13/03/2026
This year sees the 75th anniversary of the world’s longest running drama, The Archers, recorded in The Mailbox in Birmingham, and rooted in the countryside outside the city, in Worcestershire and Warwickshire, the basis for mythical Borsetshire. Ambridge itself is thought to be modelled on various villages like Cutnall Green, Inkberrow and Hansbury, South of Birmingham. The drama, launched in 1951, was originally intended to educate farmers in the best farming methods at a time of austerity and shortages – just after the War. It soon became a huge success with listening figures exceeding 20 million a day. By the late 1970s its appeal was waning with a mere 3 million listeners, but a decision to introduce women writers and editors to tackle contemporary issues rescued the show; Ambridge thereafter witnessed story lines exploring drug addiction, marital r**e and emotional abuse in marriage, civil partnership and environmental pollution. Consequently, a whole new listenership emerged; now over 5 million people tune in to the show and over I million access it via The Archers podcast. Farming issues still loom large for the central families – the Archers, Grundys, Carters, Aldridges – but the drama’s popularity speaks to its relevance as its tackles contemporary issues from Covid to inheritance tax on farmers. It has come far from its origins as an educational vehicle to being a much-cherished institution in British broadcasting.
