64. Previously on The Archers

Emma Freud and guests offer a beginner's guide to the Archers, along with archive treats for existing fans.

The Archers is about to celebrate its 75th birthday on 1 January 2026 - but if you want to start listening to this unique phenomenon, the longest-running broadcast drama in the world, then the thousands of plotlines and hundreds of characters over the decades can be off-putting and even intimidating.

So how do you get into the Archers? It's impossible to sum up all that history in a single podcast, but Emma aims to share enough information about the setting, the main characters and the biggest current storyline, to help you get started. Also on hand to guide you are Archers writer and director Keri Davies, comedian and Archers superfan Angela Barnes, and actor Ben Norris, who plays Ben Archer.

They also revisit one of the most famous and talked-about moments in the history of radio drama, from September 1955, when 20 million Archers listeners were gripped by an event which became a national sensation, inspiring countless headlines - and even a poem.

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