Entertainment

The Archers’ Jill arrested for flapjack throw on anniversary episode

Patricia Greene has voiced the role for 60 years.
Patricia Greene has voiced the role for 60 years. Patricia Greene has voiced the role for 60 years.

The Archers stalwart Jill Archer was arrested for throwing a flapjack as the actress who voices her celebrated 60 years in the radio drama.

Patricia Greene, 86, said her first line on the show on July 25 1957, and on her diamond anniversary episode her most recent storyline came to a climax.

Jill had been volunteering at a pop-up pay-what-you-can cafe, Happy Friends Cafe, on the site of the department store where she first made her debut on The Archers, when it was ousted from the premises by a high-end restaurant.

When the eatery was targeted by a protest for its food wastage, Jill got carried away and threw a flapjack, which hit one of the restaurant owners in the eye.

After her arrest, which followed her encouraging others to join in with throwing baked goods, Jill was released with a caution.

The editor of the popular BBC Radio 4 soap has said there will “always be stories” for Jill, who is often described as the “lynchpin” of Ambridge life.

Jill Archer is played by Patricia Greene (Amelia Troubridge)
Jill Archer is played by Patricia Greene (Amelia Troubridge) (AMELIA TROUBRIDGE/BBC)
Jill Archer is played by Patricia Greene (Amelia Troubridge)

The 60th anniversary celebration also sees Greene claim the honour of being the longest-serving continuous actor on The Archers, the BBC confirmed.

Editor Huw Kennair-Jones, who took over at the helm of the Radio 4 show last year, said as far as storylines for Jill go, “the world is her oyster”.

He told the Press Association: “I can’t give away what’s going to happen, but what I will say is, we kind of take her back to where it all began. There are always stories for Jill, she’s such an integral part of The Archers landscape.

“She’s right at the heart of it, so we’re always finding stories for her in different things.”

Greene has previously revealed she earns just £16,000 a year for voicing the long-serving character.

She told the Daily Telegraph: “I think I got £16,000 last year from the Beeb. That’s what we get. We don’t talk money much, we talk content.”

She also criticised the high salaries of the broadcaster’s top radio stars, who are mostly men.

She said: “It’s obscene. You don’t earn that kind of money sitting at a microphone, do you? You can’t, it’s just ridiculous.”

She was particularly taken aback by the salary of the BBC’s highest earner, Chris Evans, saying: “He’s probably a very nice chap and he’s very clever, and I loved him when he did the toothbrush programme [Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush] but I don’t think £2 million is a good fee for somebody on the radio.”