Judi Dench has joined The Archers cast in urging the BBC to keep recording the long-running Radio 4 drama in Birmingham. The actor, who made a cameo in the programme in 1989, has signed a letter to the BBC director general calling for the Birmingham studios to remain the show’s recording base.
The dispute follows BBC plans to stop recording The Archers in Birmingham for the first time in the programme’s 75-year history, after the BBC scrapped earlier plans for a dedicated radio drama studio. Outlets report the cast and crew have compared the move to other changes in British radio and television broadcasting, describing it as similar to long-established shows relocating their production.
Coverage focuses on the letter and the show’s future production location, with the common thread across sources being the cast’s concern that shifting recording elsewhere would represent a significant break from The Archers’ long-standing Birmingham connection.
