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
The Archers has been broadcasting the Archers-inspired soap opera "Urunana" ("Hand in Hand") since 1999. "The Archers" was also the model for the Russian radio soap opera "Dom 7, Podyezd 4" ("House 7, Entrance 4"), on which the former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, once made a cameo appearance. The Japanese NHK, offers a "morning drama" ("asadora") that runs for 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday on television. This slot was established on radio in the early postwar era and moved to television in 1961. Each series lasts six months, i. e. approximately 150 episodes. All centre on a heroine, usually a