The Archers Ysanne Churchman, who played Grace, sent them a congratulatory card signed "Grace Archer". In 1996, William Smethurst recounted a conversation with Baseley in which he reveals his real motivation for killing off Grace Archer: Churchman was encouraging the other actors to join a trade union. The actor Norman Painting played Phil Archer continuously from the first trial series in 1950 until his death on 29 October 2009. His last "Archers" performance was recorded just two days before his death, and was broadcast on 22 November. He is cited in "Guinness World Records" as the longest-serving actor in a single soap
In the Red (radio series) In the Red (radio series) In the Red is the first in a sequence of four black comedy-crime drama series created for BBC Radio 4 by Mark Tavener featuring Michael Williams as BBC Reporter George Cragge and Barry Foster as Police Superintendent Frank Jefferson. The first seven-part series (BBC Radio 4, 1995), was adapted by Tavener and comedy-writer Peter Baynham from Tavener's novel of the same name (Hutchinson, 1989), which had been inspired by the writer's early experiences working for the BBC and the Liberal Party. The subsequent series, "In the Balance" (BBC Radio 4, 1997), "In the Chair" (BBC