January 1986 Marxism Today 37

ANIMALS VEGETABLES AND MENIALS The Archers' Story of the Everyday

Suddenly The Archers have become Brian Hipkin fashionable. The world's longest running serial is displaying all the signs of healthy media 'hype'. The latest in a number of programme. Characters in The Archers books about them has reached the best­ seem somehow to be deeply ingrained in seller lists, and The Archers play has mer­ our collective folk memory, they inhabit ited serious critical reviews. Why the sud­ that twilight world where you are never den interest in a programme that was really sure whether they do exist or not. nearly axed five years ago? After all, the older generation of Ambridge One reason is undoubtedly the way in have been inside our radios for longer than which the producer of recent years, the those who now make up the bulk of The publicity conscious William Smethurst, Archers' new audience have been alive. has 'frothed up' the programme into the In 1980, following classic soap opera soap sty le of a Dallas or Dynasty. Secondly, theory that one should take the knife to a there seems to be an amalgam of 'young leading character in order to boost falling fogeyish' nostalgia and radical chic about ratings, Doris Archer was allowed to 'die admitting that one actually listens to the peacefully at home'. An inspired set of 38 January 1986 Marxism Today

press leakages just prior to the broadcast­ Listeners to The Archers are a very has his own fan club. Thanks to the ing of the 'death scene' helped to bring a conservative lot, they hate change, so brilliant acting of first Heather Bell and turnaround in the fortunes of Ambridge. when nice, married millionaire Brian now Fiona Mathieson, Clarrie Grundy has This was the first of many publicity coups Aldridge had an affair with 'respectable' become perhaps the only one of these that Srnethurst managed to pull off, these Caroline Bone, years of carefully con­ newer characters to achieve any real depth were literally crowned by the arrival in structed personalities were thrown out of of character. Joe Grundy, on the other Ambridge in 1985 of Princess Margaret the window to howls of protest in the letter hand, is being increasingly used by the appearing as herself. columns of the Radio Times. For some scriptwriters as a way of introducing Unlike tv soaps, great attention was paid time scriptwriters at their monthly story- 'issues' into the storyline. In recent to the style and quality of scripts, 'serious' lining meeting had wanted to introduce an months, Joe has been had up in court for writers such as Susan Hill were added to affair in The Archers and, as Helen trying to fiddle EEC grants and has be­ the script-writing team. It was Susan Hill Leadbeater admits, perhaps their enthu­ come a 'born again' Christian. His sudden who quite deliberately set out to make the siasm to speed up the process did do changes of mind have proved a triumph of character of Pat Archer a conscious femin­ damage to previous storylines and charac­ editorial convenience over reality. ist and a member of CND. Helen Leadbea- ter traits. However the introduction of this Perhaps it is the characterisations of ter, the longest-serving member of the feature of contemporary 'soaps', the affair Nigel and Sophie that are closer to both the current writing team, finds Pat 'more that only those involved and 2m listeners hearts and tastes of the newly-found listen­ North London than Ambridge' and hence knew about, did help to keep newly-won ers to The Archers. They are written and a lot easier for an urban-based scriptwriter listeners hooked to the storyline. It also played strictly for laughs, matching Amer­ to write for. ended years of seeming celibacy in ican soaps for thinness of character and Although Smethurst has tried to put the Ambridge where immaculate conceptions depth of stereotyping. Nigel was invisible 'straw in the hair' image of the programme on Lakey Hill were the order of the day for for his first three years in Ambridge until, firmly into the background, it would be a almost 35 years. at one script conference, it was suggested mistake to believe that The Archers simply Many characters that were at the centre that he would be an interesting character to used to be a dramatised piece of propagan­ of attention in Ambridge during the 60s bring to life. Rumour has it that just as he da from the Ministry of Agriculture. A and 70s seem to have 'just popped out for a is making his mark on the Ambridge glance through the pages of the history of while' and never been heard of since. This scene, he will soon be off to pastures new to Ambridge reveals murder, plane crashes, is largely because the new younger genera­ be replaced by fellow 'hooray henry', Tim mail van robberies, illegitimate children, tion of writers have found it difficult to Becham. At a similar meeting at the BBC's sudden death and broken hearts. All of write for the older inhabitants of The Pebble Mill studios Sophie Barlow was which were put over in a style owing more Archers, many of whom are now in their born. Her character is of someone so to Mrs Dale's Diary than to Eastenders. late 80s. So in recent years attention has brainless that they could never look after Until the late 70s Ambridge was a shifted away from both the older genera­ themselves in the real world. Her arrival as strange place where nothing had a price or tion of Archers and the physical confines of the girlfriend of David Archer was in part individual an age, physical characteristic, Brookfield Farm and on to the younger because the writers found it generally or financial status. Everyone seemed to Archers and to characters whose stereo­ easier to write about relationships than pay for their pints in The Bull with exactly typical form allows more scope for social about issues. the right money. As Helen Leadbeater comedy. The best examples of these are: The presence of Nigel and Sophie does explains this was mainly due to the fact the Grundy family, Ambridge's own 'up­ not jar with the longstanding Archers' that the scriptwriters in those days were per class twit' Nigel Pargetter and the tradition of class imagery. Over the years, almost exclusively men who had little idea latest creation of the new-look Archers - the writers have been on home territory how much things cost in the shops. Sophie Barlow. These characters neatly with the middle and upper classes and have All this has changed in recent years. show not only the shifts in Archers' style had to clutch at popular stereotypes when Smethurst has gathered around him a but in the way it deals with images of class. dealing with the working class. small team of talented young women wri­ Eddie, Joe and Clarrie Grundy were for As Ambridge enters the late 80s what ters, who are able to introduce some many years just vague names mentioned in have we to look forward to? Will Mark typical prices so that some small elements passing. For 17 years Clarrie was Jethro Hebden become an SDP councillor and of financial reality now seep into Ambridge Larkin's invisible daughter and the Grun- break the hegemony of the Conservatives life. But major issues of both farming and dys were a village byword for bad farmers as the automatic choice of the new Archer national politics are still markedly absent. whose relationship to the law was some­ generation? Will the character of Hazel This arises from a number of factors not what dubious. They were something that Wolley, who has been so closely modelled least of which are that the writers know Smethurst believes every soap needs - a set on Joan Collins in Dynasty that one can little of farming politics. Similarly the of 'baddies'. It is to the Grundys that some almost hear the shoulder pads, be brought three month lag between writing and of the best elements of the new Archers' out again to expose an unknown element of broadcasting would defeat even the most style of social comedy have been given. the past of an important member of the diehard historical materialist to see into the The characterisation of Eddie by Trevor Ambridge community? Or will Shane the political future. However some major Harrison has been skilfully helped to 'cros­ silent, shadowy and possibly gay barman trends in agriculture are now being woven sover' into the world outside of the radio in Nelson Gabriel's winebar suddenly into the storyline: at least one farmer in set. Eddie Grundy records have been re­ come to the fore to provide the swelling Ambridge will be financially forced out of leased, he has been interviewed in charac­ numbers of Archers fans with a real taste of farming in 1986. ter on serious BBC news programmes and soap?