Celebrating 75 years of the Radio 4 soap opera

Angela Barnes is to host a new live tour celebrating the 75th anniversary of Radio 4’s The Archers.

The tour will feature cast members delivering live performances – including on-the-spot sound effects – as well as archive footage, Meanwhile the audience will be able to ask questions – and answer them in a trivia quiz aimed at true fans of the long-running soap. 

Barnes said: ‘I am not just an Archers superfan, I am obsessed with all things Ambridge. So to be asked to host The Archers: Live at 75 is like winning a prize at the Flower and Produce Show and being cast as the lead in a Lynda Snell production, all rolled into one. 

‘I can’t wait to hang out with all of my favourite characters and really immerse myself in Borsetshire life.’

Alison Hindell, drama and fiction commissione rat BBC Radio 4, added: ‘The Archers is one of the BBC’s most-loved programmes and we are tremendously proud of it as it reaches the  astonishing broadcasting milestone of its 75th year. 

‘We hope that The Archers live show will give fans even more of what they love, joining in the celebrations with an extra slice of Ambridge life.’

The live show is being produced by Fane, which promises ‘theatricality, nostalgia, comedy and behind-the-scenes insight’.

In a statement, the company’s directors James Albrecht and Serena Brett said: ‘Taking one of the BBC’s most precious and established brands, which has lived almost entirely in listeners’ imaginations, and working so closely with Angela, the editorial team, and the cast to make it leap out of the studio and onto the stage is a wonderfully fun creative challenge.’

The Archers first aired on January 1, 1951.

Tickets for the live show are available here from 10am tomorrow (Friday December 19)

Published: 18 Dec 2025