Underneath The Archers: Nature’s secret agent on Britain’s longest-running drama

by Graham Harvey

'As hilarious, charming, eccentric, informative, addictive and delightful as the show itself' STEPHEN FRY

Much-loved radio drama The Archers has been at the heart of British life for over seventy years, and the momentous events and changes of this time have all found a place in Ambridge. For more than three decades, scriptwriter Graham Harvey was the man behind the show’s farming storylines, writing over 600 episodes and crafting some of its most memorable the Great Flood, the trashing of Brian’s GM crop, the loss of the Grundy family farm.

In this book Graham interweaves personal memories of these moments with extracts from the scripts he created, offering behind-the-scenes details of how key characters and plotlines were developed, keeping pace with the real changes taking place in village and farm life. He also explores the part the show played in setting Britain on its disastrous transition from small-scale, sustainable farming to industrial agriculture. Could it now help guide the nation back to the nature-friendly, planet-saving methods we so desperately need?

Underneath The Archers relates a personal drama, how Graham uncovered his father’s dark, wartime secret, the trauma which was to blight their family life. The insecurities of his youth gave Graham a deep attachment to the fictional community he was creating. The reassurance he found was in a love for its land, its soil, its farming culture – a love that found its perfect expression in the world of Ambridge and its inhabitants.

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2023

Reviews

[Claire Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good behind the scenes look at the Archers, and especially interested to find out more about the farming backbone of the series, and how its shaped and shaping the way we have farmed over the last 60 years. Plus there is a bit of personal story which is good for Graham and also insightful into attitudes of the leadership of the armed forces during the war. On the whole a very good read, and I just wish I’d read it before I met him at the book festival…..

[Catherine Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

His account of the Archers, and of the English countryside is amusing, entertaining and enjoyable but I could have done without his personal problems like his failed marriage and his father's trauma, as it took away from the lightheartedness of the Archer anecdotes.

[Roger Morgan-Grenville · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book on many levels. At once a witness statement from a man who really knows what is happening to our farmland, a family memoir and a dive into the world's longest running soap opera.

[Rich Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read. Graham captures the parallels between farming on the ground and the radio show he wrote for.