Overview
- Radio 4 is marking the anniversary with a reimagined performance of the 1951 opening scene, featuring Timothy Bentinck, Felicity Finch, Daisy Badger, Ben Norris and Wilf Scolding in the original Archer family roles.
- A 45-minute New Year’s Day drama airs at 7:15pm with guest Claire Skinner, exploring the fallout from a New Year’s Eve attack in Ambridge.
- The Archers Podcast is broadcast on Radio 4 for the first time at 8pm, presented by Emma Freud to take listeners deeper into the story world.
- BBC Sounds extends access to The Archers so each episode will remain available for five years after broadcast, up from the previous 30-day window.
- Radio 4 adds themed editions of programmes including Woman’s Hour and This Week in History, and BBC Archives has begun digitising 2,500 episodes from 1959–1969 as the serial surpasses 20,000 broadcasts.