The Dark Side of Ambridge

[Gob]

Its residents normally have nothing more sinister to deal with than falling prices at the farm gate and the everyday dramas of village life.

But the peaceful atmosphere of Ambridge, home of BBC Radio 4 serial The Archers, is turning nastier.

The programme’s acting editor John Yorke, a former executive producer of gritty TV soap EastEnders, has promised to make the plotlines ‘darker and bigger’.

The serial has already been convulsed by recent dramatic stories, including a hit-and-run that left one character in a coma.

Mr Yorke told this week’s Radio Times: ‘You have to put your characters in jeopardy because it makes you love them more.

‘My thing has always been that every episode needs to have an arc and listeners should be left wanting more. You need a cliffhanger to drive the story in a new direction.’

Mr Yorke joined The Archers in February after its long-serving editor Vanessa Whitburn took time off to travel.
She is due back in July, when Mr Yorke will step down.

He has lost no time in stamping his imprint on the drama, introducing a series of plotlines that risk upsetting the long-running show’s 5million fans. In April, one of Ambridge’s main characters, gay farmer Adam Macy, was knocked down while trying to stop thieves.

Police soon arrested two suspects but Adam’s neighbour David Archer, who found him unconscious, received an anonymous phone call threatening his family and ordering him not to give evidence at the trial.

The tension was ratcheted up last month when David discovered his new home security system had been shot at.

Promising even more troubling twists in the plotline, Mr Yorke said: ‘There’s definitely more to come on that story.

‘It’s going to get darker and bigger. Shows are always about triumph over adversity.’

However, he conceded: ‘You can only afford to do something like this about once a year. Otherwise it would get implausible.’

Mr Yorke joined BBC1’s EastEnders as a scriptwriter in 1994 and became executive producer in 1999. He continues to oversee the show, which often features storylines involving drugs and crime, as controller of BBC drama production.

[dales]

Mr Yorke told this week’s Radio Times: ‘You have to put your characters in jeopardy because it makes you love them more.

Face-eating zombie attack?

[Gob]

Attack of the killer rabbits? (Night of the lepus!)

Or even the Beast of Borcetshire

[MajGenl.Meade]

It's even worse than we thought!



See: Drool! Leeks! Cricket!

Ambridge and the Welsh Horror
It is the most archetypally English soap, set in a rural village and dominated by the families called Aldridge, Grundy and of course Archer... until the arrival of Swansea City fan and barman Rhys Williams.

The Archers Thursday 10th May 2012
Alice drools over Rhys
Rhys joins Ambridge cricket team

[Gob]

Who's who in The Archers.

In case you were wondering...

Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about the Archers

How did the programme start?
In Whit Week 1950, the BBC's Midlands Home Service broadcast five pilot episodes of a new, experimental drama series: The Archers. The producer Godfrey Baseley had previously worked mainly on agricultural programmes. He hoped that farmers would listen for the stories, but along the way pick up messages that would help them feed a Britain still subject to food rationing.

So it’s an educational programme?
Not any more. The Archers lost its original, educational, purpose in 1972, but it still prides itself on the quality of its research and its reflection of real rural life.



What’s that dum-di-dum theme tune?
It’s a ‘maypole dance’ called Barwick Green from the suite My Native Heath, written in 1924 by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood.



How many episodes have there been?
16742 (as at 31 May 2012).



How is the show produced and written?
The Editor, Vanessa Whitburn, leads an nine-strong production team and nine writers as they plot the twists and turns of the families in Ambridge, looking ahead months or sometimes years in biannual long-term meetings.

The detailed planning is done at monthly script meetings about two months ahead of transmission, after which four of the writers have to produce a week's worth of scripts each in just 14 days.



How is it recorded?Actors receive their scripts a few days before recording, which takes place every four weeks in a state-of-the-art radio drama studio at the BBC’s premises in The Mailbox, Birmingham. Twenty-four episodes are recorded in six intensive days, using only two hours of studio time per thirteen minute episode.



Is it a full time job?
Not for the actors, no, even for our major characters. Many also have careers in film, theatre, television or other radio drama.



How far in advance do you record?
The episodes are transmitted three to six weeks after recording.



What do you do if something major happens after you've recorded the programme?
Listeners are occasionally intrigued to hear topical events reflected in that evening's broadcast. This feat is achieved through a flurry of rewriting, re-recording and editing on the day of transmission.



How can I listen to the show?
In the UK:The Archers goes out on BBC Radio 4 (92-95 FM and 198 LW). Transmission times: 19.02 GMT/BST Sunday to Friday, repeated at 14.02 the next day (excluding Saturdays). Omnibus edition of the whole week's episodes every Sunday at 10.00.

On the Internet: Like most BBC Radio 4 programmes, The Archers is broadcast simultaneously online, and you can listen to any episode from the last seven days via iPlayer.

Podcast: The programme can be sent, free of charge, to your computer. You can then keep it for ever and listen to it when you like, either directly from your computer or by downloading it to a portable audio device such as a mobile phone or mp3 player. It's available daily or as an omnibus edition.

In Continental Europe: Radio 4 Long Wave on 198Khz can be received in many parts of north-west Europe. Also see "Rest of the World".

In the Rest of the World: The Archers is broadcast by British Forces Broadcasting stations in various countries around the world, including Germany, Cyprus, Belize, and the Falkland Islands. If you live close enough to a British army, navy or air force base you may be able to "eavesdrop" on the transmissions.



I've got a query about a recent plotline how can I find the answer?If you have a question about The Archers -  on air, or behind the scenes – you can post it on The Archers message board in our notes and queries section.

19/08/2012

Adam showers Ian with gifts and a booking at Milo's restaurant. He says it is a big 'thank you' for his support for the last few weeks.or is it because of his guilt over his night with Pawel?

After trying to tempt Mike with cookies for a few moments of his time, Vicky manages to get him to squeeze a rare night out at The Bull into his busy schedule.

On their way to the restaurant, Adam and Ian stop off at The Bull. Rhys is pranking Fallon with the suggestion that there is a coach load of hungry football supporters outside, waiting for their table. Frustrated with Rhys and the usual music nights, Fallon is looking for bigger things. Rhys thinks it will be impractical and too much work for them.

At Milo's restaurant, Adam has a taste for nights out and suggests to Ian that they should go out more often. But Ian's happy with a quiet life. Adam is uneasy when Ian contrasts that with Pawel's free and easy one-night-stand existence.

At the pub, Vicky reveals she has done some research into the amniocentesis but Mike doesn't want to talk about it until they meet the midwife the next day.

See you on the forum!!

[rubato]

Sounds like an American soap opera.

yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

That was very educational Strop....

I learned that I can scroll down a page a lot faster than I thought I could...

Now, if you would be so good as to post bios of all the players of the Australian National Cricket Team, I can see if I could set a new personal best....

[Daisy]

Ok you pair, I won't have a bad word said against The Archers!

[Gob]

Hey Daisy, be warned I'm running a podcast behind at the moment so no fucking spoilers ok?

What do you think of old Adam, slipping Pavel a length on the sly eh? Dirty buggerer!!

[Sean]

Ok you pair, I won't have a bad word said against The Archers!

I heard that they were slagging off Dr Who and Russell Brand too...

[Gob]

But they did admit that Dr Who and Russell Brand were better than Star trek....

[Lord Jim]

I like Dr. Who....

[Gob]

Ah ha.. backpeddling now rather than face the wrath of a Starkie eh?

[Sean]

I like Dr. Who....

But you hated David Tennant as Dr Who didn't you?

[Crackpot]

But they did admit that Dr Who and Russell Brand were better than Star trek....

with the exception of the original and TNG (minus most of the first two seasons and any "wesly" centric episodes.)

[Daisy]

I miss Tennant less than I thought.

New series next week. I am extremely giddy about this.

Back to The Archers....

Gob do you think Adam is a bit PTSD since he was attacked, his whole personality has been affected. I feel sorry for lovely Ian, who I still think was the sperm donor to give Hellin the Hellsprog

[Gob]

Oh definitely!! Head trauma, coma, emotional stress, definitely PTSD.


Oh, and Jennifer needs a good kick in the cunt too.

[Daisy]

Yesssss!

[Sean]

Oh definitely!! Head trauma, coma, emotional stress, definitely PTSD.


Oh, and Jennifer needs a good kick in the cunt too.

Is that a direct quote from the Radio Times?

[Gob]

Front page headline mate!