Why is The Archers so popular with young people? The cast speak

It’s a 74-year-old tale of life in an English farming village.

It also regularly tops the list of the most listened-to on-demand radio programme for listeners under 35 in the UK. So what it is it that makes BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers so popular, when its very premise feels light years away from your typical superhero blockbuster or trending social video?

To learn more about the appeal of life in Ambridge, BBC Bitesize caught up with the actors behind three of the younger characters to get their theories.

Brad: ‘They are regular people. They just happen to live in the middle of nowhere’

Twenty-five-year-old Taylor Uttley, who plays shyly-spoken teenager Brad Horrobin, has something to say which could shock Archers fans of all ages. He initially auditioned to play the rebellious George Grundy.

Perhaps the switch is a relief for Taylor as his character remains a free man around Ambridge after George (played by actor Angus Stobie - who, intriguingly, also auditioned for Brad) was jailed in October 2024 for dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.

“I think The Archers does a really good job of showing that while it is set in a rural community, people’s personalities do not boil down to ‘farmer’ or ‘owner of a pub’,” Taylor said of the show. “They are regular people who happen to live in the middle of nowhere.

“I think that’s the broader appeal, even if you’re someone who lives in the city. It can be interesting that every now and then you identify with them because of what they’re going through.”

Any young listener struggling with their studies may have identified with high achiever Brad’s dip in confidence after starting university. It led to scenes with mum Tracy (Susie Riddell) and stepdad Jazzer (Ryan Kelly) in which Brad confessed, in Taylor’s words, to: “Not being as ‘up there’ as you think I am.”

But perhaps one of the greater indicators of youth appeal happens when Taylor meets his friends: “I’ve started to do that thing where I automatically explain what the show is, and people are like, ‘yeh, yeh - I know what it is’.”

Chelsea: “I’ve listened on and off throughout my entire life”

“I’ve been told we have very similar bounciness qualities.”

Madeleine Leslay has played hairdresser Chelsea Horrobin - elder sister to Brad - since 2021, but other than her natural enthusiasm, she says the two have few similarities. Madeleine is more than a decade older than 20-year-old Chelsea, with little interest in the fashion and hairstyles that drives her character’s career passions.

But she does have some firm ideas on why The Archers resonates with young people: “From my perspective, and also some of my friends', I’ve listened on and off throughout my entire life, just because my parents or my grandparents listened to it. It was always on.

“Then, when we went into the next stage of our lives, like university, it was sort of a home from home. I used to listen to it and I guess it was a comfort thing in the background. You invest in the stories and there are certain characters that you empathise with more, so you want to find out what happens to them.”

Although there is a comforting element to the storylines - Madeleine particularly likes the way The Archers’ younger characters interact with the older generation - real issues are sown into the fields of Ambridge. When Chelsea was involved in a teen pregnancy storyline and decided not to go ahead with having a baby, Madeleine watched documentaries on the subject as she wanted “to tell it truthfully”. But, she was also conscious that, in terms of her character: “What she was thinking changed from the top of the [script] page. It’d be different at the bottom of the page, I wanted to authentically ride that wave with her.”

As well as the harder-hitting content, Chelsea is often portrayed as an optimistic soul. Would Madeleine have been friends with her at school?

“I’d like to think so,” she grinned. “’Cause I think she’s brilliant. She might think I was a bit boring though.

“I totally respect her and she’s also very patient. I could not cut someone’s hair.”

An academic Ambridge view

Dr Cara Courage is a place and culture consultant and heavily involved in the regular Academic Archers conference, which invites papers based on Ambridge life and storylines.

She said of the show’s youth appeal: “The Archers might catch the interest of younger listeners for a few reasons. First, its setting — a carefully imagined farming community — offers a refreshing change from the mostly urban stories we see in today's media.

“Papers we have had at our conferences suggest that this contrast can inspire young people to rethink ideas of community, identity, and belonging, sparking a new interest in rural life. The programme also explores topics like sustainability, environmental care, and social change—issues that are especially important to a generation increasingly aware of global challenges.

“Plus, with its focus on character-driven plots and relationships, the series opens up space to discuss generational differences and the way society is evolving.”

Ben: ‘It’s just a nice escape from life’

When Ben Norris secured the role of Ben Archer, youngest son of David and Ruth of Brookfield Farm, he revealed how his mum would listen to the show in the kitchen as he was growing up and that he was “secretly hooked”.

Similar to Madeleine’s theory, he believes this may play a part in The Archers’ cross-generational appeal. He told Bitesize: “What’s interesting is that, actually, more and more younger folk are tuning in because they find it calming or relaxing, or it ties them to home, because maybe their parents used to listen. It’s just a nice escape from the relentlessness of life.”

Not that Ambridge Ben’s life has been easy. He was the father of Chelsea’s baby and as the storyline played out, his character suffered serious mental health issues. The real Ben is happy to acknowledge that he has suffered mental health issues himself and that the feedback from listeners, including younger ones, showed how: “Mental health affects everybody.”

Ben has been playing Ben since 2018, when his character was 16 and he was 26. In that time, Ben the character left his politics and geography degree course to study nursing, but still lends a hand in the family business. In real life, this has meant learning the correct calls (with a little help from watching the World Sheepdog Championships) to control Bess, Ben’s sheepdog - an element of country life the actor enjoyed soaking up.

It’s also important to Ben that his character doesn’t abandon farming completely, as those scenes have sound effects that can be the most fun to record: “With lambing in particular,” he explained, “it’s a tea towel full of yoghurt that you sort of splosh onto some rolled up cassette tape - but it sounds like a freshly born lamb landing in some hay.”

This article was published in March 2025