Duchess Sophie makes The Archers cameo appearance

52 minutes ago

News image — Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, visited the Mailbox in Birmingham to record the episode

Joe Giddens/PA Wire A woman wearing a blue and white polka dot dress smiles while in conversation — Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, visited the Mailbox in Birmingham to record the episode

The Duchess of Edinburgh has made a surprise cameo appearance on The Archers.

Sophie, who has been a fan of the long-running BBC Radio 4 show for many years, joined Ambridge regulars in Thursday's episode.

In behind the scenes images taken when she secretly recorded her segment at the BBC Mailbox in Birmingham in May, Sophie was pictured smiling as she stood in front of her script and microphone under the bright studio lights.

The episode - in the drama's 75th anniversary year - aired at 19:00 BST, and revealed Sophie as a surprise guest at the fictional Borchester Show, in her real life role as honorary president of charity Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF).

Joe Giddens/PA Wire Three people are standing in a soundproof studio, looking at music stands and microphones. They are participating in a recording session of The Archers. — Sophie recorded an episode with cast members Susie Riddell and Tim Bentnick

She was joined by actors Tim Bentnick, who plays David Archer, David Troughton, who stars as Tony Archer, and Susie Riddell, who appears as Tracy Horrobin.

"Nerves are frayed on the day of the Borchester Show, and a surprise guest makes their mark," the programme's website had hinted.

The duchess was following in the footsteps of Queen Camilla, who appeared on the soap in 2011.

The Queen, also a self-confessed Archers addict, acted out her role as president of the National Osteoporosis Society, in a special episode to mark The Archers' 60th anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II's sister Princess Margaret also made a cameo in 1984, when she was a surprise guest at a fundraising fashion show for the NSPCC, in the ballroom of Ambridge's local hotel Grey Gables.

Joe Giddens/PA Wire A group of four people are gathered in an indoor setting, The woman on the left, Sophie, wearing a blue polka dot dress, is holding her hand over her mouth while laughing. A man in a black shirt stands behind her, to the right of him, a woman in a pink top laughs heartily. In the foreground on the right, a man with a scarf is speaking to the woman in the blue dress. — The Duchess said she was a huge fan of the BBC Radio 4 drama

Sophie met the cast and crew before recording the episode, and at one point was shown covering her mouth with her hand, in an apparent show of either shock or surprise as she chatted with Charles Collingwood, who plays Brian Aldridge.

The Archers has been aired on BBC radio since 1951 and has clocked up more than 20,000 episodes - more than any other continuous drama serial in the world.

It reaches millions of devoted fans who tune in to hear the ups and downs experienced by the residents of the fictional village of Ambridge.

Pressing topical issues such as climate change, the economic challenges faced by farmers, alcoholism, modern slavery, domestic abuse and coercive control have all been tackled in storylines.