Tilly and Molly Button Sisters of indeterminate age (Molly, the older of the two, was eight years old in the episode broadcast 12 April 2009, but had already turned ten by 01 April of the following year), who in recent times seem to have supplanted the Horrobins as the village malefactors. (Played by Stephen Kennedy.) Tom and his then girlfriend Kirsty faced criminal charges in 1999 for the destruction of a field of genetically modified crops on Brian Aldridge's land, but neither was convicted. Often discussed in male only company due to her 'physical attributes'. After her marriage to Alistair, Shula lost her lightheartedness and became rather dour, self-centred and even, at times, sanctimonious, as evidenced by her attitude to the marriage to Usha Gupta, a Hindu, of the vicar, to whom Shula had been 'right-hand woman' for the parish. Colonel Freddy Danby (Norman Shelley and Ballard Berkeley) lodged with Laura Archer at Ambridge Hall. [49] Mike was unsuccessful as a farmer, having gone bankrupt in 1985, and then ran a milk round in Ambridge. Will and Ed's rivalry culminated in a fight in which Will nearly killed Ed, and Will moved temporarily to another gamekeeping job in Gloucestershire. This is a list of many of the characters from the long-running British radio soap The Archers. Susan wanted him to be a white collar worker but he decided that he was a pigman at heart. Subsequently, she was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The character of Usha is said to be based on Kamlesh Bahl, former Vice President of the Law Society. His or her gender was not specified for some considerable time, but definitely referred to as 'he' by Oliver Sterling in the Xmas Eve episode. Brian Aldridge (born Brian Jeremy Aldridge, 20 November 1943) (Charles Collingwood), considered by some[who?] Subsequently Rob found himself becoming a pariah in the village, with Usha evicting him from the house he rented from her, Oliver banning him from the hunt, local shops refusing his custom and villagers openly expressing their distaste for him. Fallon's long-term relationship with and 2018 marriage to PC Harrison Burns provided stability and she is now a fixture in village life. Mark Charles Timothy Hebden (Richard Derrington), first husband of Shula Archer. Peggy has two daughters, Jennifer and Lillian, and a son, Tony, by her first husband. In May 2006, Ed vanished after Emma left the caravan and moved into her parents' home, saying it was for the sake of her baby's health. He was a major character for many years and used to introduce the omnibus edition on Sunday mornings. Phil Archer died on 12 February 2010. In contrast, the show gradually became popular and attracted many listeners as a significant source of entertainment in 1953, with nine million listeners. [22] The producers of The Archers maintain this was a very popular plot nationwide. Her practical side was the perfect grounding for her eccentric and slightly scatty husband, who died in a fall on 2 January 2011. She has been a silent character since 2022, when the actor retired at the age of 103. After bouncing between dead end jobs for years she convinced Oliver Sterling that she would be a breath of fresh air at Grey Gables, where worked with Lynda Snell as a receptionist before being made redundant when the hotel was shut down; she then worked at a chicken factory until she was fired, and now works at the Bull. Although she came to accept him after Helen made a drastic move and left her family home and moved in with Rob in February, she had questioned whether Rob had played a part in Helen quitting her long- running job at the Ambridge Organics store. [44]), Bert Fry (7 June 193625 October 2021) (Eric Allan, formerly played by Roger Hume), husband of Freda Fry (deceased, formerly a silent character), was employed for many years as a farmhand by (initially) Phil and later by David and Ruth until his retirement, after which he continued to undertake casual work. After finding that Kenton had had a one-night stand with a customer of his bar, she threw him out. She married a travelling businessman, Roger Travers-Macy, in the late 1960s and had a daughter, Debbie. In 2008 she and Crawford were briefly separated, and Lilian was an unwelcome guest at The Bull, but with the connivance of Sid and Jolene they were reunited. Oliver Sterling (Michael Cochrane) was married, between 2006 and her death in 2017, to Caroline. In February 2010 she suddenly disappeared from the series to stay with a grandmother in Sheffield. Affected by severe depression at the time of John's death, she discovered at the end of 2011 that he had fathered a child. Appears intermittently in the series and is usually up to no good.[15]. Known for many years as just 'Mrs Pugsley' until her marriage to Titcombe. She graduated from Felpersham University with a master's degree and worked as an aeronautical engineer before being fired over her drinking. Shane did the cooking at Nelson's wine bar in the 1980s. He never knew that he was finally to become a father. In 2018, Shula stunned Alistair when she told him their marriage was over. Questions were asked in the House of Commons of then Home Secretary Michael Howard. Her marriage to George lasted over 25 years and was happy, but latterly they experienced difficult times as their house burned down due to an arson attack by Clive Horrobin. She returned in 2010 for Phil Archer's funeral, and in 2014 after Ruth's miscarriage. Initially, Nigel was romantically linked with Shula (or "Shulie" as he called her), but in 1984 he became involved with Elizabeth Archer, finding her totally unlike Shula: she tricked him into helping her abscond from school in September 1984. She eventually moved to be closer to her work but in 2021 returned to Ambridge after giving up her job as a midwife. His tenure came to end in 1987 when helping David fell a tree using a chainsaw. Bert lived in "The Bungalow", which was originally built to house David and Ruth. With the additional help of family support and counselling Ed has made major steps towards recovery, demonstrated by his increased dedication to Oliver Sterling's dairy farm. Eddie's hopes of a career in music appear to have been permanently dashed. She lost her capital in a fraud perpetuated by associates of Matt Crawford. He is also Kirsty married local builder Phillip Moss, though their relationship was over once it was revealed that his business was viable only through modern slavery. In early 2006 Sid and Jolene were concerned that the decision of Caroline Pemberton to sell her controlling interest in The Bull would threaten its future but were relieved when Lilian bought her share. Shula and Mark's son Daniel was born after the death of his father as a result of IVF treatment after a long struggle with infertility. A single mother to Brad and Chelsea, she was a long running silent character before finding a voice. Peter Partner of Sean Myerson, who was the landlord of the Cat and Fiddle pub. She gave birth to her daughter Phoebe in a tipi at the Glastonbury Festival. Jack Woolley (19 July 1919 - 2 January 2014) (Arnold Peters, formerly played by Philip Garston-Jones) was a self-made man originally from Stirchley in Birmingham who owned the village shop. Much taken with studying feminism in the mid-1980s she came close to having an affair with her lecturer, Roger, just before Bridge Farm entered the process of becoming organic. The previous night, which happened to be the night that ITV, the UK's first commercial television channel was launched, she received fatal injuries while trying to rescue her horse, Midnight, from a fire. Many years later this caused a rift between Alistair and his by then business partner Anisha Patel. She had a brief fling with Chris Carter when supporting his wife Alice with her recovery from alcoholism. [21] After a year or so, he fell in love with Ian Craig, the chef at Grey Gables. Ruth survived breast cancer which struck in 2000, undergoing a mastectomy operation. Although David went along with this at first, he had doubts and confessed he could never leave Ambridge. The Grundys were minor characters until the early 1980s, when they were developed to be a working-class foil to the Archer family. The show was introduced to educate the farmers after the second world war. Sean Myerson (Gareth Armstrong) Landlord of the former pub The Cat and Fiddle. After initially repressing her grief Kirsty eventually agreed to take compassionate leave and grieved properly. On New Year's Day 2007, he was run over by Helen Archer,[7] but rescued by Robert Snell. Iftikar Shah (Pal Aron)[60] is a maths teacher, who runs cricket coaching sessions for Ambridge residents. He is gamekeeper for Borchester Land[citation needed]; his boss is Brian Aldridge. Whilst living as a vagrant, he had become addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine. In 2008 he was left 120,000 by a relative, and bought the Carters' former home from Matt Crawford, a property his friend Roy Tucker had been interested in. Fallon runs the Bridge farm caf with Emma Grundy and upcycles furniture as well as undertaking catering for local dos. The main characters in the story 1 Aldridges 2 Archers - Bridge Farm branch 3 Archers - Brookfield Farm branch 4 Carters 5 Franks 6 Grundys 7 Lloyds/Hebden Lloyds 8 Pargetters 9 Perks 10 Snells More items Now divorced, they are still good friends and probably closer than they had been in the last few years of their marriage. In 2005, Matt divorced his wife Yvette and moved in with his new partner Lilian Bellamy (ne Archer, daughter of Peggy Woolley). [40] Nigel developed a number of vague resemblances to Prince Charles. Freda Fry wife of Bert Fry. In early years her character was the hippie of the Archer family, her first child, Adam, being sensationally at the time the illegitimate result of a fling with a cowman, Paddy Redmond. He dislikes all Grundys but especially Ed, who, until his disappearance, lived in the caravan with Emma and George. He displayed vitriolic homophobia towards Sean Myerson, a professional rival, when the latter captained the village cricket team, and again when Adam Macy began a relationship with Ian Craig, the Grey Gables chef. In a standing joke, he is often described as excessively talkative (which is ironic, given his status as a silent character). [59] When Amy asked Carl about moving into together, he broke up with her. Lynda Snell MBE (born 29 May 1947) (Carole Boyd) lives at Ambridge Hall with her husband, Robert Snell. Sophie Barlow (Moir Leslie) a fashion designer who was once engaged to David and once involved much of Ambridge in her fashion shows. She is a keen gardener and was often involved in disputes with her neighbour, Joe Grundy (now deceased). This was in the context of Shula's devout Christianity and membership of the local Parish Council. [3] Helen had a baby boy, Henry Ian Archer, through AI, a decision of which Tony initially disapproved. After moving to The Laurels retirement home she was a silent character for several years before her death was finally mentioned on 13 August 2008. Thoughtful and provocative, Tregorran was such a popular and charismatic character that listeners at Archers public events still ask about him and about Carol Grey, whom he eventually married. In 2004-05 Lynda ran a campaign to renovate the former Cat & Fiddle pub, but despite the help of Griff Rhys Jones the scheme failed and the building was earmarked to become flats. Josh Archer, played by Angus Imrie,[11] made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 September 1997. Her death was discovered by Shula in 1980 when she and Christine were visiting Glebe Cottage. Phoebe Aldridge (Lucy Morris) was born 28 June 1998 in a tipi in the former Tipi Field at Glastonbury Festival, and lived with her father Roy Tucker and his wife Hayley until their relationship broke up in 2014. In 2019, she surprised her family by announcing that she had met a new man - Leonard Berry, a widower who she met while visiting the Laurels. After his sister Helen's trial and acquittal, Tom and Kirsty got back together for one evening and she later discovered that she was pregnant. After graduating in 2009 she was unable to gain permanent employment apart from a PR job in Leicester, necessitating a daily commute which frustrated Tom. That same July Helen Archer began an affair with him despite knowing he was married. Jill is an active member of the Women's Institute, opened up a holiday cottage business, and is teaching her grandson, Josh, how to keep bees. In April 2016, after the secret intervention of her friend, Kirsty Miller, Helen secretly met Jess, who revealed the true nature of her marriage with Rob, before stabbing Rob in a moment of clarity, after he placed a knife in her hand and goaded her to commit suicide, as he refused to let her and Henry leave the house. Elizabeth's mother-in-law Julia lived in the family pile until her demise in 2005. So two Larkin family members, Jethro and Bob, have met their end at the hands of members of the Archer family (see under Tom Forrest). [5] Jim later relocated, bought his own property in Ambridge and went into a business partnership with Kenton which was dissolved when Kenton moved to the Bull. Tom Archer (born Thomas Archer, 25 February 1981) (William Troughton; previously Tom Graham)[8] is the younger son of Tony and Pat. In 2010 she married Chris Carter (below), the farrier son of Neil and Susan. He disappeared to Australia and New Zealand for several years and was married (originally to gain a visa, though they subsequently fell in love), had a daughter (Meriel), and divorced before returning home. His weak bladder was a regular source of amusement to speaking characters. Walter continually tried to romance Mrs Perkins. Noted for always wearing a battered hat. Roy Tucker (born 2 February 1978) (Ian Pepperell) was formerly part of a teenage gang which perpetrated a series of racist attacks on Usha Gupta; he gave them her address. Will's existing rivalry with Ed became even more intense: to Clarrie's despair the brothers engaged in physical tussles and bitter arguments over Emma and George. Amy later learnt that Carl was married, and a rift developed between her and Usha after it emerged that Usha had already known this. The Frys did however take a holiday in India when he retired. After this information was brought to the attention of Rob's new boss, Justin Elliott, he was sacked. After years attempting to keep the family farm afloat, they were made bankrupt in 2000 - an opportunity for the mainly urban audience to witness the personal and family tragedy of farm sales and were forced to move to a sink estate in Borchester. Hayley took over the running of John's pig business after John's death, but eventually his brother Tom took an interest and she handed it back to the Archers. During their engagement Jess had a baby, which she claimed was Rob's until he consented to a DNA test, which proved otherwise, and they were soon divorced. Robert Snell (born 5 April 1943) (Dr Graham Blockey) was employed as a computer expert. After finally realising the degree to which Carl had abused her trust things seem to be improving at home. After learning that Natasha was expecting twins, they moved into April Cottage. Grace Archer (Monica Grey and Ysanne Churchman) was Phil Archer's first wife and the first major character to be killed off. Justin has already shown scant concern for Lillians relationship with her family (and her place in the community) by shafting David over the abattoir. While pregnant she finally started receiving treatment for alcoholism. [61] Has been living in France with her mother Michelle and sister Sonia but after family upheavals returned to England to seek out Helen Archer. Over recent years he has become increasingly caring, for example driving up to Northumberland to bring his widowed mother-in-law to stay, and renting a piece of land to Joe Grundy to allow him to keep the barn he had erected without planning permission. According toWiki-Fandom, Tony has worked as an acting and voice teacher at the University of New England and the University of Southern Queensland. Adam was adopted by Roger Travers-Macy, Jennifer's first husband. Will and Nic have a daughter Poppy. 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