This year June Spencer marks an amazing 70 years of acting in radio drama.  She first appeared on radio in 1943 and has become known to millions of radio listeners as Peggy Archer, first playing the matriarch of the Ambridge clan in the pilot episodes of The Archers in 1950.  June is the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Audio Drama Award, presented by Director-General Tony Hall. In her speech June graciously remembered her many colleagues past and present, including Arnold Peters who played her late husband Jack Woolley.

As Head of Audio Drama for the BBC, the awards occupy a corner of my brain all year round, a corner which gets bigger the closer we get to January and then becomes all-consuming. This year I managed to persuade Lenny Henry to be our Master of Ceremonies. Lenny has a long history with the BBC, and more recently with radio drama as writer of the dramas Corrinne Come Back and Gone and Miss You Still. I spend much of January inviting supporters and contributors to be award-givers: most of them are delighted to be asked but they’re also very busy people so I’m delighted when they say yes. This year, they included Fiona Shaw and Stephen Tompkinson (each of whom also judged a category), writers Howard Brenton and Mark Ravenhill and actors Philip Glenister, Alison Steadman and Jessica Raine.

You can read a full list of winners, see photos and hear clips from the ceremony here.

You can also hear a selection of nominees and winners on Radio 4 over the coming weeks:

• Billions (winner of Best Audio Drama – Single) will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 11th February 2014 at 2.15pm.

• The Sleeper (nominated for Best Audio Drama – Single) will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 8th February 2014 at 2.30pm.

• The Gestapo Minutes (nominated for Best Audio Drama – Single) will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 12th February 2014 at 2.15pm.

• Sketchorama: Absolutely Special (winner of Best Scripted Comedy with an Audience) will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 10th February 2014 at 11pm.

Listen to June Spencer interviewed on Woman's Hour after receiving the award

Read more about June's award at The Archers blog

In anticipation of Vanessa Whitburn’s retirement after nearly 22 years as Archers editor, we asked her to select some of the storylines of which she is proudest.

Elizabeth and Cameron

This was the first big story under Vanessa’s editorship. They are getting on well in this clip. But Cameron Fraser was soon to prove a fraudster and abandon his pregnant girlfriend. Elizabeth felt she had no option but to have an abortion.

Save the Ambridge One

Having been forced to assist her brother Clive who was on the run, Susan Carter is arrested and imprisoned for seeking to pervert the course of justice. Vanessa says: ‘This caused a national outcry, campaign and debate, with excellent ripples into real life. The Archers at its best.’

Racism in the countryside 

During Usha’s first few years in Ambridge, she was subjected to a campaign of intimidation by a gang of thugs. Young and impressionable Roy Tucker was one of them, although this attack (in which he did not take part) made him realise his mistake.

John’s death

Movingly acted by Colin Skipp. John’s death still resonates across this family to this day.

Tom trashes Brian’s GM crop

Vanessa says: ‘A controversial subject for us to tackle but one at the heart of the countryside. In the end Tom was found not guilty, using the same defence later used in real life by Lord Melchett'. This episode set in the jury room is, we believe, the only one to feature no regular Archers characters.

The Grundys evicted

A poignant  story which went on for many months and showed the real economic struggle for our much-loved tenant farmers.

Brian and Siobhan

As with all these stories, we could have picked many crucial scenes. In this one, we borrowed from Shakespeare. Brian’s handkerchief proves to Debbie that her father is an adulterer.

Fortress Brookfield

Vanessa says: ‘I was very proud of the Archers team during the terrible Foot and Mouth epidemic which unfolded over several months in 2001 and devastated farmers and the countryside in the UK. For many months we had to operate almost like a newsroom, changing our story to respond to fast-moving real life events. Eventually we decided to tell the story of how Brookfield responded to the threat of the disease.

Who’s the daddy?

...as the press dubbed this popular story. Will marries Emma but she is really in love with brother Ed. She gives birth to Will’s son but thinks it is Ed’s. A blood test reveals the truth but by then a rivalry has developed between the two brothers which could last a lifetime.

Jack’s  decline

We received many awards and accolades for this story, as we charted the progress of this heart-breaking illness over several years.

Lilian and Paul

And we come right up to date with this story. What seemed like a simple fling has become a nightmare for Lilian, as Paul turns out not to be the uncomplicated, kindly man he initially appeared.

Marmalade Wars

Vanessa chose a selection of the biggest stories which have been  threaded through the programme over, in most cases, a large span of time. They tend to have a big impact on the community and are life-changing for the characters. But she also has a particular affection for the story in which we portrayed the gentle rivalry between Jill Archer and Ruth’s mum Heather Pritchard.

As Vanessa says, that was also The Archers at its best, but in a completely different way.

We wish her the best in her retirement.

Keri Davies is an Archers scriptwriter and web producer.

• Read the full Marmalade Wars story
• Discover more about major Archers characters with our Who's Who
• Stephen Fry's introduction to The Archers

Editor's note: it's a new Archers drama. It's going to be on Radio 4 Extra twice a week and you'll be able to download it as a free podcast. More information from scriptwriter Keri Davies on The Archers blog - SB.

People who follow me on Twitter will be aware that I've been very busy recently but I haven't been able to say why.

Now at last I can.

I'm one of the two scriptwriters from The Archers team who have been working on a spin-off from the main programme. 'Ambridge Extra' will launch on BBC Radio 4 Extra (the new version of Radio 7) in the first week of April.

The idea is that you'll be able to hear more stories from in and around Ambridge, and also we'll be able to go further afield with Archers-related characters.

Read the rest of Keri's post on The Archers blog...

A week on from marking our 60th anniversary, and it's clear it's not just the residents of Ambridge who are talking about recent events in Borsetshire.

I have a two inch high pile of press cuttings before me. Many celebrate the amazing achievement of a drama having reached its diamond jubilee, making it currently the longest running soap in the world. Others look back at the storylines that have gripped Archers fans over the last 60 years. Beside that, a report showing hundreds of listener comments about the anniversary episode. And then one of the team pops in to tell me that during the anniversary episode on 2 January, The Archers and 'SATTC' was the most discussed subject on Twitter in the world.

Read the rest of Vanessa's post and leave a comment on the Archers blog...

Oh dear. Now we've done it.

In today's More or Less we calculated the height of Lower Loxley Hall - the ancestral home of the late Nigel Pargetter in The Archers - by timing the length of Nigel's scream as he fell from its roof. The answer: over 60 metres. That's the height of York Minster, or about 20 storeys. Quite a pile!

Here's how we worked it out. Nigel's flailing form would have accelerated at almost 10 metres per second per second. He'd have started at a speed of zero and finished the first second at a speed of 10 metres per second - covering about 5 metres.

During the next second he'd have fallen 15 metres. During the third second, 25 metres. We took the liberty of ignoring air resistance because terminal velocity - the speed at which air resistance balances the force of gravity - is over 55 metres a second. Within minutes of broadcasting the item, however, the More or Less inbox was inundated with comments like this:

Your facile calculation did not take into account any time that Nigel may have spent sliding slowly down the icy roof.

Or this:

He could have started screaming as he began sliding towards the edge of the roof, realising he was doomed. And could his scream not have continued for a short while after hitting the ground? If his death was from internal bleeding leading to cardiac arrest, this would have been very possible.

Well. Maybe. The presenter Tim Harford and I did discuss these possibilities before scripting the item. But we decided that had Nigel slid down the roof, we would have heard him do so. We also questioned whether he would really have started to scream before falling off. Wouldn't he have been too busy trying not to fall off?

But as I write, the flood of emails continues. Clearly, we will have to re-visit our calculations next week. Tune in.

Richard Knight is Series Producer of More or Less

• Listen to More of less on the Radio 4 web site and subcribe to the podcast to download the programmes to keep.
• Visit the Archers blog and the Archers messageboards, where there has been much discussion of Nigel's demise.
• Follow @BBCTheArchers on Twitter.
• It may have been Nick Fitzsimons who started the whole 'how big is Loxley Hall?' debate on Twitter.

Join us on The Archers blog between 10am and 7.30pm on Sunday 2 January to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Archers as it happens.

Consider yourselves warned (and warmly invited). The special 60th anniversary episode of The Archers is only days away and we want you to join in.

All day, from the beginning of the Radio 4 omnibus episode at 10am until the climax of the 30-minute special episode at 7.30pm we'll be running a live chat on the Archers blog, keeping time with Radio 7's simultaneous day-long Archers epic (classic episodes and omnibuses from the history of the programme running up to the big episode).

We'll be publishing your comments about characters and storylines plus the building speculation about the event expected to 'shake the Archers to the core.' We'll also bring you pictures and stories from the history of the drama all day. Visit the Archers blog at any time from 0945 on Sunday to join in - and tell your friends.

Then, during the anniversary episode itself (an unprecedented double-length programme starting at 7pm), visit The Archers homepage for a 'tweetalong' - The discussion about the anniversary episode on Twitter (which is sure to be lively) will be animated on the page in an app developed specially for the anniversary. Join in by using the hashtag #TheArchers on Twitter.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

• The Archers has five million weekly listeners. It's the longest-running broadcast drama anywhere in the world. Listen on Radio 4 at 7pm Sunday to Friday (and Monday to Friday at 1400 for the repeat) and on Sunday at 1000 for the weekly omnibus.
• Download The Archers to listen to on your computer or MP3 player. Subscribe to podcasts for the daily programme and weekly omnibus
• The Archers messageboards are among the most popular at the BBC. Follow @BBCTheArchers on Twitter for behind-the-scenes updates, links and RTs.
• The picture shows the party to celebrate the 2000th episode of The Archers in 1958. It's from the BBC's picture archive and the caption reads: "picture shows (left-right) Patricia Green (Jill Archer), Norman Painting (Philip Archer), Joy Davis? (Mrs Fairbrother), unidentified female, and Thelma Rogers (Peggy Archer)." Update: Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer, points out that the unidentified female is Leslie Saweard, who has been playing Christine since 1953.

Lynda Snell has seen off many rivals to her position as the most irritating person in Ambridge. Marjorie Antrobus started as a formidable character but went on to become a bit of a national treasure. Brian Aldridge can be a pain, and has caused much unhappiness, but his love for Ruairi is unquestionable. But they all face much more serious competition from that layabout, sponger and occasional drug taker, Jazzer.

In this week's Feedback programme I asked Jazzer, otherwise known as Ryan Kelly, whether he has any redeeming features at all, and he made some frankly incredible claims. I also ask whether, as a Scot, he agrees, with some of our listeners, that he is "a shocking case of an untruthful (Scottish) stereotype", after all there have been references to deep frying substance abuse.

I also talked to one of the scriptwriters Keri Davies about the role of 'the irritant' in The Archers and about the blueprint the series' creator, Godfrey Basely laid down well over half a century ago. Plus we hear about the latest updates on The Archers' website.

The Archers is gearing up for its 60th Anniversary celebrations - how do you think they should celebrate?

Roger Bolton (Born and brought up 8 miles south of Scotland. He has never seen, let alone eaten, a deep fried Mars Bar) is presenter of Feedback.

• Listen again to this week's Feedback, produced by Karen Pirie, get in touch with Feedback, find out how to join the listener panel or subscribe to the podcast on the Feedback web page.
• The new Archers web site has many interesting new features, including a brand new blog, edited by Keri Davies.
• Feedback is now on Twitter. Follow @BBCFeedback.
• The picture shows Ryan Kelly as Jazzer McCreary rehearsing with, on the right, Joanna Van Kampen as Fallon Rogers and, on the left, Director Rosemary Watts. It's by Steve Bowbrick.

During the last 18 months, we've been relaunching parts of the Radio 4 website, redesigning for the wider page template now in use at bbc.co.uk and taking advantage of new technologies on offer.

The last programme website to move across is one of our most popular - The Archers, which consistently receives more 'listen again' requests per month than any other BBC radio programme. A site tour takes you through the features page-by-page.

Where should you start?

If you're an Archers newbie who has always been intrigued by the happenings in Ambridge but never taken the plunge, then start with our short introduction, kindly read for us by Archers fan Stephen Fry. And then listen and explore the links from the latest episode panel on the homepage, to find out more about the characters and locations in the current storylines.

Lighter or lapsed listeners can quickly get back up to speed with our timeline and a series of summaries of selected storylines, listed beneath.

And I hope that our regular users will adjust happily to the new layout for familiar content, and enjoy the regular news from the Archers blog, edited by our web producer and Archers scriptwriter Keri Davies. The blog will include a regular round-up of conversations and opinion from Archers audiences on our messageboard and on social networks - there are now more ways than ever for you to talk with, and be entertained by, your fellow listeners.

As always, we welcome your feedback, which helps us to continue to improve what we do - so please leave your comments.

Leigh Aspin is Interactive Editor at BBC Radio 4

• The Archers is on Radio 4 at 1400 and 1900 weekdays, 1000 (omnibus edition) and 1900 Sundays
• Follow The Archers on Twitter.
• There's a podcast for the Sunday omnibus edition and for the daily editions.
• The picture shows part of the Archers Timeline from the new site.

The fields of Borsetshire were transplanted to St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square yesterday for Norman Painting's memorial service. The church was packed with hundreds of those who knew, worked with, loved or simply listened to Norman's searingly distinctive voice as he played Phil Archer for nearly sixty years. This was a remarkable service in memory of a remarkable man. It was clear we were there to remember and celebrate Norman and not Phil Archer. However Phil was never far away. Clips of some of the great scenes were played, Ysanne Churchman who played Phil's first wife Grace read a Thomas Hardy poem with Alison Dowling (Lizzie) and Patricia Green who plays Jill Archer spoke of Norman's great kindness and spirit.

Other readings and memories were delivered by Stephen Fry, Alison Dowling, Trevor Harrison (Eddie) and Tim Bentinck (David). The music had a strong pastoral tone as we sang We Plough the Fields and Scatter and listened to a magical performance of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending. The Organ Voluntary was, as some of us predicted, 'Barwick Green'!

It was a splendid occasion - Our sadness punctured by warm memories, humour and beautiful music and readings. I think Norman (and Phil) would have approved.

Here are tributes to Norman from Radio 4 Controller Mark Damazer and Editor of The Archers Vanessa Whitburn. They sum up an extraordinary man.

You can listen to the service itself on The Archers website.

Andrew Caspari was a Radio 4 Commissioning editor for ten years and is a lifelong Archers fan. As Head of Speech Radio and Classical Music, Interactive he is currently supervising the relaunch of the Archers web site

• Read the text of Mark Damazer's tribute here and Vanessa Whitburn's here.
• Visit The Archers web site and The Archers messageboard for more about Norman and his legacy.
• Vanessa Whitburn wrote about Norman here on the blog when he died in October last year.
• The picture shows Norman with a piece of agricultural machinery in 1954. It's from the BBC's picture library.

Tim plays David Archer in Radio 4's long-running drama serial The Archers. He's not been in Ambridge for that long but he's a pillar of the series nevertheless. I gave him a copy of the Radio Times' 'legendary double issue' and asked him to get scribbling: he's ringed all the Radio 4 programmes (and quite a few from other networks) that he's planning to listen to over Christmas and New Year. And it's a fascinating selection.

See all of his selections (and his annotations) in his own fair hand on Flickr. And if you'd like to join in and tell the world your Radio 4 choices from the double issue, get your own copy out, ring the programmes you're going to listen to and upload pics to your favourite picture sharing site (Facebook, Flickr, Twitpic... there are many). Or just tell the world in a comment here on the blog, on Twitter or on Facebook. Whatever you do, tag it #MyXmasOn4.

Highlights from Tim Bentinck's Radio 4 choices are:

• Here we Come. John Waite meets Davy Jones from The Monkees, 19 December at 1030. Tim says: "My idols, 1966."
• Brain of Britain, 19 December at 2300. Tim says, mysteriously: "Maybe I'll be a Question Again!"
• I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, 20 December 2009 at 1200. "Maybe I'll be on Mornington Crescent Again!"
• Joan Armatrading's Favourite Choirs, London Bulgarian Choir, 20 December 2009 at 1445. "Love Joan."
• The New Art of Diplomacy, 20 December 2009 at 1700. "Job for Will?"
• The Infinite Monkey Cage, 21 December 2009 at 1630. "Sounds good."
• Word of Mouth, 22 December 2009 at 1600. "Research."
• Take Two, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, 23 December 2009 at 2330. "Steely Dan!"
• The News at Bedtime, Jack and his genetically-modified beanstalk, Christmas Eve at 1815. "Sounds good."
• What Scientists Believe, Zoologist Andrew Gosler, Christmas Eve at 2100. "Fascinating."
• A Funny Sort of Sound, Julian Clary on comedy musical acts, Christmas Day at 1100. "Research."
• The Film Programme, Googie Withers, Christmas Day at 1630. "Googie!"
• Front Row, Alan Bennett, Christmas Day at 1915. "Must listen!"
• The Saturday Play, Educating Rita, Boxing Day at 1430. "Just played Frank on stage. Can Nighy better me!!!"
• The Unbelievable Truth - New Year's Special, 28 December at 1830. "Cos it's Fry..."
• Woman's Hour Drama: My Mad Grandad, 28 December 2009 at 1945. "Great cast."
• Things We Forgot to Remember, William of Orange and The Glorious Revolution, 28 December at 2000. "My ancestor."
• Afternoon Play: Fireworks at the Villa Lucia, New Year's Eve at 1415. "Sounds good - with Kerry (Shale) too."
• Spitting in Russian, New Year's Day at 1100. "Cool."

Christmas listening choices from more Radio 4 people tomorrow.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

Archers Week is over. During the week we published 19 posts about every aspect of making the world's longest-running radio serial.

This is good stuff by any measure. Anyone interested in radio drama or the creative process should bookmark this page, which lists all the posts. Here's a round-up of all the Archers Week posts, with quotes from some of them, in chronological order:

Julie Beckett, Senior Producer, started the week with a melancholy post about listening to Norman Painting's final episode in her car. She didn't want to get out until it had finished:

Coming into the office this morning, I've just learned that Vanessa, our Editor, was also driving home last night and sat in the car outside her house until the programme ended. Both of us were very moved.

Charles Collingwood (Brian Aldridge) stayed more-or-less in character for his post and actually dictated it to me in the Archers production office, pacing around as I typed (and wearing a cravat):

My episode this morning, without giving too much away, is with my gamekeeper, William. And grumpy William needs taking down a peg or two which I'm more than able to do.

Felicity Finch, one of four cast members to blog for us, was also thinking about Norman and had played opposite him in his final episode:

He had played Phil from the beginning. I feel very lucky and privileged to have shared these moments with him as he died two days later.

Tim Bentinck (David Archer) has been in Educating Rita at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury. For a radio drama actor, the daily repetition was a shock to the system:

However the result is that I feel more alive and brighter than I have for years - a nightly dose of adrenaline is a wonderful boost to the system and feels like having one's batteries recharged. I recommend it.

Archers supremo Vanessa Whitburn provides a snapshot of the well-oiled machine that is The Archers, humming and whirring away in Birmingham, churning out perfectly weighted storylines and episodes like clockwork:

Today, in their homes, eight writers are writing an episode of the Archers each, after a busy storyline meeting the week before last. Julie Beckett, my Senior Producer, and I edited eight weeks-worth of synopsis last week and so we broadly know where the writers are going and what they are writing.

Julie Beckett doesn't usually get a chance to watch the actors at work. She's usually much too busy directing:

So today and yesterday, while dropping in, I've watched the actors working. Fascinating to see the absolute concentration, the working together, the application of timing and emotion to the script - and all while turning the pages without a sound.

Sonja Cooper travels the country recording sounds for use in the studio. She sent me a collection of half a dozen precious sounds, including 'a pint being pulled', 'an anxious Hereford cow' and my favourite:

I watched producer Rosemary Watts directing a couple of episodes from 'the cubicle' on the other side of the glass from the radio drama studio. An intense and quite complicated process. Working on storylines outside the studio is just as complicated, though:

...as it includes a combination of research lines, longterm storylines, programme anniversaries, events that are happening in the real world, and most importantly, liaising with our Agricultural Story Editor Graham Harvey - a mine of information and all of it good!

Sarah Morrison is a Broadcast Assistant. She loves the weeks when episodes are being recorded:

I love the feel of this period in our working cycle each month - it's what all the casting, writing, story-lining and paperwork culminate in and there's such a feel of family between the cast and production team.

Becky Wright plays Nic Hanson, a newcomer to the village, so she remembers her first day vividly:

When it came to start the readthrough, my nerves really kicked in: the people that you've been chatting to a few seconds earlier suddenly morph into those familiar characters heard on radios around the world... it was a surreal moment and for a few seconds I sort of stared into space, not quite comprehending that this situation actually involved me... then reality hit, my first line was coming up and Nic was about to have a voice of her own.

Tim Stimpson ('the youngest Archers scriptwriter in the history of the programme'), shares his technique for pacing the tension across a week of episodes - and it involves felt pens:

Michael Harrison, Studio Manager, is glad Christmas is over. Keri Davies, multitasker, describes his many roles: scriptwriter, message board host and web producer, to name but three. Archivist Mel Ward loves her card index. Producer Kate Oates shares the stress of recording Christmas in November and Spot sound guru Liza Wallis creates the many sounds of Ambridge in the studio.

And to finish the whole thing off, Controller Mark Damazer shares something of what must be a truly gripping annual storylines meeting (to which I was not invited) and Editor Vanessa Whitburn gets back to normal with the weekly pick-ups meeting.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

• Archers Week ran on the Radio 4 blog from 23-30 November 2009. 19 blog posts were published in all, from 17 authors. They're listed here.
• Radio 4's Archers web site is full of good stuff, like a map of Ambridge, family trees for all the big clans and a detailed who's who. There's also a 'two-minute guide' for Archers newbies.
• The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC - nicknamed Mustardland because of the distinctive yellow page backgrounds. They're a bit sceptical about Archers Week, though.
• There are two Archers podcasts: one for the daily episodes and one for the Sunday omnibus.
• Hedli Niklaus, who plays Kathy Perks in the serial, also runs the Archers fan club, Archers Addicts.
• Norman Painting, who played Archers patriarch Phil for nearly sixty years, died on 29 October 2009. The last episode he recorded aired on 22 November. Archers Editor Vanessa Whitburn paid tribute to him here on the blog and the Archers Addicts have collected listener tributes.
• The picture shows the Archers studio viewed on the screen in the cubicle. During our visit to the Archers' home in Birmingham dozens of photographs were taken, many of which feature pictures of cast members (and an ironing board).
• Twitter was put to use during Archers Week. #archersweek was the hashtag and we learnt that Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer (@timbentinck) and Keri Davies, who writes scripts (@keridavies) are both Twitterers. Follow the Radio 4 blog on Twitter.

After a busy day on Thursday in London for the big meeting with Mark Damazer, (see his blog post about the meeting) I came into the Mailbox early on Friday morning to catch up on emails before chairing our monthly pick-ups meeting with the producers and archivist in The Archers team. This meeting does exactly what it says on the tin. We 'pick up' where the latest set of scripts leave off and decide on the broad shape of the storylines we will be covering at the next script meeting, using those longterms we were talking to Mark about yesterday as tramlines to keep us on the straight and narrow.

This meeting determines what storyline research needs to be done before the script meeting itself. Rosemary Watts, our research producer, takes copious notes at this meeting. I really don't know how she types so fast! She comes up with a research list for our agricultural editor, Graham Harvey and for herself and for our archivist. All these notes will eventually be sent to the writers and will inform what we do at our next script meeting. Due to the Christmas double-up, we are nearly storylining Easter 2010, believe it or not, and so an archive note about previous Easters in Ambridge will no doubt be very useful.

The meeting finishes at one and lunch is soup and a sandwich just in time to go to a session run by Tim Davie, Director of Audio and Music, who is visiting today. He will be giving us an overview of the state of play of everything the BBC does in Audio and his sessions do a great job of putting individual teams' work into the bigger picture for us all.

The blog week has been fun and I have enjoyed reading blog posts by so many of the talented team who make this programme happen. Thank you everyone who contributed and thanks to everyone who took the time to read the posts too. Happy Christmas!

Vanessa Whitburn is editor of The Archers

• Archers Week ran on the Radio 4 blog from 23-30 November 2009. 19 blog posts were published in all, from 17 authors. They're listed here.
• Radio 4's Archers web site is full of good stuff, like a map of Ambridge, family trees for all the big clans and a detailed who's who. There's also a 'two-minute guide' for Archers newbies.
• The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC - nicknamed Mustardland because of the distinctive yellow page backgrounds. They're a bit sceptical about Archers Week, though.
• There are two Archers podcasts: one for the daily episodes and one for the Sunday omnibus.
• Hedli Niklaus, who plays Kathy Perks in the serial, also runs the Archers fan club, Archers Addicts.
• Norman Painting, who played Archers patriarch Phil for nearly sixty years, died on 29 October 2009. The last episode he recorded aired on 22 November. Archers Editor Vanessa Whitburn paid tribute to him here on the blog and the Archers Addicts have collected listener tributes.
• The picture shows the Archers' home in Birmingham, the Mailbox. During our visit dozens of photographs were taken, many of which feature pictures of cast members (and an ironing board).
• Twitter was put to use during Archers Week. #archersweek was the hashtag and we learnt that Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer (@timbentinck) and Keri Davies, who writes scripts (@keridavies) are both Twitterers. Follow the Radio 4 blog on Twitter.

At the end of last week I had my annual Archers plotlines meeting.

Those present - Archers editor Vanessa Whitburn and two trusty Archers senior producers, the Head of Radio Drama (England) and the Commissioning editor for R4 Drama - and R4's press officer.

A few days in advance I get a brown package and my PA hands it over to me. Inside is a 66-page, single-spaced A4-size document and a spreadsheet/calendar explaining how the plot will develop over time. The document is numbered and my PA wags her finger at me and reminds me that if I lose this I can say goodbye to my nice Radio 4 life and look forward to a lifetime of ignominy. I am terrified every year but thus far I have managed not to leave the papers anywhere more dangerous than the back of my car buried under a pile of Radio 4 CDs.

The meeting lasts a couple of hours as we haggle about who to make ill, happy, pregnant, successful and... yes... dead. We talk - heatedly - about actors.

There is much dark humour and some themes crop up every year... about the balance between The Archers family and others, the need to space out fecundity and mortality, the problems caused by actors' other commitments etc.

It's a fascinating and complicated business. Any number of criteria need to be juggled. Is a particular plot line really credible? Do we have the highlights spaced? Which plotlines will make a splash? What do we do with children whose voices may need to change? Are the lighter plots - often starring the 'rude mechanicals' - up to enough? Can we make sure the misery is not overwhelming and not all timed to take place over Xmas? Should we do something 'big' in the plot for the 60th anniversary (January 2011)? And how big (so there's a bit of Kremlinology for you)...

There's also a little bit of inter-generational justice at stake here. Vanessa could go for something huge - but we know that although that might have a very large impact now - what will it do to the long-term future of Ambridge and future listeners? And from time to time we will indeed do something huge (cf Sam/Ruth/David in 2006).

At the end of the meeting we agree two or three big changes but the bulk of the plan goes through. The numbered documents go to a shredder. I feel immediately calmer. My PA beams happily.

All I have to do now is to resist temptation and never tell anyone - not even my family - what's going on. I just look smugly superior as they try and guess.

Mark Damazer is Controller of BBC Radio 4

• Archers Week ran on the Radio 4 blog from 23-30 November 2009. 19 blog posts were published in all, from 17 authors. They're listed here.
• Radio 4's Archers web site is full of good stuff, like a map of Ambridge, family trees for all the big clans and a detailed who's who. There's also a 'two-minute guide' for Archers newbies.
• The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC - nicknamed Mustardland because of the distinctive yellow page backgrounds. They're a bit sceptical about Archers Week, though.
• There are two Archers podcasts: one for the daily episodes and one for the Sunday omnibus.
• Hedli Niklaus, who plays Kathy Perks in the serial, also runs the Archers fan club, Archers Addicts.
• Norman Painting, who played Archers patriarch Phil for nearly sixty years, died on 29 October 2009. The last episode he recorded aired on 22 November. Archers Editor Vanessa Whitburn paid tribute to him here on the blog and the Archers Addicts have collected listener tributes.
• The picture shows some of the stuff used to make noise in the studio. During our visit to the Archers' home in Birmingham dozens of photographs were taken, many of which feature pictures of cast members (and an ironing board).
• Twitter was put to use during Archers Week. #archersweek was the hashtag and we learnt that Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer (@timbentinck) and Keri Davies, who writes scripts (@keridavies) are both Twitterers. Follow the Radio 4 blog on Twitter.

I'm quite new at the BBC but I've been listening to The Archers since I was a small child. Its characters have been companions for decades. Events from Archers episodes are mixed up with those from my early life in a quite confusing way. I don't listen every day but the fine grain of life in and around Ambridge is a kind of essential background to my life. I'm not overstating this and I know I'm not alone. I know there's a reasonable chance that you too remember the arrival of strident Pat at Bridge Farm or the mysterious disappearance of Nelson Gabriel or Eddie's dalliance with Jolene...

So it's obviously been a career highlight to spend some time with The Archers team at the BBC's office in central Birmingham. And what I've learnt hasn't eroded the magic at all. I know now that keeping a drama with a cast of 60-ish on-air 6-days-a-week requires something like a military operation with strong leadership and the kind of team spirit I've rarely met. My dealings with the Archers team have been a bit like an encounter with a rather benign cult. Everybody on the team, from cast to producers to engineers and assistants greeted me with the kind of clear-eyed passion for the programme that any network would kill for (but you wouldn't want to cross them). It's been a huge pleasure to experience the pride of the Archers team in what they do. I hope you've been able to share a little of it here on the blog.

Today is the last day of Archers Week and - I'll be honest - I've been finding it quite hard to keep up with the flow of behind-the-scenes insights as they've come in so here's a final-day round-up of fascinating posts from Archers people:

• Studio Manager Liza Wallis on creating sound in the studio. It's fascinating to watch Liza at work, creating a convincing sound-scene amongst the actors by rattling pots, pouring water and moving furniture...
• Producer Kate Oates with a vignette about directing a Christmas episode and presenting long-term plotlines to the boss.
• Archivist Mel Ward on the pleasures of the card index. A story that's been running for nearly sixty years needs a good memory.
• Keri Davies has written about his many roles on The Archers team. He's well-known online. He's hosted the Archers message boards for several years and manages the Archers web site. He's also a scriptwriter.
• Michael Harrison operates one of the terrifying desks in the Archers cubicle. He's responsible for levels and recording. His preternatural calm and dry wit keep the studio moving. He's glad that Christmas is over.

  Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

  • Archers Week ran on the Radio 4 blog from 23-30 November 2009. 19 blog posts were published in all, from 17 authors. They're listed here.
  • Radio 4's Archers web site is full of good stuff, like a map of Ambridge, family trees for all the big clans and a detailed who's who. There's also a 'two-minute guide' for Archers newbies.
  • The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC - nicknamed Mustardland because of the distinctive yellow page backgrounds. They're a bit sceptical about Archers Week, though.
  • There are two Archers podcasts: one for the daily episodes and one for the Sunday omnibus.
  • Hedli Niklaus, who plays Kathy Perks in the serial, also runs the Archers fan club, Archers Addicts.
  • Norman Painting, who played Archers patriarch Phil for nearly sixty years, died on 29 October 2009. The last episode he recorded aired on 22 November. Archers Editor Vanessa Whitburn paid tribute to him here on the blog and the Archers Addicts have collected listener tributes.
  • During our visit to the Archers' home in Birmingham dozens of photographs were taken, many of which feature pictures of cast members (and an ironing board).
  • Twitter was put to use during Archers Week. #archersweek was the hashtag and we learnt that Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer (@timbentinck) and Keri Davies, who writes scripts (@keridavies) are both Twitterers. Follow the Radio 4 blog on Twitter.