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For 11 years William Smethurst was first writer, then editor of The Archers, the longest-running radio serial in the world. He reveals the behind-the-scenes dramas that listeners never heard, and the truth behind many rumours and legends.
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Pre-order Victory for Ambridge, the brilliant new novel in The Archers series, coming in paperback in 2025. Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the beloved radio show, Ambridge at War takes readers back to before it all began . . . ‘Intriguing, comforting and endearingly familiar’ Katie Fforde It’s 1940 and war has broken out. It is midnight at the turn of the year, and Walter Gabriel speaks the same line that opened the very first radio episode – 'And a Happy New Year to you all!' For Ambridge, a village in the heart of the English countryside, this year will bring change in ways no one was expecting. From the Pargetters at Lower Loxley to the loving, hard-working Archer family at Brookfield Farm, the war will be hard for all of them. And the New Year brings the arrival of evacuees to Ambridge, shaking things up in the close-knit rural community. As the villagers embrace wartime spirit, the families that listeners have known and loved for generations face an uphill battle to keep their secrets hidden. Especially as someone is intent on revealing those secrets to the whole village . . .
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‘Intriguing, comforting and endearingly familiar’ Katie Fforde ‘The BBC’s most downloaded radio show’ The Guardian ‘Incredible legacy’ ?The BBC ‘Longest running drama in the world’ The i News 'Wonderfully nostalgic and comforting' Culture Fly It's 1941 and the war rumbles on. Nowhere is immune to the effects of war, not even Ambridge. But in England's favourite village, something else is occupying the residents... When a prominent villager dies, the main beneficiary's name is a mystery, and no one knows who is set to inherit the estate, cottage and all. The name is hidden within a locked box and the villagers much uncover the password to find out the name of the beneficiary. So when five people are each sent a packet of seeds, the mystery deepens – could the seeds be part of a clue? And can they all work together to unlock the mystery and to discover who is set to inherit? This is the perfect read for all Archers fans.
The must-have look at the world from the team behind Radio 4's THE NOW SHOW. THE NOW SHOW BOOK boldly tackles all the superlatives that other books avoid. It does this by means of making stuff up and scrupulously avoiding too much research, insight, or fact. Unless the fact is funnier. And legal to mention. Split into illuminating subject sections, categories include: Biggest Scare Story Worst Political Gaffe Most Hated Corporate Jargon Most Annoying Recorded Announcement Most Stressful Special Occasion Most Baffling Commercial Most Inaccurate Weather Forecast - and many more! With Marcus Brigstocke and Mitch Benn adding their own fine touches, this book is a fascinating, engrossing - and brilliantly entertaining - look at the modern world ...
'Hilarious' Mail on Sunday 'Stylish, very funny memoir' Daily Mail Timothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years. Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
June Spencer may well be best known as matriarch Peggy Archer (now Woolley), of one of the UK's best known and longest running soap operas, but aged 90 now, she'd seen and done a lot before (and since) joining the Archers 60 years ago. The only original member of the cast still in The Archers, June has worked in showbusiness since the age of 12, when she wrote and produced her own stage shows for her family. She grew up to become an after-dinner entertainer, finally making her way to radio, starring in classics such as Dick Barton and Children's Hour. Born back when milk was collected in a jug from the local store, June takes us back in time as she affectionately recalls the slower pace of c...
The Archers Academics are joined by former The Archers editor, Alison Hindell and actor Dr Charlotte Connor (a.k.a. Susan Carter), to examine the power of gossip in Ambridge, portrayals of love, marriage, motherhood, female education and career expectations, women's mental health and the hard-won right of women to play cricket.
A revised and updated edition of the bestselling guide to all things Ambridge, For the Love of the Archers contains extensive all-new content that will keep any fan of the show enlightened and entertained. It’s been over 70 years since the familiar dum-di-dum-didum-di-dum of “Barwick Green” first brought The Archers to our airwaves, and in that time millions of listeners have followed the everyday lives of country folk in Ambridge. Bringing together a wealth of fascinating facts, amusing insights and expert trivia about characters, controversies and country customs in one handy volume – now fully revised and updated to include recent developments – this companion is the perfect gif...