Archers

The Archers is a long-running British radio soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. Originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", it is now described as "contemporary drama in a rural setting". With over 17,600 episodes, it is the world's longest-running radio soap opera production. The Archers, which debuted on 1 January 1951 (with the pilot premiering in 1950), is the most listened to Radio 4 non-news programme, with over five million listeners, and, with over one million listeners via the Internet, the programme holds that BBC Radio record.

Links To Peel
Peel was a fan of the British radio soap and appeared twice on separate occasions (the last in 1991). In the Guardian published on 28 October 1994 (later republished in the Olivetti Chronicles), Peel mentioned what he did on The Archers:
 * "Actually I have featured in The Archers on two distinctly occasions. On the first I was heard on the radio 'on the radio', as it were. Eddie Grundy and the hapless Clarrie were listening to Radio 1 in the kitchen at Grange Farm when I played one of Eddie's records. On the second, my work was spread over several episodes and I even got to sing 'Yellow Submarine' in a van with Eddie and that nice Mrs Antrobus."

Peel did play a record by Eddie Grundy (played by Trevor Harrison) on his radio show in 1982, when he released his single 'Clarrie's Song', that was broadcast on 07 December 1982. There has been no evidence from the playlist on whether Peel played any other Eddie Grundy's songs. However by 2000, Peel got disillusioned with the show. On his show from 30 January 2000 (BFBS), he mentioned the Archers were going a bit too issue driven:
 * "I've never got into television soap operas at all. I used to be into the Archers at one time until it became too kind of issue-driven. I just felt uncomfortable with that...I don't want that in the Archers. I used to like it back in the days when they did, "Well, looks like it's going to be dark soon"...I used to like that because I could cope with the pace of it"

In 2003, Peel got to interview members of the cast when he was at the Glastonbury Festival. Barry Farimond, who played Eddie's son in the Archers described in an interview on the BBC Four website that one of his highlights in the Archers was being interviewed by the late, great John Peel at the Glastonbury Festival.