Phil Archer when the show began airing nationally on 1 January 1951. During his time with "The Archers", Painting wrote a best-selling book entitled "Forever Ambridge" and wrote over a thousand scripts for the show between 1966 and 1982. Painting was later inducted into the Guinness World Records for being the longest-serving actor, without a break, in a single soap opera. In later years, Painting's appearances on the show became limited due to his ill health. On 29 October 2009, two days after he had gone to the recording studio, Painting died. BBC Radio 4 controller, Mark Damazer, said "Norman Painting was
Ruth Archer alongside him at Brookfield in 1987." On 18 November 2005, Finch and six of her co-stars appeared as their respective characters on the BBC's "Children in Need" broadcast, alongside presenter Terry Wogan. Ruth joined her husband, David, and friend, Lynda Snell (Carole Boyd), in one of three scenes written especially for the show. Ruth's renowned way of saying "ooooh nooooh" has been frequently parodied on the comedy programme "Dead Ringers". Bibliography Ruth Archer Ruth Archer (also Pritchard) is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera "The Archers", played by English actress Felicity Finch. She made her