Robots in Ambridge

It was only a matter of time until the robots came to Ambridge. After enduring arsons, floods and attempted murder trials, how many listeners of The Archers would really be surprised to hear Brian Aldridge pleading for his life with a sentient combine-harvester gone rogue? For now there is nothing so dark, but producers, it transpires, are recording the noise of agricultural drones in preparation for their adoption in Borsetshire, and are also keeping tabs on self-driving tractors in case their inclusion is necessary. That illustrates the strength of the show. Its changing cast resemble the “grandfather’s axe” of the British countryside itself: though every part of it has changed, it remains the same place, the same land.