The Archers

The Archers

The Archers logo used on the BBC website
Genre	Soap opera
Running time	12 minutes (formerly 15 minutes)
Country	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Home station	BBC Light Programme later BBC Home Service now BBC Radio 4
Created by	Godfrey Baseley
Edited by	Huw Kennair-Jones
Produced by	Julie Beckett
Recording studio	BBC Birmingham
Air dates	29 May to 2 June 1950 (Pilot) 1 January 1951 – present
No. of episodes	18,199 (as of 24 January 2017) Six per week, plus 75 mins. omnibus
Audio format	Stereophonic sound
Opening theme	Barwick Green
Website	Archers homepage
Podcast	The Archers podcast

The Archers is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The British production, which has had more than 18,150 episodes, is broadcast on Radio 4, the BBC's main spoken-word channel. Originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", it is now described as "contemporary drama in a rural setting".

Five pilot episodes were aired in 1950 and the first episode was broadcast nationally on 1 January 1951. A significant show in British popular culture, and with over five million listeners, it is Radio 4's most listened-to non-news programme, With over one million listeners via the internet, the programme holds the record for BBC Radioonline listening figures.

Originally established to educate farmers and thus increase food production after World War II, The Archers rapidly became a major source of entertainment for urban as well as rural audiences, attracting nine million listeners by 1953.

The Archers is set in the fictional village of Ambridge in the fictional county of Borsetshire, in the English Midlands. Borsetshire is situated between, in reality, the contiguous counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, south of Birmingham in the West Midlands. Various villages claim to be the inspiration for Ambridge: Ambridge's public house, The Bull, is modelled on The Old Bull in Inkberrow, whereas Hanbury's St Mary the Virgin is often used as a stand-in for Ambridge's parish church, St Stephen's.

Other fictional villages include Penny Hassett, Loxley Barrett, Darrington, Hollerton, Edgeley, Waterley Cross and Lakey Green. The county town of Borsetshire is Borchester, and the nearest big city is the cathedral city of Felpersham. Felpersham also has a university. Anywhere further from Ambridge may be referred to humorously with comments such as 'that's on the other side of Felpersham!', but characters do occasionally venture further: several attended the Countryside Alliance march in London, there have been references to the gay scene in Manchester's Canal Street, and a number of scenes have taken place abroad or in other places around the country, with some characters resident overseas in South Africa and Hungary, and other characters have visited Norfolk. Birmingham is a favourite destination for shopping.