The Archers at 75
As the BBC radio soap marks three-quarters of a century on air, long-serving cast member Carole Boyd – better known as Lynda Snell – reveals the secrets of the show’s success.
As the BBC radio soap marks three-quarters of a century on air, long-serving cast member Carole Boyd – better known as Lynda Snell – reveals the secrets of the show’s success.
On 1 January 1951 the first episode of a new daily serial radio show named The Archers was broadcast.
Seventy-five years later and with more than 20,000 episodes under its belt, it has become the world’s longest-running radio drama, continuing to delight an estimated five million listeners each week.
Following the ups and downs of the rural community in the fictional village of Ambridge, the show was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme. It moved to its current home on Radio 4 in 1967 when the Light Programme was replaced by Radio 2.
One of the reasons behind the show’s success is the familiar characters who remain on the air for decades. Among these is Lynda Snell, brilliantly played by Carole Boyd, who will be celebrating her own 40th anniversary on the drama this year.
"Actually I’m quite a newbie and, at 83, quite a spring chicken compared to some others," points out Carole.
"June Spencer, who played Peggy Woolley for more than 70 years, didn’t retire until the age of 103 in 2022. And Patricia Greene, who plays Jill Archer, is 94 and has been on the show since 1957. She’s the longest-serving actress in any soap opera and is brilliant. She lives in a very nice nursing home near Chichester and has a chauffeur to bring her to the studio for recordings."
Still, in the fickle world of acting, Carole’s 40 years in a single role are a huge achievement and she thinks that her character Lynda remains central to the series because she’s the one who listeners love to hate.
Recalling her audition in the mid-1980s, Carole says she took the decision to put on a middle-class, superior voice and be as bossy and irritating as possible as Lynda rather than playing the doting wife of computer whizz Robert Snell that the script seemed to call for.
"In 1986, everyone was getting hooked on the American soaps, Dallas and Dynasty, and I thought about it and realised it was because they each had a villain – a dastardly character the audience loathed,’ she says.
"But in Ambridge there wasn’t anyone like that and I felt it was time to create one. I dragged out the best villainess I had in me – with the most tooth-grindingly awful voice – and that’s how Lynda came to life."
Despite the casting director initially commenting, "You’ve made her so unpleasant", there was an understanding that Carole (who I’m surprised to discover sounds nothing like Lynda in real life) was on to something and her place in The Archers cast was secured.
But as any true Archers fan will confirm, if Lynda Snell was a mere one-dimensional baddie, we would have tired of her long ago. Fortunately, brilliant scripts and hidden depths ensure we keep returning for more.&
Indeed, Carole’s two favourite storylines both attest to the many layers and softer centre that Lynda strives to keep hidden. The first was in 2015 when, during terrible floods, Lynda’s dog, Scruff, vanished and was presumed dead.
"It was Christmas Eve and Lynda was entertaining Robert’s two daughters from his first marriage and was having a conversation about whether she would have liked to have had her own children," says Carole.
"She’d always seemed to be able to cope with that, but her metal jacket starts to crumble. And then she hears a noise outside, opens the door and there’s Scruffy, back from the dead! That moment was so precious to me and so emotional for the audience."
Even more emotional was the 2020 storyline about a fire at Grey Gables, which left Lynda with severe injuries.
"That was an amazing series of episodes because the writers allowed Lynda to become vulnerable and for the first time to look at herself and realise both how horrible she had been and what kind, generous people surrounded her."
Carole reveals that during that storyline, she’d just had a mastectomy and was still recovering from surgery at the time of the recordings.
"I played all those scenes of Lynda’s recovery and losing her voice due to smoke damage as I was recovering in real life and I think it contributed to the performance," she says.
"There’s an expression actors have about 'Doctor Theatre' and how playing a role takes your focus and gets you through bad times, and I think that was the case for me."
Similarly, being in The Archers helped Carole through years of nursing her husband Patrick, before finally losing him two years ago.
"I looked after my husband for 20 years at home," Carole says.
"He had a massive stroke but we wanted to stay together and we didn't ;want him in a home, so that’s what we did. For me, it was pretty much 24/7 because, although I had help when I was working, I cared for him when I was there. I was very lucky, he didn’t lose his speech, and he was the same person – he was still my Patrick. He died two years ago on Midsummer’s Day aged 95 and we were still able to speak right up to the day before."
Doing work that she loves and being surrounded by supportive colleagues has been an antidote to her grief.
"The camaraderie between the cast and crew is brilliant," Carole says.
"We’ll often go for drinks and nibbles in the evenings after we record at The Mailbox, the BBC’s radio drama studio in Birmingham."
Each month there’s an eight-day block of Archers recordings at the studios, with bookings and scripts landing with the actors about a fortnight before. Every day at least three or four episodes are rehearsed and then captured – though not necessarily in the order that listeners hear them.
"I always make sure to listen to the Sunday omnibus edition to hear how the finished show sounds," says Carole.
Since Lynda was given an MBE to mark the 70th anniversary, perhaps a CBE or damehood is on the cards now?
"Oh, that would be wonderful," laughs Carole.
"Lynda does regard herself very highly, so a campaign for her to be made a dame would be a great!"
One thing is sure: in an ever-changing world, the future of Ambridge is secure.
"A fan once said to me, 'As long as there’s The Archers, all is right with the world'," says Carole.
"I think that’s the real secret of its longevity – it’s a comfort blanket on the radio."
The Archers is marking its 75th anniversary with a live tour of the UK from July until November 2026.
Hosted by comedian and superfan Angela Barnes and set at the beloved Ambridge Flower & Produce Show, this event brings your favourite cast into the spotlight with live performances, on-the-spot sound effects and unforgettable moments from the BBC archives.
Your chance to win a 14-day tour around the Rockies and Vancouver for two, worth more than £8,800.
T&C’s apply.
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