casual farm labourer Mike Tucker, his kind-hearted and much younger wife Vicky who divides opinion like a knife, his son, Roy, daughter-in-law Hayley and two granddaughters. His daughter Brenda has left the village to work in London.
  • the upper class Pargetters, owners of Lower Loxley Hall in Ambridge's outskirts. Nigel, the deceased former head of the family, was keen on environmentalism.

Many plots involve the teen and twenties offspring of these families, so new nuclear families come into existence over time. Other distant relatives also appear.

The village

These are the main sites in the village:

  • Arkwright Hall is a large Victorian mansion with a 17th Century atmosphere. The building served as a community centre for many years, containing a soundproofed room and field studies centre. Later it fell into disrepair, but was renovated when Jack Woolley leased the mansion to Landmark Trust; Architect Lewis led the restoration of the building to its Victorian splendour.
  • Bridge Farm is a 168-acre (68 ha) farm previously on Berrow Estate, but now owned by Pat and Tony Archer. The farm became a wholly organic dairy in 1984, in a storyline inspired by a scriptwriter's visit to Brynllys farm in Ceredigion, the home of Rachel's Organic.[14] In 2003, Tom Archer began producing his own brand of sausage out of Bridge Farm. In early 2013, the family decided to sell their dairy herd.
  • Brookfield Farm is a 469-acre (190 ha) farm that was run by Dan Archer, and then by his son Phil Archer for many years. After Phil's retirement in 2001, David Archer took over the farm, and began focusing production on his livestock. High-quality beef is now sold at the farm gate and elsewhere.
  • Grange Farm was a working farm run by the Grundys until their eviction in 2000. The farmhouse, along with 50 acres (20 ha) of land, was sold to Oliver Sterling, who then began "hobby farming".
  • Grey Gables, once a country club, is now a luxurious hotel in Ambridge, run by Caroline Sterling, née Bone. The hotel boasts a pool, spa, health club, and golf course. Ian Craig serves as the executive chef in the hotel's upscale restaurant.
  • Home Farm is a 1,585-acre (641 ha) farm, by far the largest in Ambridge. In recent years, Home Farm became partners with Brookfield in producing high-quality lamb and expanded into soft fruit and deer farming.
  • Lower Loxley Hall is a large 300-year-old country house located just outside Ambridge. It serves primarily as a conference centre, but also features other attractions which bring in many hundreds of tourists a year. As well as an art gallery, falconry courses and a café, Lower Loxley also boasts a garden and a museum.
  • St. Stephen's Church, established in 1281, dates back to Saxon times. The church has undergone many changes over the years, including a number of different vicars. Its eight bells are rung by a group led by Neil Carter.
  • The Bull, the village's only pub following the closure of *The Cat and Fiddle* which was later converted into apartments, is perhaps the most recognisable structure in Ambridge. It now opens at 10 A. M. and boasts a coffee cart and two computers. Having leapt into the 21st Century, The "Bull Upstairs" has become a hotspot for many Ambridge locals.
  • Ambridge still has a village shop and post office, originally thanks to Jack Woolley's philanthropy. The business is now a community shop managed by Susan and run by a team of volunteers.
  • Willow Farm is the spacious residence of the Tucker family. After Betty's death in 2005 the house was split into two to accommodate their son Roy. Its farmland is also home to Neil Carter's pigs.

Topicality

Unlike some soap operas, episodes of The Archers portray events taking place on the date of broadcast, allowing many topical subjects to be included. Real-life events which can be readily predicted in advance are often written into the script, such as the annual Oxford Farming Conference[15] and the FIFA World Cup.[16] On some occasions, scenes recorded at these events are planned and edited into episodes shortly before transmission.

More challengingly for the production team, some significant but unforeseen events require scenes to be rewritten and rerecorded at short notice, such as the death of Princess Margaret (particularly poignant because she had appeared as herself on the programme),[17][18] the World Trade Center attacks,[19] and the 7 July 2005 London bombings.[20] The events and implications of the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis required many "topical inserts"[21][22][23][24] and the rewriting of several storylines.[25]

In January 2012, Oliver Sterling, owner of Grange Farm, together with his tenant, Ed Grundy, elected to vaccinate the badgers on their farm in an attempt to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis. The plotline came within weeks of the government confirming a badger cull trial in England in autumn 2011.[26]

Actors

Unlike television soaps, The Archers actors are not held on retainers, and work on the series for, at most, a few days a month. Most of the cast do acting work on other projects and can disappear for a period if they are working on long-term commitments such as films or television series. For example, Tamsin Greig, who plays Debbie Aldridge, has appeared on television comedy shows such as Green Wing, Love Soup and Black Books. As a result, Debbie manages a farm in Hungary in which her family has an interest while Greig is filming these shows, and then returns to Ambridge when Greig's commitments allow. Because of this, and by the nature of the storylines focusing on particular groups of characters, in any week the series comprises between 20 and 30 speaking characters out of a regular cast of about 60. Greig's situation was similar to that of Felicity Jones who played Emma Carter in the series; Jones, after a period studying at Wadham College, Oxford has moved into large TV parts, such as a starring role in Northanger Abbey. Emma Carter is now played by Emerald O'Hanrahan.

Some of the actors, when not playing their characters, earn their money through different jobs altogether: Charlotte Connor, when not playing Susan Carter (credited as Charlotte Martin), works full-time as a senior research psychologist at the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation; her office is a short walk from BBC Birmingham thus she is able to fit her work around recordings.[27] Other examples include Felicity Finch (Ruth Archer), who also works as a BBC journalist having travelled on a number of occasions to Afghanistan; and Ian Pepperell (Roy Tucker), who manages a pub in the New Forest.[28]

History

Starting on Whit Monday, 29 May 1950, and continuing with five episodes through that week,[29] a pilot series created by Godfrey Baseley and subsequently edited by him for 22 years was broadcast to the English Midlands in the Regional Home Service, as 'a farming Dick Barton'. Recordings were sent to London, and after some discussion the BBC decided to commission the series for a longer national run. In the five pilot episodes the Archers owned Wimberton Farm, rather than Brookfield.

Since 1 January 1951, five 15-minute episodes (since 1998, six 12½-minute episodes) have been transmitted each week, at first on the BBC Light Programme[1] and subsequently on the BBC Home Service (now Radio 4). The original scriptwriters were Geoffrey Webb and Edward J. Mason, who were also working on the series Dick Barton whose popularity partly inspired The Archers and whose slot in the schedules it eventually took: the first episode aired on Monday, 2 April 1951. An omnibus edition of the week's episodes began on Saturday, 5 January 1952. Originally produced with collaborative input from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, The Archers was conceived as a means of disseminating information to farmers and smallholders to help increase productivity in the post-World War II years of rationing and food shortages.[1] It was originally formulated around the lives of three farmers; Dan Archer, farming efficiently with little cash, Walter Gabriel, farming inefficiently with little cash, and George Fairbrother, a wealthy businessman farming at a loss for tax purposes (which one could do in those days).[30] The programme was hugely successful, winning the National Radio Awards' 'Most entertaining programme of the Year' award jointly with Take It From Here in 1954, and winning the award outright in 1955, in which year the audience was reported to have peaked at 20 million.[31]

At the end of the Fifties, despite the growth of television and radio's consequent decline, the programme was still claiming a healthy 11 million listeners and was also being transmitted in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.[32] By the mid-Seventies, however, the audience for the two daily broadcasts and the weekend omnibus combined was less than 3 million[33] and in 1976 the BBC Radio Four Review Board twice considered whether or not the programme should be axed.[34] The serial's woes at this time were seen to mirror the poor standing of radio drama in general, described as "a failure to fully shake off the conventions of non-realism which had prevailed in the 1940s and 1950s."[35] Programme chief Jock Gallagher, responsible for The Archers, described these as the serial's "dog days".[36] Sweeping editorial reforms followed, included the introduction of women writers (there had been none before 1975), two of whom, Helen Leadbeater and Margaret Phelan, were credited with giving the programme a new definitive style of writing and content, although some listeners complained about their radical feminism.[37] In 1980 Julie Burchill commented that the women of Ambridge were no longer stuck with 'the gallons of greengage jam old-guard male scriptwriters kept them occupied with for over twenty years'; but were 'into post-natal depression and alcoholism on the way to self-discovery'.[38] By the mid-Eighties the Radio Four Review Board was noting that scripts, directing, and acting were "very good" and sometimes "better than ever".[39] In August 1985 The Listener said that the programme's revival was "sustained by some of the best acting, direction and writing on radio."[31]

Tony Shryane MBE was the programme's producer from 1 January 1951 to 19 January 1979. Vanessa Whitburn was the programme's editor from 1992 till 2013. Whitburn took service leave from March to July 2012, when John Yorke, a former executive producer of EastEnders, was the acting editor.[40] Yorke's arrival prompted charges that the programme was importing the values of EastEnders to Borsetshire, with fans and commentators complaining that characters were behaving unrealistically simply to generate conflict.[41] This was denied by Yorke, who wrote that he agreed to take over "on one condition - that it stayed exactly as it was and that I didn't have to change anything."[42]

Vanessa Whitburn was succeeded as editor by Sean O'Connor in September 2013 [43]

Since 2007, The Archers has been available as a podcast.[44] As of 5 June 2011 (2011-06-05), the omnibus podcast on iTunes in the United Kingdom was at 37 while the daily podcast was at 89.

Death of Grace Archer

One of the most controversial Archers episodes was broadcast on 22 September 1955, the evening of the launch of the UK's first commercial television station, ITV. Phil and Grace Archer had been married just a few months earlier, and their blossoming relationship was the talk of the nation. However, searching for a story which would demonstrate some real tragedy among the increasingly unconvincing episode cliff-hangers, Godfrey Baseley had decided that Grace would have to die. It was explained to the cast as an "exercise in topicality. " The scripts for the week of 19 September 1955 were both written, recorded, and broadcast on each day. On Thursday evening of that week, listeners heard Grace trying to rescue her horse, Midnight, from a fire at Brookfield stables, and the crash as a beam fell on her.[45]

Whether the timing of the episode was a deliberate attempt to overshadow the opening night of the BBC's first commercial rival has been debated ever since. It was certainly planned some months in advance, but it may well be that the actual date of the death was changed during the scriptwriting stage to coincide with the start of ITV.[46] Deliberate or not, the episode attracted widespread media attention, being reported by newspapers around the world.

This controversy has been parodied twice: in The Bowmans, an episode of the television comedy programme Hancock, and in the play and film The Killing of Sister George. On the 50th anniversary of ITV's launch, Ysanne Churchman, who played Grace, sent a congratulatory card to ITV, signed "Grace Archer".

In 1996, William Smethurst recounted a conversation with Baseley in which he reveals his real motivation for killing off Grace Archer: Churchman was encouraging the other actors to join a trade union.[47]

Longevity

The actor Norman Painting played Phil Archer continuously from the first trial series in 1950 until his death on 29 October 2009. His last recording for an Archers episode was recorded just two days before his death and was broadcast on 22 November.[48] He holds the title of longest-serving actor in a single soap opera in the Guinness Book of Records.[48] As a script writer, he also wrote around 1,200 complete episodes, credited as "Bruno Milna", culminating in the 10,000th episode. June Spencer has played Peggy Archer/Woolley from the pilot episode onwards,[49] though not for all of the period since. According to Who's Who in The Archers 2008,[50] episode 15,360 was to be broadcast on 1 January 2008.[51] Episode 15,000 was broadcast on 7 November 2006.[52]

Sixtieth anniversary

The Archers reached its 60th anniversary on 1 January 2011 and to mark this achievement, a special half hour episode was broadcast on Sunday 2 January on BBC Radio 4 from 7pm. The episode had been advertised as containing events that would 'shake Ambridge to the core'.[53] This phrase even gave rise to the initialism #SATTC trending on the website Twitter during that weekend as listeners speculated about what might happen, and then reported their views as the story unfolded.

The main events in the episode were Helen Archer giving birth to her son Henry and Nigel Pargetter falling to his death from the roof of Lower Loxley Hall.

The writing out of the character of Nigel caused much controversy among Archers' listeners,[54][55] with a large number of complaints variously expressing dismay at the death of a popular character, concerns over the manner of the dismissal of the actor, belief that the promise to 'shake Ambridge to the core' had been over-hyped, criticism of the credibility of the script and acting for the anniversary episode, and a perceived unwillingness of the editorial team to engage with these listener complaints.

Themes

A recurring theme has been the resentment of the working-class Grundy family towards the middle-class Archers. Labour politician Neil Kinnock in the 1980s jokingly called for The Archers to be retitled "The Grundys and their Oppressors".[56] The series, however, now deals with a wide range of contemporary issues including illicit affairs, drug abuse, rape, and civil partnerships, inviting criticism from conservative commentators such as Peter Hitchens[57] that the series has become a vehicle for liberal and left-wing values and agendas, with characters behaving out of character to achieve those goals. However, one of the show's charms is to make much out of everyday, small concerns, such as the possible closure of the village shop, the loss and rediscovery of a pair of spectacles,[58] competitive marmalade-making, or nonsense such as a 'spile troshing' competition,[59] rather than the large-scale and improbable events that form the plots of many soap operas. However, there are some dramatic storylines, such as the rape of Kathy Perks,[60] and, more recently, a storyline involving David Archer's family being threatened by a gang of farm thieves.[61]

Sometimes mocked as a comfortable middle-class series with stereotypical comic yokels, the programme has nonetheless tackled many serious social issues. There have been, for instance: rural drug addiction; inter-racial relationships; direct action against genetically modified crops and badger culling; family break-ups; and civil partnerships.

According to some of the actors, and confirmed in the writings of Godfrey Baseley, in its early days the show was used as a conduit for announcements from the Ministry of Agriculture, one actor reading an announcement almost verbatim to another. More recently the show has reacted within a day to agricultural emergencies such as outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, which affect farmers nationwide when livestock movements are restricted.

Cameo appearances

Many famous people have made cameo appearances on the programme:

Theme tune

The theme tune of The Archers' is called "Barwick Green" and is a maypole dance from the suite My Native Heath, written in 1924 by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood. An alternative arrangement, played by The Yetties, is used to introduce the Sunday omnibus. In 1992, having used the same recording for many years, the theme was re-recorded in stereo. The original orchestral arrangement was used, but the slightly different mixing and more leisurely tempo led many listeners to consider the new version inferior. [citation needed]

Robert Robinson once compared the tune to "the genteel abandon of a lifelong teetotaller who has suddenly taken to drink". [citation needed] On April Fool's Day 2004 both The Independent and The Today Programme claimed that BBC executives had commissioned composer Brian Eno to record an electronic version of "Barwick Green" as a replacement for the current theme,[74][75] while the (Scottish) comedian Billy Connolly included in his act the joke that the theme was so typically English that it should be the national anthem [76]

English doctors are taught that the tempo of the tune is the rate at which to apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). An alternative tune is "Nellie the Elephant", which has the same tempo.[77][78]

Serious occasions

In the past, a cliffhanger involving a death of a major character or disaster was marked by the traditional closing theme being replaced by the final dramatic section of Barwick Green involving trombones, cymbals and the closing bars of the signature tune. However, this tradition has been dropped more recently — notably after the death of Nigel Pargetter when the normal closing music was played despite the gravity of the incident, and after the death of John Archer when no music was played.

There was a nod to The Archers in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London on August 27, 2012, where the theme tune was played at the beginning of a segment celebrating British culture: the sound of a radio could be heard being tuned in as Barwick Green was played.[79]

Ambridge Extra

BBC Radio 4 Extra has an occasional short series, Ambridge Extra, with broadcasts twice-weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays featuring characters away from the Ambridge environs. Starting in 2011, five series have been aired. Series 1 & 2 having 26 episodes and series 3, 4 and 5 having 20. Series 5 began on 02 July 2013. A half-hour omnibus is on Sundays.

It was confirmed on the official Archers blog on the BBC website, that Ambridge Extra will not be returning in 2014 due to BBC cutbacks.[80]

Fan clubs

Two organisations dedicated to the programme were established in the 1990s. Archers Addicts was the official body, run by members of the cast. . The club had five thousand members[81] and an online shop where Archers memorabilia was sold under licence. Its closing on 31 December 2013 was ascribed to the internet making information more readily available and it also provides a message board where fans of the show give their views on the programme. Archers Anarchists was formed some time later, objecting to the "castist" assumptions propagated by the BBC, and claiming that the characters are real.

Overseas parallels

In 1994, the BBC World Service in Afghanistan began broadcasting Naway Kor, Naway Jwand ("New Home, New Life"), an everyday story of country folk incorporating pieces of useful information. Although the useful information was more likely to concern unexploded land mines and opium addiction than the latest modern farming techniques, the inspiration and model of Naway Kor, Naway Jwand was The Archers, and the initial workshopping with Afghan writers included an Archers scriptwriter.[82] A 1997 study found that listeners to the soap opera were significantly less likely to be injured by a mine than non-listeners.[83]

In Rwanda, the BBC World Service's Rwanda-Rundi service has been broadcasting the Archers-inspired soap opera Urunana ("Hand in Hand") since 1999.[84][85]

The Archers was also the model for the Russian radio soap opera Dom 7, Podyezd 4 ("House 7, Entrance 4"),[86] on which the former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, once made a cameo appearance.[87]

The Japanese national radio and TV network, NHK, offers a "morning drama" (asadora) that runs for 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday on television. This slot was established on radio in the early postwar era and moved to television in 1961. Each series lasts six months, i. e. approximately 150 episodes. All centre on a heroine, usually a young girl facing challenges (usually in Japanese traditional social ways) to realize her dream. Programmes have often been used as vehicles for discussion of matters of social concern, such as the foster-child system, and to celebrate the locales around Japan where the series are set.

Parodies

The comedian Tony Hancock, in an episode of the BBC television situation comedy programme Hancock, called The Bowmans.[88]

Ned Sherrin produced a short 1973 film called "The Cobblers of Umbridge". The cast included Joan Sims, Lance Percival, Roy Kinnear, Derek Griffiths and John Fortune.[89]

Books and audiobooks

Reference works

Novelisations

Published audio episodes

Maps

In addition to books and audiobooks, purported maps of Ambridge and Borsetshire have been published.[90][91]

Documentaries

An episode of Arena, broadcast on BBC Four on 1 January 2007, focused on The Archers. It was narrated by Stephen Fry and included interviews with current actors and scriptwriters.[92]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Donovan, Paul (1991) The Radio Companion. London: Grafton; p. 8
  2. ↑ Davies, Keri (5 August 2013). "New Archers editor announced". BBC. Retrieved 9 August 2013. 
  3. ↑ "About The Archers". BBC. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  4. ↑ Adrian, Jack (2003-10-09). "Tony Shryane Obituary". London: The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  5. ↑ The Archers airs 15,000th episode, BBC News, 2006-11-07
  6. ↑ "The Archers clocks up 55 years". BBC Press Office. 2005-12-30. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  7. ↑ Midgley, Neil (2010-08-05). "The Archers hold record ratings". The Daily Telegraph. 
  8. ↑ Martin, Nicole (2007-08-20). "The Archers online dwarfs Chris Moyles". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-01-06. 
  9. ↑ Compare Ambridge's The Bull with Inkberrow's The Old Bull.
  10. ↑ "Transcript: Any Questions? 22 September 2006". BBC Radio 4. 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2008-01-06. 
  11. ↑ Compare Ambridge's St Stephen's with Hanbury's St Mary the Virgin.
  12. ↑ "22 September 2002". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20020922&day=0.
  13. ↑ "Jack and Alzheimer's". BBC Radio 4. 2006-09-21. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  14. ↑ "The Soil Association". The Times (London). 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  15. ↑ "Oxford Farming Conference". BBC Radio 4. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  16. ↑ "27 June 2006". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20060625&day=2.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Princess Margaret Remembered". BBC Radio 4. 2002-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  18. ↑ "10 February 2002". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20020210&day=0.
  19. ↑ "12 September 2001". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20010909&day=3.
  20. ↑ "11 July 2005". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20050710&day=1.
  21. ↑ "22 February 2001". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20010218&day=4.
  22. ↑ "23 February 2001". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20010218&day=5.
  23. ↑ "27 February 2001". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20010225&day=2.
  24. ↑ "1 March 2001". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20010225&day=4.
  25. ↑ "Drama in a Crisis". BBC Radio 4. 2001-03-02. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  26. ↑ "The Archers 2012-01-25". BBC Radio 4. 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2012-02-02. 
  27. ↑ David Brindle "Young people log on for shared headspace", The Guardian, 9 February 2011
  28. ↑ Chris Arnot "The Archers at 60", The Guardian, 6 October 2010
  29. ↑ "Information and FAQs". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  30. ↑ Norman Painting, Forever Ambridge (1975)
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 The Listener 29 August 1985
  32. ↑ Smethurst, William (1996) The Archers: The True Story London. Michael O'Mara Books Ltd pp 75-76 ISBN 1-85479-689-5
  33. ↑ Ibid. p 144
  34. ↑ Hendy, David 2007 Life On Air, A history of Radio Four Oxford University Press p 205 ISBN 978-0-19-924881-0
  35. ↑ Ibid. p204
  36. ↑ Ibid. p 204
  37. ↑ Glenys Roberts, The Evening Standard London March 17, 1983.
  38. ↑ Ibid. p 207
  39. ↑ Ibid. p 208
  40. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/2012/02/acting_archers_editor.html
  41. ↑ http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/335079
  42. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/2012/06/is_the_archers_going_to_get_da.html
  43. ↑ http://www.theargus.co.uk/leisure/showbiz/10593342.O_Connor_takes_Archers__top_job/
  44. ↑ "Podcasts". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 "26 May 1989". The Archers. Episode 10,000. BBC Radio 4.
  46. ↑ Smethurst, William (1996). "Dead Girls Tell No Tales". The Archers: The True Story. London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited. p. 63. ISBN 1-85833-620-1. "Even this presupposes that the BBC realized the impact that the 'death' would have — and all the evidence is that the BBC was totally taken by surprise." 
  47. ↑ Smethurst, William (1996). "Dead Girls Tell No Tales". The Archers: The True Story. London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited. p. 64. ISBN 1-85833-620-1. "'She was trying to get the actors to join a trade union, ' he told the author of this book, in 1995, 'so I killed her off. Very few of the original actors were professionals. I'd taken them on because they were countrymen with natural country voices. But she was stirring them up and trying to get them to join the actors' union, and saying we should only employ union actors, which would have been fatal. '" 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Norman Painting, BBC Obituary
  49. ↑ "Biographies: June Spencer OBE, The Archers". Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  50. ↑ Davies, Keri (2007). Who's Who in The Archers, 2008. Reading: BBC Books. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-84607-326-7. 
  51. ↑ "1 January 2008". The Archers. Episode 15,360. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20071230&day=2.
  52. ↑ "7 November 2006". The Archers. Episode 15,000. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20061105&day=2.
  53. ↑ "BBC Statement of Programme Policy for 2010/2011". 
  54. ↑ "Nigel Pargetter - share your memories". 
  55. ↑ "The Archers editor on the 60th anniversary". 
  56. ↑ Smethurst, William (1996). "The Rise of the House of Grundy". The Archers: The True Story. London: Michael O'Mara Books Limited. p. 198. ISBN 1-85833-620-1. 
  57. ↑ Peter Hitchens (2000), The Abolition of Britain, p262–64, Quartet (revised edition)
  58. ↑ "7 June 2005". The Archers. BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/archive_synopsis.shtml?week=20050605&day=2.
  59. ↑ "11 August 2000". The Archers. BBC Radio 4.
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  61. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9445689/Archers-loses-400000-listeners-amid-controversy-over-sexed-up-storylines.html
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  64. ↑ "Chris Moyles braves The Bull". BBC Radio 4. 2004-06-10. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
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  74. ↑ Lister, David (2004-04-01). "Tum-ti tum-ti tum-ti tum... kerrang. Ambridge in uproar over Eno's 'new-wave' theme tune". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  75. ↑ "New Archers Theme Tune". BBC Radio 4. 2004-04-01. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  76. ↑ Billy Connelly : National Anthem - YouTube
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  79. ↑ http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/olympic-games-opening-ceremony-british
  80. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/posts/Ambridge-Extra-on-Radio-4-Extra
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  83. ↑ Neil Andersson, Charles Whitaker, Aparna Swaminathan. Afghanistan: The 1997 National Mine Awareness Evaluation, CIET international 1998. "Executive summary". Accessed 2006-11-17.
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  88. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_X6Y4q3vwQ Tony Hancock, The Bowmans
  89. ↑ IMDB
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  92. ↑ Kennedy, Emily (2006). "Arena: The Archers". BBC Four. Retrieved 2006-01-05. 

Further reading

  • Sanderson, Ian (1998) The Archers Anarchists' A - Z. London: Boxtree ISBN 0-7522-2442-5 (the author founded the Archers Anarchists in 1995)

External links

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