Norman Painting Norman Painting Norman George Painting (23 April 1924 – 29 October 2009) was an English actor, broadcaster and writer. He played Phil Archer in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera "The Archers" from the pilot episodes aired on the BBC Midlands Home Service in summer 1950, after the series went national on the Light Programme on 1 January 1951, until his death in 2009, when he was the longest-serving member of the cast. His last episode, recorded two days before he died, was broadcast on 22 November 2009. The character lived on until Phil was "found dead" in his armchair
Paul Mayhew-Archer Paul Mayhew-Archer Paul Mayhew-Archer (born 6 January 1953) is a British writer, producer and script editor for the BBC. Before becoming a script writer for the BBC, Mayhew-Archer worked in radio as a producer of comedy programmes including "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue", and before that as an English teacher. His most notable works are "The Vicar of Dibley" (main co-writer with Richard Curtis, the series' creator) and "My Hero" (main co-writer with creator Paul Mendelson), although he has also script-edited "Old Harry's Game" (which he also produces), "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps", "Grownups", "Home