A phone call last night from a friend with contacts in BBC archives had me feverish with excitement at the news of a piece of television history being unearthed and returned to its rightful place in the archives.
Early in1967, during tests of colour television transmissions, the BBC commissioned a pilot for a television version of The Archers, intended to spearhead the ushering in of a new age for the television industry. As a top-rated radio drama, it was only a matter of time before television beckoned for Ambridge and its locals, including Phil and Jill Archer.
Sets were constructed for Brookfield (interior and exterior), The Bull, Home Farm and the village green, with storylines culled from the ongoing radio series and adapted into the 30-minute script that would serve as the pilot.
Quite what happened to the pilot is not known - the cast members who took part have remained stoically tight-lipped on the subject, and it has never been shown on British television. There were rumours that the constraints of having so much livestock ferried into studio to populate the Brookfield set proved to be demanding on the cast, but like so much rumour, this could just be hot air. The only print known to exist of this piece of television ephemera was junked quickly from the archives, thought to be lost forever…
…until a car boot sale in Penge gave one film and TV enthusiast the shock of their life last week when a film tin marked Doctor Who: The Web of Fear pt2 was bought for a fiver…
The print is being cleaned up as we speak, and space for a possible BBC4 broadcast later this year has been mooted. TV Today will keep you updated with developments on the story of the year.
April Fool!
Yes, as marki_boy correctly guessed, this was an April Fool.
Ah shame, us Archers fans would have really enjoyed that.
As an American televisiologist, one who's never heard a radio broadcast of 'The Archers', this news item caught me off-guard and had me excited as well. This type of discovery is always fascinating, and I wish it had been true.
I don't suppose this reel of broadcast history played any part in Rumpole's famous Penge Bungalow Murders? LOL