New Archers editor promises less of a crisis, more of a drama

ONE editor was accused of turning it into “Eastenders in a field”. Another left for the world of television soaps barely a year after he started.

So now the BBC has taken a different tack in appointing as editor of The Archers a Radio 4 veteran.

Jeremy Howe has worked as radio drama and fiction commissioning editor for 12 years, responsible for more than 300 titles a year, including an overseeing role on The Archers.

Calling the editor’s post “another of the best jobs in the world”, Howe said it was an “honour and a privilege” to pick up the reins of the Ambridge soap.

His appointment is likely to reassure listeners who have been subjected to a string of editors at the helm recently.

Huw Kennair-jones, Howe’s predecessor, quit the radio soap after just one year to work on ITV’S Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Before him, Sean O’connor spent two years in the role and was regularly accused of making Borsetshire too eventful and like a television soap. After a storyline about domestic abuse involving the characters Helen and Rob, O’connor left in 2016 to join Eastenders, later moving into film.

Tim Bentinck (David Archer), previously warned that editors were being lured away by higher salaries and that the role could be at risk of being seen as a training ground for jobs in television. But Howe said of his appointment: “Being in charge of Radio 4’s drama and fiction has been one of the best jobs in the world.

“I am thrilled to be asked to do another of the best jobs in the world, to take up the reins of The Archers and to carry on the work of my illustrious predecessors Huw Kennair-jones, Sean O’connor and Vanessa Whitburn.

“It is an honour and privilege to be moving to Ambridge. I just hope that my favourite country walk along the Am hasn’t been ruined by Brian’s chemical misdemeanours.”

Howe has been responsible for commissioning Book at Bedtime and all Radio 4’s drama output, including an all-day adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and War and Peace.

Gwyneth Williams, Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra controller, said: “I know he will bring his wit, flair and storytelling genius to the role. Archers fans will be in for a treat – Jeremy is the best.”

Howe has previously called The Archers “extraordinary”, hailing Radio 4 as having “one hell of a smart audience.” But in 2015 he defended some of the more dramatic storylines on Radio 4’s Feedback show. “The Archers is a drama, not a documentary, and in a drama, dramatic things need to happen,” he said.

One fan welcomed the appointment. On social media, Goldi Levels wrote: “I am so pleased to see that the new editor is somebody steeped in radio drama.”

Howe takes up the role later this year.