The Archers on Radio 4 is the world's longest-running drama series. It's also 70 years old today. Back in 1951 nobody guessed that a low-key soap about farming would last so long.
The Archers has an extensive cast ofcharacters, each of whom rise to prominence then fade into the background as storylines ebb and flow. At the start of 2020 I began counting how many episodes each of the characters appeared in, but 2020 alas proved no normal year. When the pandemic struck the number of weekly episodes was trimmed from six to five to eke out the remaining recordings, then replaced by vintage episodes for several weeks. At the end of May the format switched to internal monologues, which the audience generally hated, but gradually normal conversation returned (at a reduced rate of four episodes a week).
My 2020 Archers survey therefore covers a total of 226 new episodes, and I can announce that Ambridge's most frequently appearing characters have been as follows...
61: Kirsty 53: Lynda 48: Philip 42: Alice 41: Tracy
40: Freddie 39: Emma 37: Lillian 36: Robert 35: Gavin
If you get the big story you get the most appearances. Kirsty (very) slowly discovering that her husband was a modern slaver gifted her and Philip first and third places. Lynda was in the wrong place when the kitchen at Grey Gables exploded in March so she's second and hubby Robert is ninth. Alice had hardly registered when lockdown started, but has since embarked on an alcoholic pregnancy storyline so she's fourth. And Tracy's gone from minor character to cricket captain with a finger in various pies so she's fifth.
29: Alistair, Chris, Susan 27: Jazzer, Roy 25: Ben, Ed 24: David, Ruth 23: Josh 22: Jim, Jolene 19: Elizabeth, Oliver
17: Fallon, Harrison, Johnny, Kenton, Shula 18: Eddie, Pip 16: Helen 15: Adam, Kate 14: Brian 12: Jakob, Rex 10: Tom
These are the middle-ranking characters who've kept the stories rolling, be that detectoristing, resolving historic child abuse or renaming the pub. But this lot still only appeared an average of once or twice a month, which just goes to show how successfully a serial drama can spin an entire village narrative out of very little.
9: Jill, Justin, Natasha 8: Jennifer, Lily, Phoebe, Neil 7: Roman, Tony, Vince 6: Lee 5: Joy, Peggy, Rúairi, Will
4: Blake, Ian 3: Clarrie, Debbie, Fiona, Leonie, Toby 2: Hannah 1: Henry, Russ, Alan, Bert 0: Pat, Leonard, Usha
These are the also-rans, some of whom feel like they cropped up far more often than they actually did. Others should have cropped up far more - 2020 deserved more than three Clarries and five Joys. Some will be a lot more prominent in 2021, especially (I suspect) abrasive abattoir owner Vince. And some mysteriously never appeared at all, most notably Pat who hasn't been heard since December 2019.
All of which allows me to compile this exclusive ranking of 2020 Ambridge by dynasty.
Kirsty, Philip and Gavin take the crown this year, by some margin, thanks to a much delayed wedding. David and Ruth's family have made regular non-inflammatory appearances which add up to second place. Brian and Jennifer haven't appeared that often but their children have, so they're third. Susan's ridiculous radio show helps propel the Carters to fourth, while the Snells just nudge past the Grundys into fifth place. The unexpected quiet spot has been Bridge Farm, because if Tony and Pat aren't in the show much neither are their offspring.
We're promised a "special announcement" and a "life-changing crisis" in tonight's platinum anniversary episode. My money's on Elizabeth and Vince for the former, and let's hope nobody runs into a burning barn or falls off a roof for the latter. Whatever, the everyday story of farming folk will continue to roll on (with an omnibus on Sundays) long after this pandemic has burnt itself out.
