Better than life

[Gob]

An Archers fan has "accidentally" raised more than £22,000 after setting up a donation page under the name of one of the radio soap's characters.



Paul Trueman, 41, from Devon, was inspired by a storyline relating to abuse suffered by character Helen Titchener at the hands of her husband, Rob in the Radio 4 drama series.

He set up the page with the initial aim of raising £1,000 for Refuge.

The Helen Titchener (nee Archer) Rescue Fund has raised more than £22,000.

Read more on this and other stories on our Local Live page

The page says: "All the money from the Rescue Fund will go to the brilliant Refuge, helping all those women who don't have a mate like Kirsty and their own organic cheese shop waiting for them at the end of it."

Father of two Paul said: "There's a joke among Archers fans that we think it's real, but if it was real you would go and get her.

"I thought 'what if you could create a Just Giving page for a fictional person but give the money to real women who we know are in that situation?'

"It happened accidentally really - I know there's a huge Archers following on Twitter and once I'd shared it, it just took off."

Refuge, a domestic violence charity, said nothing it had done on social media had ever motivated so many people.

Chief executive Sandra Horley said of the storyline: "Rob's controlling behaviour will be all too familiar to the 3,300 abused women Refuge helps every day.

"Rob is jealous and possessive; he dictates where Helen goes and what she wears; he has isolated her from family and friends; and he undermines her intelligence and parenting skills.

"Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the 'Helen Titchener Rescue Fund' - this money will translate into specialist support for real Helen Titcheners up and down the country."

[Bicycle Bill]

Great Britain still has actual honest-to-God radio programs?

-"BB"-

[Gob]

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 now described as "contemporary drama in a rural setting". With over 17,850 episodes, it is the world's longest-running radio soap opera production.

The Archers, which debuted on 1 January 1951 (with the pilot premiering in 1950), is the most listened to Radio 4 non-news programme, with over five million listeners,[6] and, with over one million listeners via the Internet, the programme holds that BBC Radio record.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Archers

See also

[MajGenl.Meade]

6 million people with less sense than they have brains? Does Trump know about this?