The Archers Feed

The Archers gets a new look

2016-11-30T16:58:45+00:00

We’ve updated The Archers’ online look to reflect its place in the ever-changing landscape of contemporary rural Britain.

With a combination of different images we can now give a more vibrant impression of the drama, keeping it far closer to the seasonal calendar of Ambridge. Expect to see The Archers’ visuals change with the seasons.

More and more listeners are discovering The Archers online and through social media and the updated imagery is designed to appeal to old and new listeners alike.

It’s been a labour of love to find a visual expression of the long running drama that doesn’t give too much away but hints at the drama, excitement and comfort in spending time with well-known characters.

Thanks are due to the photographer for tramping the fields and farmyards to get the right pictures to properly depict Borsetshire life, and to the designers who have worked hard to bring the whole thing together.

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Tweeting in court: What are the consequences?

2016-09-08T15:40:00+00:00

The rise of social media has made it seem pretty normal to splurge our innermost thoughts to the world.

Judges warn jurors that they must not post social media comments on their case, but very occasionally a juror can't resist putting their view out there. The consequences can be serious.

In one real-life incident social media posts by a juror caused a sexual offences trial to collapse, forcing the witnesses to give distressing evidence again at a retrial. The rogue juror will be discharged and will almost certainly be charged with Contempt of Court, which can carry a prison sentence. Judge Loomis will be considering whether it's still possible for Helen's trial to be fair, following the juror's tweet.

What are Judge Loomis’ options?

There's a risk it may prejudice the rest of the jury. If the tweet had been posted much earlier in the trial Judge Loomis might have discharged the whole jury, sworn in a new one, and restarted proceedings from the beginning. At this late stage that's not really an option.

It is possible for a trial to continue with the remaining 11 jurors, if Judge Loomis is convinced that they will try the case on the evidence and not be influenced by the tweet. But if he decides that's now an impossibility he could order a retrial. Any retrial date would be months away so Helen and baby Jack could face a long wait on remand in the prison Mother and Baby Unit.

Rob and Helen: The full story

Full details of Helen Titchener's Trial

Helen's defence explained

'When it mattered most, Helen was the bravest she has ever had to be.'

Ambridge Affairs

2013-09-27T16:00:46+00:00

Ambridge has played host to a fair few extra marital affairs and moments that have upset the equilibrium of even the most secure relationships.

Here is a selection of adulterous moments. Warning: contains smooching...

Affair

Helen Archer and Rob Titchener
Rob’s line of work didn't endeared him to Helen’s parents. But Helen was prepared to overlook this - and his wife Jess – when it came to her feelings for the man himself.

In this clip from 2013, Helen took the initiative:

Helen takes the initiative with Rob (Aug 2013)

Jennifer Aldridge and Roger Travers-Macy
Roger came back into ex-wife Jennifer’s life, partly to discuss the welfare of their daughter Debbie, but also to tell Jennifer how much he regretted leaving her. It seems she never stopped loving him.

It's 1992 - Jennifer meets Roger at his hotel and they wander round the grounds quoting poetry before disappearing upstairs together.

In this clip, Jennifer shows her vulnerability and need for Roger - but they are interrupted by a phone call:

Roger regrets leaving Jennifer.

Ruth Archer and Sam Batton
Ruth and David’s marriage was in trouble and she found herself falling for farm worker Sam. They grew so close that Ruth considered leaving David, but despite Sam’s pleading and promise of a wonderful life together, away from everything, Ruth just couldn’t abandon David and destroy her family.

In this clip from 2006, distraught Ruth runs to Sam, convinced that David is having an affair:

Ruth's convinced David is having an affair. Sam can't stand seeing her treated so badly.

Ruth and Sam’s affair comes to a head at a hotel that he’s booked for them to stay in.

In this clip, Sam has been waiting and waiting for Ruth to join him:

Sam has been waiting for Ruth - but she has made a decision.

David Archer and Sophie Barlow
Sophie was the love of David’s life before Ruth came onto the scene. They were even planning to get married, but agreed to call it off and split up when Sophie decided to focus on her career in London.

In this clip from 2006, they've enjoyed dinner and a chat, and then something happens that throws David...

David goes a step too far - but is Sophie bothered?

Shula Hebden and Richard Locke
Local doctor Richard was living with solicitor Usha Gupta. Single parent Shula Hebden was struggling with her young son’s heath. Shula turned to the doctor for help and comfort. Their relationship grew into more. Shula may have suspected her own feelings from the start as she finally rejected the good doctor, turning instead to her true love vet Alistair Lloyd. Shula and Alistair are still happily married but Richard and Usha could not weather the storm. Richard left for Manchester, leaving a hurt Usha in Ambridge. Is it possible that Usha has never really forgiven Shula?

In this clip from 1998, Richard and Shula get close for the first time…

Richard oversteps the mark with Shula (Jun 1998)

Brian Aldridge and Siobhan Donovan
Siobhan gave birth to Brian’s illegitimate child Ruairi. Despite the destructive effects of Brian’s affair on his family, Brian remained devoted to his son, heartbroken at the prospect of not seeing him once the affair was over.

In this clip from 2002, a happier time in their relationship, Brian has taken Siobhan to a beautiful hotel where they enjoy the pool together. Here Brian tells Siobhan just how much she – and their baby – mean to him…

Brian tells Siobhan how much she means to him.

Ed Grundy and Emma Grundy

Emma always found it difficult to choose between the two Grundy brothers. She dated them both. Assuming that the steadier brother would make the better husband she married William, but her soul pulled her towards Ed. Now Emma and Ed seem settled, but will she ever get used to seeing her William in the arms of another?

In this clip from 2005, Ed and Emma are preparing to leave - tonight! Angry Will insists she’s going nowhere but home. It's a highly charged scene and the brothers’ relationship has obviously never been the same since this day…

Ed and Emma plan to leave together - but Will has other ideas.

Lilian Bellamy and Paul Morgan

In her time of need, after her son’s accident, Lilian’s partner Matt was unavailable so she turned to his half-brother Paul. Paul proved to have inherited his thoughtfulness from his father – something lacking in Matt. He made Lilian happy - something she could not resist.

In this clip from 2012, Lilian and Paul are snuggled up in bed. She has travelled down to London with son James, using the opportunity to see Paul at his hotel.

Paul speaks from the heart to Lilian (Dec 2012)

From Ambridge Extra: Kate Madikane and Johan Le Roux
Kate was having a miserable time in South Africa. A possible job offer for husband Lucas meant she was facing relocating her family from Melville to Durban. She'd worked so hard on her own projects and couldn't face putting her career on hold, as well as uprooting her children. Kate found a shoulder to cry on from colleague Johan, in this clip from 2012:

Kate falls into the arms of her colleague in South Africa.

Listen to all of the clips in the Ambridge Affairs collection

Catch up with The Archers

A response to queries over the closure of The Archers messageboard

2013-02-13T18:29:23+00:00

Radio 4 Interactive Editor Nigel Smith responds to queries over the closure of The Archers Message Board.

Thanks for all the comments and questions you've been leaving on my blog since Monday - we've been reading them with the team and wanted to address some of the key themes that have come up.

Wynkyn de worde and Country Squire, among many others, suggest that we are taking this step because we no longer wish to hear your thoughts. I want to reassure you that we'll still be listening to all The Archers fans and your feedback, both the good and the bad, will be shared with the team on a regular basis. We understand the message board has been there for you to discuss the ups and downs of the programme and we hope that you'll continue to do so both with us on Facebook and Twitter where we've seen our numbers grow. For those of you who prefer the message board format, there are lively discussions taking place outside the BBC's website such as Archers Addicts and Mustard Land/Peet's Place.

As I said in my earlier post, the closure of the boards reflects wider changes in the BBC's online services. Sites that have only a peripheral connection with our editorial purposes, don't significantly enhance our content or only engage small audiences can no longer justify the resources they need.

The Archers website is an important part of the Radio 4 online service and we will continue to produce varied and interesting content to our Archers fans online. Gnome de Plume of Dun Lissnin asked if this is to do with money and yetagainintimb also asked if we'll be making other programmes with the money saved by the closure. As with any other team across the BBC, we do have to prioritise what we do and we know that most Archers listeners come to the website to listen to the programme, download the podcasts and catch up with storylines and character profiles. The department that looks after the Radio 4 websites isn't specifically a programme-making department but we are always looking to innovate digitally and bring our programmes to the widest possible audience. So recently, for example, we've been directing our efforts into making available much of the back catalogue of Desert Island Discs, more than 900 editions of Alistair Cooke's Letter From America and creating special pages for the Woman's Hour Power List. We have also launched the Listening Project website, allowing listeners to upload their own conversations to be played out on Radio 4 and BBC local radio stations.

Nemo399 asked about how you can continue to access the message board. You'll still be able to view all the threads on the board once it's closed. It won't be possible to download all the threads but we will be providing a link to them in the Related Links section of the website.

We understand and respect the value some of you place upon the connections you've made with each other via the message board. We have given users two-weeks' notice so they can find alternative forums and it's great to see so many already doing so.

The BBC does take great care in trying to protect vulnerable audiences - such as children and young people - who are coming to us online. So we have clear house rules to help ensure that everyone is treated fairly and consistently when discussing BBC programmes. But we are not and never can be experts in providing specialist support and we would also urge those who feel they need help and guidance to consult organisations with the relevant expertise.

I've tried to cover the most common themes in the many comments posted on this blog as best I can. Please be assured that we do value your contributions and I hope in the future that even the sceptics among you can be persuaded to continue to discuss The Archers with us.

Nigel Smith

Interactive Editor, Radio 4 & 4 Extra

Other places to talk about The Archers online

The Archers Facebook page – official page run by Tayler and Keri

The Archers on Twitter – official profile run by Tayler

#thearchers – Twitter hashtag

Archers Addicts Forum - fan forum

Peet's Place - fan forum

Closure of The Archers message board

2013-02-11T12:00:41+00:00

Today we are announcing the closure of The Archers message board. It will close, in two weeks, at 12pm on Monday 25 February. All of us at Radio 4 and on The Archers team understand this news will be disappointing for regular users.

The Archers is extremely popular on digital platforms. More than 120,000 users regularly visit the website every week, the podcast is three times more popular now than it was in 2008 with downloads in the millions - and more and more listeners are talking about the programme on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Amid that growth, traffic to the message board has reduced greatly. While there are around 10,000 regular visitors to the message board, the number of people who contribute actively has dropped below a thousand.

For some time, the BBC has been moving away from message boards, as Ian Hunter explains in this blog post, and there are now no other BBC Radio message boards and only two related to other BBC output.

The Archers community has been a rich, witty and fun space for fans over the last decade and we acknowledge the strength of the community. We hope that you continue to contribute to Archers discussions elsewhere online.

We will still be listening to you and we welcome feedback via this blog, on our Facebook page and through Twitter where Tayler and Keri will remain as our hosts. All feedback will be collated and shared with the programme team each week and published on our blog.

The board's vast archive will remain online. We’re giving notice so that you can make plans to migrate to alternative Archers forums and spaces, say goodbye to fellow Archers board users and discuss this move.