The Archers trial. Unlike television soaps, "The Archers" actors are not held on retainers and work on the series usually for a few days a month. By the nature of the storylines concentrating on particular groups of characters, in any one week out of a cast of about 60, the episodes include approximately 2030 speaking-characters. Most of the cast do acting work on other projects and can disappear for long periods if they are working on commitments such as films or television series. Tamsin Greig plays Debbie Aldridge and has appeared on many television series such as "Green Wing", "Love Soup", "Black
BBC Birmingham BBC Bristol and BBC Northern Ireland respectively. The original series of "Top Gear" was also produced by BBC Birmingham as was some content of the astronomy-based programme The Sky at Night, while the rest is produced in Selsey. BBC Birmingham output has steadily diminished over time as production has moved elsewhere with the closure of Pebble Mill and the development of other BBC sites. "Doctors" is currently produced at the BBC Drama Village in Selly Oak, and "The Archers" is produced for BBC Radio 4. "Father Brown", "WPC 56", and "The Coroner" are all BBC Birmingham productions for afternoon broadcast.