Archers in trouble if editor goes, says star

LOSING one editor may be a misfortune, but losing two is surely carelessness.

In the case of The Archers, losing one more to top jobs in television would leave the soap in serious trouble.

According to Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer, BBC Radio 4 drama editors are being lured by the higher salaries of ITV. He said the role was often seen as a training ground for editorial roles in television.

Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, he said radio editors taking up television jobs was becoming “the nature of the beast”, despite Archers cast members hoping they had reached a settled period.

It follows a time of growing public recognition for the show, with storylines such as the Helen and Rob domestic violence plot giv- ing the show a higher profile than in previous years.

Huw Kennair-jones, The Archers’ latest editor, announced last week that he was to leave the show to work at ITV on Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

A year earlier, the previous editor Sean O’connor departed for Eastenders.

Vanessa Whitburn, who preceded O’connor, was editor for 22 years.

Bentinck said: “It’s the nature of the beast isn’t it? If someone says to you – and I don’t know what the money was – ‘I’m going to double your salary,’ all your principles go out the window.”

‘If someone says, ‘I’ll double your salary,’ your principles go out the window’