The Archers

Image: The Archers - Lesley Saweard as Christine, Harry Oakes as Dan, Gwen Berryman as Doris, and Norman Painting as Philip.

The Archers, the longest running daily serial in the world, began its national run on 1 January 1951. It started life the previous year on the Midlands Home Service, specifically intended for the farming community, but it soon became clear there was a large general audience for the "serial play of country life", as the Radio Times described it on its national launch.

According to creator Godfrey Baseley, the idea for The Archers was hatched at a meeting with farmers in Birmingham. One farmer said "what we really want is a farming Dick Barton!" The writers of Dick Barton were brought in to write the scripts, but there was also an insistence that real life rural affairs and the latest developments in farming were depicted in the programme. In one major event in the first year Dan Archer retired his working horses, Boxer and Blossom - reflecting the increased mechanisation of agriculture.

In 1962 the first producer of The Archers, Godfrey Baseley, spoke to Brian Vaughton about the origins of the serial. He recalled a conference, chaired by a senior figure in the BBC's management, a Mr. H.J. Dunkerley, who allowed a pilot of the programme to go ahead.

The Archers continues to reflect changes in country life, though it is no longer overtly educational. Its presence on the airwaves for 60 years makes it in many ways the kingpin of BBC Radio output, and it is a genuine national institution. The Archers theme tune, "Barwick Green" by Arthur Wood, is instantly recognisable, and it remains the most popular non-news programme on Radio 4.