Editor who turned Archers into a ‘cult’ dies aged 71

WILLIAM SMETHURST, the editor credited with reinventing The Archers, has died, with fans paying tribute to the man who turned it “into a cult”.

Smethurst, who edited the Radio 4 drama in the Seventies and Eighties, took it on in a “dark period”, as listening numbers dropped and the show’s very future at the BBC was in question.

Pledging that the soap must be “the authentic voice of the shires”, he introduced class division and social comedy, and killed off some of the show’s original characters to keep things fresh.

Speaking after the BBC announced his death, aged 71, the show’s longestserving writer, Mary Cutler, said: “It would not be an exaggeration to say he saved The Archers.”

Smethurst, who joined The Archers in 1974 as a writer, took over as editor in 1978 after it failed to excite critics or enough listeners to please the BBC.

He went on to turn its fortunes around after introducing new characters including Nigel Pargetter, Caroline Sterling, and the Grundy family.

By 1984, The Archers was so popular that Smethurst persuaded Princess Margaret to make a guest appearance.

Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph’s radio critic, called him “the man who turned The Archers into a cult”. Leaving the show in 1986, Smethurst went on to work in television on shows including Crossroads, Boon, and Jupiter Moon, produce a number of books, and sailed around Europe with his wife Carolynne.

Sean O’Connor, a recent editor of the show, said: “He boldly steered the programme through a time of crisis when it was fighting for its very existence.

“He’s the man who made it recognisably the programme it is today – high drama married with gentle humour.

“Many of his characters remain at the heart of Ambridge which is a testament to his inventiveness, his instinct for drama and his deep love of the programme.”