Phil Archer Phil Archer Philip Walter Archer is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera "The Archers", played by Norman Painting. He made his first appearance on 29 May 1950, the show's pilot episode. The character later became the longest serving male character in the series. His longevity gave him something of the status of a 'patriarch' in Ambridge. Norman Painting joined the cast as Phil Archer, the "handsome" son of Dan (Harry Oakes) and Doris Archer (Gwen Berryman), for the show's pilot episode broadcast on the BBC Midlands Home Service on 29 May 1950, he stayed on
The Bowmans be played by Hancock). The supporting cast includes Patrick Cargill as the producer, Peter Glaze as an animal impersonator and Brian Oulton as the actor portraying the patriarch of the Bowmans family. The plot may have been inspired by the death of the character Grace Archer in "The Archers" in September 1955. The Bowmans "The Bowmans" is an episode of the BBC television situation comedy programme "Hancock", the final BBC series featuring Tony Hancock, first broadcast on 2 June 1961. It was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The title is a retronym; the episodes were not originally identified