The Archers listening figures. Partly established with the aim towards educating farmers following World War II, "The Archers" soon became a popular source of entertainment for the population at large, attracting nine million listeners by 1953. "The Archers" is set in the fictional village of Ambridge in the fictional county of Borsetshire, in England. Borsetshire is situated between, in reality, the contiguous counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, south of Birmingham in The Midlands. Possibly based on the village of Cutnall Green, various other villages claim to be the inspiration for Ambridge; "The Bull", Ambridge's pub, is modelled on The Old Bull in
Soap opera creation of somewhat similar suburban and family or teen-oriented soap operas such as "Home and Away" (1988–present) on Channel Seven and "Richmond Hill" (1988) on Channel Ten. Both proved popular, however "Richmond Hill" emerged as only a moderate success and was cancelled after one year to be replaced on Ten by "E Street" (1989–1993). Nine continued trying to establish a successful new soap opera, without success. After the failure of family drama "Family and Friends" in 1990, it launched the raunchier and more extreme "Chances" in 1991, which resurrected the sex and melodrama of "Number 96" and "The Box" in