{"id":804727,"date":"2026-10-16T18:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T18:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/804727\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T18:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T18:06:11","slug":"judi-dench-joins-calls-by-the-archers-cast-to-keep-show-in-birmingham-the-archers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/804727\/","title":{"rendered":"Judi Dench joins calls by The Archers cast to keep show in Birmingham | The Archers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cast and crew behind The Archers<\/a>, including the one-time guest star Judi Dench, have written to the BBC director general urging him to keep the recording of the Radio 4 drama in Birmingham.<\/p>\n

It emerged this week that the corporation was planning to stop recording the rural community soap opera in the city for the first time in the show\u2019s 75-year history, after it scrapped plans for a radio drama studio.<\/p>\n

Staff were informed last week that the BBC, as part of its \u00a3500m cost-cutting drive, had ditched plans to build a bespoke studio<\/a> at the Tea Factory in Digbeth, the corporation\u2019s new Birmingham headquarters.<\/p>\n

Production staff will still move to the Tea Factory, but the broadcaster is looking for an existing studio where the show could be recorded. The West Midlands<\/a> is included in the search, but there is no guarantee The Archers will be recorded in the region.<\/p>\n

Actors rehearse an episode of The Archers in the BBC studios in Birmingham. Photograph: The Washington Post\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

A letter to Matt Brittin, the BBC\u2019s director general, signed by more than 100 current and previous cast members, says: \u201cThe Archers leaving the Midlands is akin to Corrie leaving the north-west, or EastEnders the south-east. It is born of the very fabric of the place, and deserves to stay at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

It adds: \u201cRemoving the recording of The Archers from the Midlands and divorcing the production team from the cast will have a tangible impact on the quality of the programme and represents an existential threat to its future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter, which is also signed by current and former editors, scriptwriters, sound effects workers, programme advisers and the trade unions Equity and WGGB, highlights the history and heritage of the show, which is set in the fictional village of Ambridge in the West Midlands.<\/p>\n

The Archers\u2019 recording studio. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cA flagship show deserves flagship facilities, from which both the BBC and the city of Birmingham<\/a> would benefit for decades,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n

It ends by saying: \u201c[We] stand in solidarity with our colleagues and the region, and to safeguard this beloved programme for generations of listeners and artists to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dench played the character Pru Forrest in a cameo for the 10,000th episode of The Archers in May 1989, meeting guest star Terry Wogan, who played himself.<\/p>\n

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The studio\u2019s semi-anechoic room, known as the dead room, because of the extensive soundproofing. Photograph: Christopher Thomond\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

In an email to staff last week, a BBC executive said: \u201cAfter careful consideration and as part of the BBC\u2019s wider drive to reduce costs, the decision has been made \u2026 to not build a new radio drama studio for The Archers in the Tea Factory in Digbeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsequently, options are being explored to identify suitable studio facilities where The Archers will be recorded. That currently includes looking into potential opportunities in the West Midlands, as well as across other parts of the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear, no decision has yet been reached. The priority is to find the most cost-effective solution which will maintain The Archers\u2019 high production standards in addition to delivering significant savings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Archers is a jewel in the BBC\u2019s crown. It\u2019s been going for an incomparable 75 years \u2013 as has its connection with the West Midlands. It remains a hugely vital part of our future.\u201d<\/p>\n

A BBC spokesperson said: \u201cWe recognise and value The Archers\u2019 longstanding relationship with the West Midlands, which remains an important part of the programme\u2019s future and The Archers production team will remain in their current home in the Mailbox and move, as planned, to the Tea Factory in Digbeth in early 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, after careful consideration, as part of the BBC\u2019s wider drive to reduce costs, we are no longer building a new recording studio for The Archers in the Tea Factory. We\u2019re currently assessing the BBC\u2019s existing studio facilities around the UK as well as other external studio options in the West Midlands to find a more cost-effective solution, which will deliver significant savings while also maintaining The Archers\u2019 high production standards.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cast and crew behind The Archers, including the one-time guest star Judi Dench, have written to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-804727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}