Ambridge Extra reported that the show was "highly unlikely" to return. The commissioning editor for Radio 4 Extra stated "Our "Ambridge Extra" decision won't impact on "The Archers" in any way, but across the BBC we are having to make tough financial choices and prioritise and protect the services and content that deliver the most value to audiences." Listener response to the early episodes were largely negative. Vicki Power from "The Daily Telegraph" suggested that the series showed potential, but needed to include storylines that the main show could "not afford to ignore", suggesting that the current format felt like listening to
White (BBC series) changing' in many different languages. In an interview the BBC 2 controller Roly Keating responded: "I absolutely refute that it is at all racist. It's clearly arresting. It denotes to audiences that they will find certain elements of this season challenging. Part of the point of the BBC is to stimulate public debate." The series also gained criticism for the portrayal it gave to white working class Britons. Sarah Mukherjee, an environment correspondent at the BBC, argued that the series reinforced stereotypes that the white working class were violent, racist and lived on benefits. The BBC’s commissioning editor, Richard Klein,