Ruth: Is it a love or hate relationship?
There were people in the audience at the Rye Arts Festival event on Friday November 25 at the Community Centre who certainly held opposing views on Ruth from The Archers. One said: “I really dislike her a lot,” and another said she thought she was “brilliant”. Ruth is a strong-willed and very determined person. Having breast cancer mellowed her a bit and she is now more willing to step back and look at both sides of an argument and negotiate. Life with Ruth is certainly entertaining and at times challenging.
Felicity Finch, who plays Ruth and has done so since 1987, was in conversation with Jeremy Howe, editor of BBC Radio 4’s The Archers.
Before the event we had a pre-show chat and some interesting facts were revealed. On Jeremy’s office wall he has a laminated copy of episode one of The Archers which was recorded in 1950 and went out the following year and it is interesting that it is exactly the same format as the front cover of the scripts that they record today.
One of the characters in episode one is Peggy, played by June Spencer, who retired from the show earlier this year. She had been in the show for 72 years. She retired aged 103 and Jill Archer in real life is over 90. There are a lot of people who have been in the programme for a long time.
What makes the actors stay so long?
Jeremy answers: “Two things really: I think it is like a family and it’s a very warm and welcoming company. But also, they are great parts, they are great characters. I think that is what makes The Archers work, we have brilliant characters. As an actor if you are given a really good part, you want to keep it.”
Felicity added: “The great thing about ‘The Archers’ as an actor is that it only records a few days a month. It’s a fantastic job for an actor to have. There is nothing else like it and it allows actors the freedom to do other things.”
Do you ever feel that you are Ruth or she is you?
“There are certain characteristics that we share. Some are more exaggerated in Ruth but as an actor you are always using parts of yourself and extending them into the character. I would say about Ruth that she is not the same as me, but she is an extension of one part of me.”
Jeremy continued: “The interesting thing about working on The Archers is the total commitment of the various writers. One of them who sadly died a few weeks ago had been writing for twenty-five years and had written hundreds upon hundreds of episodes. The Archers was part of his DNA. He understood Ambridge and empathised with the characters as if they were his next-door neighbours. He knew it incredibly well. It is a holy trinity of how you develop story and how you then develop scripts and how the show sounds. It is a holy trinity of me, as one of the team, working out what the story is, giving it to the writers, and then you give it to the Felicitys of this world and they simply transform it.”
Felicity added: “Sometimes when a new character comes in, the writers see something in how the actor is portraying their role and it will spark a new tangent to the story.”
The production of The Archers is very, very fast. When the actors hit the studio they have to be ready to go. The first thing is a read-through then the recording begins. In the early days the actors had to record an episode from beginning to end without any re-runs so there was no space for fluffs. Now if there is a fluff there can be a re-recording of that scene. As an actor you have to know exactly how you are going to approach the scene you are recording and at the same time you need to be open to how the other actors are reacting to what is going on.
At the end of the show Ruth read part of a letter that Peggy had written to all the cast when she left. It was found by the actors in their script. Ruth said it was so moving as she had been such a wonderful part of the Archer family and would be sorely missed.
“In 1950 I helped to plant an acorn. It took root, and in January 1951 when it was planted out, it was called The Archers. Over the years, it has thrived and become a splendid great tree with many branches. But now, this old branch, known as Peggy, has become weak and unsafe, so I decided it was high time that I bowed out, so I have duly lopped her. I shall keep listening, so watch it all you young twigs, no gabbling please, I want to hear every word you say.”
The audience was enthusiastic: every minute of the interview had been enjoyed. Amongst those listening was Suzi Falber-Crick, who had her own recollections of the show:
“My Uncle Monte was the second of the four actors who played Dan Archer, from 1960-1969. During this time he met, and fell in love with, the actress Anne Cullen. Auntie Anne played Carol Grey, latterly Carol Tregorran. Eleanor Bron is currently playing that part and it is heartening to hear Auntie Anne (in her persona as Carol Tregorran) voiced. Uncle Monte is also often mentioned as Dan Archer is still the ‘grand old man’ of the Archers of Ambridge.
“I started listening to The Archers omnibus on Sunday mornings as a ten-year old, so very proud that my Uncle was Dan Archer. I am now the same age as the drama and still an avid listener.”
Great write-up of a lovely entertaining evening, Kt Bruce! Thank you!