The Archers cast ‘angry’ at BBC decision to scrap new studio, says actor

The Archers has been based in Birmingham since its first episode in 1951. Photograph: David Levene/The GuardianView image in fullscreenThe Archers has been based in Birmingham since its first episode in 1951. Photograph: David Levene/The GuardianThe Archers cast ‘angry’ at BBC decision to scrap new Birmingham studioBen Norris says cost-cutting measure that means show will be recorded outside its home city risks ‘extraordinary burden’ for crew

A cast member of The Archers has said its actors have been angered by the BBC’s decision to axe the show’s new studio, in a move that could lead to it being recorded away from its home in Birmingham.

Ben Norris, who plays Ben Archer in the world’s longest-running soap opera, said the decision risked having a real impact on the quality of the show and placing an “extraordinary burden” on its crew.

Norris told the Guardian that current plans, which would involve production staff working in a separate location to the actors recording the show, represented “classic short-termism and doesn’t represent value for money for the licence fee payer”.

“This isn’t us actors being averse to change,” he said. “It’s very much us wanting to stand in solidarity with our colleagues in production, us wanting to ensure the continued highest quality of the programme for the listeners, the continued heritage of the show, its connection to Birmingham, and also for the BBC not to go back on many promises it made to the region.

View image in fullscreenBen Norris, who plays Ben Archer, said the actors wanted to stand in solidarity with colleagues in production. Photograph: Steve Ullathorne“It’s a combination of all those things that has left us feeling as angry as we are.”

Staff were informed last week that the BBC, as part of its £500m cost-cutting drive, had ditched plans for a new radio drama theatre at the Tea Factory in Digbeth, the corporation’s new Birmingham headquarters.

While production staff will still move to the facility, the broadcaster is now looking for an existing UK studio where the show could be recorded. The West Midlands is included in the search, but there is no guarantee The Archers will be recorded in the region in which it has been based since its launch 75 years ago.

Cast members met on Monday to discuss the announcement. Norris said there were practical problems with the new plan, including the need for last-minute script discussions and specific facilities.

“The Archers is recorded in a very specific way that is unlike almost all other audio drama,” he said. “There are very few other studios that have those facilities, and none that are up to the same specifications as our current setup.

“[The current studio setup] would need transporting, building and striking with any new space we travel to, placing an extraordinary burden on the technical team and incurring extra financial drain.

“I also think it’s a totally false economy. I’ve been told that the additional cost of shipping those people to wherever we ended up would cancel out what it costs to build the new studio within five years, so it’s classic short-termism and doesn’t represent value for money for the licence fee payer at all.”

He said that while actors were based in different places, there was a “big Midlands connection within the cast – either people who grew up or trained there or people who live there now”.

Read more“For day players, of which the Archers has many – coming in to play somebody’s midwife, somebody’s mechanic – those roles often go to local actors and should go to local actors because it’s one of the places that people can start their careers,” he said. “It’s the same for the writing team and the production team.

“This decision flies completely in the face of the BBC and the government’s commitment to pursue as much regionality as possible and to have culture and the economy thriving in every postcode.”

Norris feared listeners would eventually notice the impact.

“We’re worried about the sustainability of this way of working,” he said. “We are worried about the relationship between cast and crew, but also their energy levels, their wellbeing … Maybe we’d get away with it for a bit, but we think at some point the show would suffer and the listeners would perceive that.”

The performing arts union Equity has said it will oppose the BBC’s plans.

Matt Brittin, the BBC’s director general, said hemet the West Midlands mayor, Richard Parker, on Wednesday to explore opportunities to continue to record the show in the region once it left Birmingham.