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 "The Young Doctors" (from 1982), "Sons and Daughters" (from 1983), "A Country Practice" (from 1982), "Richmond Hill" (from 1988 to 1989) and eventually, "Neighbours" was acquired by the BBC in 1986, and "Home and Away" aired on ITV beginning in 1989. These achieved significant levels of popularity; "Neighbours" and "Home and Away" were moved to early-evening slots, helping begin the UK soap opera boom in the late 1980s. The day Channel 4 began operations in 1982 it launched its own soap, the Liverpool-based "Brookside", which would redefine soaps over the next decade. The focus of "Brookside" was different from earlier