Ambridge Extra - catch up and photo gallery

Ambridge Extra is complete and utter rubbish which is destroying the Archers' brand. I truly hope that there is not a second series. However. I assume that people such as Keri and VW have convinced themselves and their acolytes that this sort of nonsense is what the kids on the street really want!

Having listened to the first few episodes, I concluded that it wasn't really for me, and the points highlighted by Keri in his article above tend to confirm that. However it's harsh to call it "rubbish" - each to their own.



VH

Can't help thinking I am missing something by not listening to Ambridge Extra but I really don't have the time. Consequently, I find I'm losing interest in The Archers.

Ambridge Extra is the complete opposite of what Archers listeners expect. It's attempt to be topical pushes it in the direction of TV soaps - how long until the arrival of the first serial killer! Sadly, I find it so irritating that I now turn my off radio as soon as it is announced.

Reading this synopsis, I'm even more glad to have missed 'Ambridge Extra'. Please don't run a second series. Put all the script writing energy into reviving the main programme which, in my view, is faltering badly.

I have to agree with this most recent comment; AE truly is complete and unadulterated rubbish! Bad scripts, bad acting, in fact bad drama on every level. It is almost as if the producers have decided to undermine the broadcast value of the Archers in more global terms. I know so many people who have either stopped listening completely or merely catch the odd episode when they have nothing better to do. As a former Member of one of the BBC Advisory Councils I've seen some of the inner working of the Corporation and nothing that the decision makers do surprises me. The organisation pays little or no notice to the needs and wants of the viewers and listeners; hence we end up with nonsensical plots line in the Archers and rubbish like AE. If only we the listeners could influence change...

I've really enjoyed Ambridge Extra - dare I say more than the main series! Will be sorry when it finishes. Hope Chaz can move over to The Archers.

I haven't listened to Ambridge Extra after the first episode. I haven't got unlimited time and it didn't seem like my kind of thing. However, I've been a bit put out to find out from the messageboard that it hasn't really been a stand alone programme. There have been scenes in Extra that would have been good to hear in the main programme, e.g. Pip and Elizabeth talking about David. I gather that there was a lot more to Jamie's non-attendance at his RE exam than we heard in the main programme as well.



Please don't go on with this experiment. If it had involved silent characters being given a voice for the first time, with no crossover at all to the existing programme, that could have been fun. However, the way it's actually been done is just confusing. I do agree, I'm afraid, that the focus should all be on the main programme which has not been at its best in the last few months.

I agree Dragonfly especially wit your last paragraph.