'The Archers' to celebrate 60 years

BBC Radio 4's The Archers will celebrate 60 years on air this weekend, making it the world's longest longest-running serial drama.

On Sunday, an anniversary episode of the programme will feature an allegedly shocking storyline created by Mary Cutler, who has been writing The Archers for more than 30 years. It is thought that the episode will "shake Ambridge to the core" and online speculation is already rampant amongst fans of the show.

Previous controversial storylines have included extra-marital affairs, fraud, gambling addiction and the death of some of Ambridge's most famous characters.

The idea for The Archers originally came from a Lincolnshire farmer named Henry Burtt, who in 1948 told the Ministry of Agriculture that the best way to communicate with smaller farms would be via a daily radio serial on the BBC.

Godfrey Basely, the BBC's then agricultural producer, seized on the idea and three years later the very first episode of The Archers was aired. The drama quickly gained an audience of around 4m listeners and is now followed by around 5m, along with big support online.

Hedli Niklaus, who plays the show's Kathy Perks character, told the Financial Times that The Archers remains successful after 60 years partially because of the nuances of radio drama.

"My theory is that you can listen while you're doing other things and fill in the picture in your head, investing characters with a personal autobiography, especially if they remind you of someone you know," said Niklaus.

"Radio is a compelling medium, it is more subtle than television and this can soften the blow of horrible events."