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
Vent (radio series) in a hospital, plays in the background. A second series of 6 episodes began broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 on 25 September 2007. A third series describing Ben's return home, still clinging to his fantasy life, began broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 on 24 November 2009. While the flashbacks in the first series concern Ben and Mary's courtship, pursued somewhat reluctantly on Mary's part, the second series shows the slow process of recovery for Ben in parallel with their marriage, her pregnancy, and Ben's lapses of commitment. Ben's fantasy life revolves around him giving up total control of his fantasy