Terry Molloy as Mike Tucker, The Archers
The man behind Mike Tucker and Davros tells us about The Archers, radio drama, and learning the ukulele. We give you…Terry Molloy
Terry, what are your first memories of working on The Archers?
I was called in out of the blue by Tony Shryane to audition for Mike Tucker, who was coming in to the programme for about five weeks, and I was asked to start the next day. What I didn’t realise was that Mike had already been cast, but the actor had done one episode and then gone unavailable to join the radio Rep. So they cast me having matched the voice.
There were very few cast then – about 23 in total. My first real experience of the effect Ambridge has on the country was in touring a play. This lovely little old lady came up to me and said “you play Mike Tucker in The Archers, don’t you?”. I said “Yes I do” and suddenly got whacked round the head with her handbag. She raged at me about Mike being such a toe rag.
How do you get on with fellow actors?
It’s like a giant extended family – you get to know other actors but might not see them for months at times, depending on how stories go. We work very quickly but find time for a bit of joking around. Cocky (Michael Cochrane, Oliver) and I sometimes enjoy turning our lines in to musicals.
Can you tell us more about the evolution of Mike Tucker and a few high and low points?:
Mike came in as the new boy, taking over the herd at Brookfield for Ambridge Farmers. He was quite a lad at the time, a bit of a socialist, and got up Phil Archer’s nose. Betty his wife came in with him and they became a formidable pair. Betty may have appeared to be Mike’s doormat but actually ruled the roost. Mike didn’t suffer fools gladly and generally only opened his mouth to change feet. A bit of a moaner, he went off and got his own tenancy from Haydn Evans, taking on Willow Farm.
Mike has had his low points: we used to joke “how do you make Mike Tucker a millionaire? Start him off as a billionaire, ‘cos he’ll lose most of it." He went bankrupt, which led to a depression. He very nearly killed himself. It’s down to Vanessa (Whitburn, former Editor) who said she liked the character, so the writers found another way around it.
Mike lost his eye in a farming accident – it all looked as black and dismal as it possibly could. But he got compensation. Instead of doing what he wanted, which was buying loads of forestry gear, Betty insisted on putting down a deposit so they could buy Willow Farm – and they got it. So things started to go up. With Roy and Brenda they had a good family. Mike was madly working, and Betty was working in the shop. Part of Mike’s depression was seeing Betty doing all the work – what he felt was a man’s job. So over time we’ve seen Mike go from being an old man to a ‘reconstituted’ or ‘new’ man.
Betty dying was a massive deal. I remember being told that Pam (Pamela Craig - Betty) wanted to leave and they didn’t want to recast. Interestingly, we’d been there together for over 30 years – I’d been married to her longer than anyone in real life.
So then Mike drifts around and eventually gets together with Vicky who becomes a major maelstrom in his life. At first, the intention may have been that she was a bit of a money grabber, but the character worked so well and we worked well together that she stayed. Then of course we had the big story with Bethany…
Here's the interview with Terry Molloy and Rachel Atkins, incuding bonus audio.
This was a very powerful storyline which touched a lot of people – as do many storylines. A vicar came up to me once and thanked me for playing Mike’s depression – it was like therapy for him to listen and realise that he wasn’t alone in going through it. These stories do have a real effect on people out there.
Rachel Atkins and Terry Molly, The Archers
Can you tell us about your experience of radio drama in the Midlands?
I remember working with some fantastic characters: Philip Garston Jones who originally played Jack Woolley, and Charles Williams (The Archers' Haydn Evans) was also lovely - old school radio actors who knew their craft and were very supportive of a young man coming in. I’ve grown up alongside people like Carole Boyd (Lynda Snell), Brian Hewlett (Neil Carter), and Trevor Harrison (Eddie Grundy) – we were all there together as youngsters. I’ve had a great rapport with the crew as well – Mark Decker was the man of men, both as the audio supervisor for The Archers, and in the transference from Pebble Mill to the Mailbox studio. He made sure the new studio was made the way he believed it should be.
There was a vast amount of drama being made by directors including Philip Martin, Roger Pine, and also Vanessa Whitburn. There was a real love for the craft in the Midlands.
What do you love about radio / radio drama?
Audio drama is my life career, with and outside of the BBC. I enjoy pushing the envelope. I’ve worked on Doctor Who for TV and audio, Frankenstein, Survivors, The Avengers and more. Also a series called The Scarifiers – a totally mad, tongue in cheek thing set in the ‘30s. There’s a range of stuff out there which has been a delight to do.
More people are doing audio projects through Kickstarters. It’s happening now in audio, TV and Film in the same way it happened with music a few years ago – the studios are looking over their shoulders.
Tim Bentinck (David Archer) and I did a reprisal of Dick Barton special agent – a live audio recording for the BBC. It was like squaring the circle in that The Archers got rid of Dick but then two its actors brought him back to life! I've also been involved in a theatre production called Murder at Ambridge Hall. Touring around the country in the bus with Carole Boyd was hysterical.
What have you been up to recently?
I’ve been moving into film, working on a web series called Kosmos. It’s free to view and very dark, psychological and fun to play. I’ve also made a couple of films working with people like John Hurt and Eileen Atkins. And I’m chasing back and forward to the States doing Dr Who events. I’m doing workshops on acting for Radio, and what a lot of people won’t know is that I’m madly learning the ukulele and loving it!
How do you and Mike compare?
I know the character inside out having played him for so many years. They say you take a part of yourself in to the character – I don’t know how that works for Davros! Maybe it’s the one-eyed thing. I suffer fools with as little gladness as Mike does, and also sometimes only open my mouth to change feet.
As you get older you soften – that blazing ambition and drive you have in your 20s and 30s slowly softens. By the time you get to your 60s you just chill out and take each day as it comes and enjoy it. You begin to mellow, so the character has a bit as well.
Ambridge has always reflected the reality of living in a rural community - and that’s its success. Doctor Who was and still is a big part of my life. Somebody said to me “ you do realise you’ve been in two of the most iconic series in the last century?”. I said “yes, but less of the ‘last century’ please!” It makes me feel very old!...
