diamond geezer

 Saturday, May 02, 2020

The Archers on Radio 4 is the world's longest-running drama series. In common with many soaps it has an extensive cast of characters, each of whom rise to prominence then fade into the background as storylines ebb and flow.

In an attempt to discover who speaks up the most, at the start of 2020 I began counting how many episodes each of the characters appeared in. Totals ought to even out over the course of the year, I reckoned.

Alas 2020 has proved no normal year. The actors' monthly recording session last took place in mid-March, after which the number of weekly episodes was duly trimmed from six to five. The BBC's backlog of new episodes alas finally dried up at the end of this week. The next three weeks will therefore be filled by repeats of classic episodes, and after that we're promised new-style internal monologues which probably means a very different format.

This means I've been forced to end my Archers survey after just four months - that's a total of 99 episodes. But I can announce that Ambridge's most frequently appearing characters have been as follows...
38: Kirsty
37: Lynda
29: Philip
27: Lillian
25: Alistair, Robert
Kirsty and Lynda are by some distance 2020's most-heard characters, with Kirsty just managing to nudge into the lead during Thursday's episode. Both Kirsty and Lynda have been at the heart of two major storylines - the explosion at Grey Gables, an upcoming wedding and/or the renaming of the pub. Philip and Robert appear prominently as their respective partners. Lillian's only had three weeks off since the start of the year, while Alistair's lofty position is mostly a result of his father's historic child abuse storyline.
23: Roy, Freddie
20: Jim, Emma, Tracy
Completing the top ten are a motley crew, and not necessarily who you'd expect. Roy's clearly been set up to play a key role in Kirsty's wedding denouement next week, a tightly-plotted outcome which'll sadly never take place. Freddie's 23 appearances contrast with his twin sister's one. Emma and Tracy have also had a lot more to say than usual, although alas we'll never discover whether Tracy's cricketing tactics would have helped win tomorrow's match against Little Croxley.
17: Gavin
16: Josh, Jazzer
15: Shula, Oliver
14: Ed, Jolene, Pip
12: Kenton
Next come several of the characters whose names cause non-regular listeners to roll their eyes. Twins Shula and Kenton have had pub names, dead peacocks and Anglican ordination to discuss. Josh and Jazzer are the highest-placed farming folk. Oliver's only here because his hotel kitchen blew up. Gavin dates the list somewhat because he's unlikely to be back in 2021.
11: Kate, Johnny, Ruth, Ben
10: Adam, David
9: Jakob
8: Brian, Helen
7: Tom, Justin, Harrison, Phoebe, Rex
6: Lee
Finally we've hit the dynastic core of farm-based characters, each of whom has appeared in about 10% of episodes, i.e. not quite once a week. The Archers has been relying a lot more on non-agricultural stories of late.
5: Jill, Eddie, Natasha, Neil
4: Elizabeth, Ian, Susan
3: Peggy, Alice, Chris, Fallon, Fiona, Leonie
Here are those making an occasional appearance, which for several of these characters is unexpected because they're usually at the centre of the drama. Only five Eddies, four Elizabeths and three Peggys in 99 episodes? It's plainly not been their time to shine.
2: Tony, Jennifer, Clarrie, Roman, Hannah, Joy, Vince, Blake
1: Henry, Toby, Lily, Russ, Alan, Bert
1: Megan, Martin, Stephanie, Michael, Geoff, Chloe
Here are the hardly-used... those who've appeared no more than twice in four months. Tony, Jennifer and Clarrie are the unexpected trio, each at the heart of their families but seemingly with nothing to say. I've split the once-only characters into two rows, first the regulars and then the mostly one-offs. If you can identify more than one of the bottom row, give yourself a clap. How nice to see confirmation that Lily and Russ have been almost entirely absent of late.
0: Pat, Debbie, RĂșairi, Leonard, Will, Usha
Finally, six of the suspiciously silent. Where is Pat Archer, and why haven't we heard from her in months? How can Ed Grundy have had several recent storylines while his brother Will has had none? Debbie's seeming inability to make contact with her family is frequently passed off by sleight of hand. Such is the deviousness of the soap opera writer that certain ill-disposed characters can disappear for an extended period without us even noticing.

As an aside, I can confirm that every episode of The Archers contains either five, six, seven or eight named characters. Limiting the number of characters per episode makes it easier for the audience to identify who's speaking (and, more importantly, cheaper for the BBC to record).
5 characters: 13% of episodes
6 characters: 43%
7 characters: 32%
8 characters: 11%
A typical omnibus episode contains about 20 characters (this year's range is 18-24).

Finally, because I've long wanted to untangle this, here are the number of character appearances by dynasty.

Team
Jill
BrookfieldThe BullGreenacresLower Loxley
ArcherArcherLloydPargetter
20+  Alistair, JimFreddie
10-19David, Ruth,
Pip, Josh, Ben
Kenton, JoleneShula, Jazzer 
3-9Jill, RexHarrison, Fallon Elizabeth
0-2Leonard, Toby  Lily, Russ

Team
Peggy
Bridge FarmHome FarmDower House
ArcherAldridgeElliot
20+  Lillian
10-19JohnnyAdam, Kate 
3-9Peggy, Helen, Lee,
Tom, Natasha
Brian, Jakob, Phoebe, Ian, Alice, ChrisJustin
0-2Tony, Pat, HenryJennifer, Debbie, RĂșairi 

alsoGrange FarmGrey GablesBeechwoodAmbridge HallAmbridge View
Grundy-Miller/MossSnellCarter
20+EmmaRoyKirsty, PhilipLynda, RobertTracy
10-19EdOliverGavin  
3-9Eddie  LeonieNeil, Susan
0-2Clarrie, Will   Roman

As for the other thing I've been counting religiously since the start of the year, this too has been royally scuppered by coronavirus. I'll spill the data I've collected so far once lockdown starts to ease.


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