The Archers
The Archers is a masterclass in how not to write a monologue
If you’ve been listening to The Archers lately, you’ll know how tedious monologues can be. The BBC has received so…
Without Joe Grundy The Archers feels lost
There was something really creepy about listening to the ten-minute countryside podcast released last weekend by Radio 4 supposedly transporting…
Will you last beyond the madeleine? Radio 4’s In Search of Lost Time reviewed
The madeleine upon which Proust’s seven-volume epic In Search of Lost Time pivots makes its significant appearance after just 18…
The attempt to bring back topicality to Ambridge has been far too effective
It’s becoming clear that the travails afflicting all the major players in The Archers, Radio 4’s flagship drama, are intended…
Is Michelle Obama a secret Archers fan?
I wonder what Michelle Obama, the former First Lady who remade that role in her own image, would make of…
What are the writers of The Archers trying to achieve with the Freddie Pargetter story?
‘I’m not here to rehabilitate,’ says Pamela, who teaches creative writing to prisoners in Northern Ireland. She doesn’t think of…
‘Sorted’ has always had connotations of menace
My heart leapt up on Newport station, an unusual place for that to happen, when I heard a recorded announcement:…
Separation anxiety
As Europe remembers Passchendaele, India and Pakistan recall Partition, just 70 years ago, when Britain so hastily abandoned its Indian…
The Archers v the cricket: which was the more dramatic?
It was a toss-up on Sunday between the atmosphere in the Radio Five Live Sports Extra studio in Kolkata for…
Why Archers fans are raising funds to save Helen
Archers listeners are so obsessed with the soap’s domestic abuse storyline that they have set up a real-life charity appeal
Is Radio 4 encouraging us to overshare?
Much ado about Radio 4’s latest venture into the new smart world of aural selfies. Reaction Time, on Thursday mornings,…
How The Archers tried to derail the launch of ITV
Two significant anniversaries, each very different but both reflecting the BBC’s mission and the reasons for its continued success. From…
Why wasn’t there more about the other faiths over Easter on the BBC?
There was no shortage of Easter music and talks across the BBC networks with a sunrise service on Radio 4…
Radio is the best way to mug up on the classics
If ever I found myself at a pretentious literary party obliged to play David Lodge’s ‘Humiliation’ game and to confess…
What it’s really like to live in India today - stressful
After a month cooped up in a Scottish castle, no internet, no TV, and no radio, watching hectic snowflakes billowing…
Why Serial is the future of radio
The fuss may now be over, the last episode of Serial revealed. But if the global success of WBEZ Chicago’s…
Test cricket and the Archers are both in deep trouble
Lions and weasels The Archers and Test cricket: words you rarely find in the same sentence and more’s the pity…
A compendium to match Radio 4: boring, but somehow gripping
When you think about it, Radio 4 is mostly a pile of old toss. Money Box qualifies as an anaesthetic,…
Warhol’s ‘time capsules’ contain everything from toenails to previously unseen paintings worth millions
‘I don’t know what I think,’ says Lenny Henry, echoing what many of us who were listening were probably also…
Ambridge recovers its sense of humour — finally
‘Isn’t that charming!’ Carol declares at the height of the great Home Farm cocktail party, after being subjected to Jennifer’s…
The Archers hit a new low by letting Tom dump Kirsty at the altar
Did you hear those bloodcurdling screams from Kirsty? Those long-drawn-out wails that echoed horrifically through the ancient walls of St…
BBC radio gets Easter right
Given the decline of Christian belief in the UK, it’s surprising to discover there’s quite so much about the Easter…
Two women, ages 94 and 83, completely own The Archers
You might think the main storyline in The Archers is all about Helen’s affair with dastardly Rob. (What does she…
70th anniversary of Composer of the Week
Mention of the 70th anniversary of Composer of the Week brings to mind a distinguished list of long-running programmes on…
