18,000 Episodes of The Archers

The Archers reaches its 18,000th episode on Tuesday 7 June. To mark this milestone, we've dug out the earliest recording of the drama from the BBC Archives.

Logged in the archive as episode number 302, it's from 11 March 1952 and in those days the episodes began with a summary of the current goings on in Ambridge. 

In the episode Grace Fairbrother and Phil Archer discuss poultry which echoes present day Fairbrother-Archer interactions with Pip and Josh Archer (Phil's grandchildren) helping out and working with Toby and Rex Fairbrother (Grace's nephews) on Upper Class Eggs.

Grace and Phil married in April 1955 but Grace's life was dramatically cut short by a barn fire later that year.

Later on in the episode from 11 March 1952, Walter Gabriel chats to Dan Archer and Simon who are puzzled by Walter's inability to keep still. Walter explains his trousers are irritating him.

Find out more about how The Archers began.