The Archers opera. Under the pseudonym "Bruno Milna", Painting also wrote around 1,200 complete episodes, which culminated in the 10,000th episode. June Spencer has played Peggy Archer/Woolley from the pilot episode onwards, though not for all of the period since. According to "Who's Who in The Archers 2008", episode 15,360 was to be broadcast on 1 January 2008. Episode 15,000 was broadcast on 7 November 2006. The Archers reached its 60th anniversary on 1 January 2011 and to mark this achievement, a special half-hour episode was broadcast on Sunday, 2 January, on BBC Radio 4 from 7pm. The episode had been advertised
The Archers The Archers The Archers, having aired over 18,700 episodes, is the world's longest-running radio serial. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4the BBC's main spoken-word channelthis soap opera was initially billed, "an everyday story of country folk" and now, "a contemporary drama in a rural setting". Five pilot episodes were aired in 1950 and the first episode was broadcast nationally on 1 January 1951. A significant show in British popular culture, and with over five million listeners, it is Radio 4's most listened-to non-news programme, With over one million listeners via the internet, the programme holds the record for BBC Radio online