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Find out what's going on behind the scenes in Ambridge |
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Drama in a Crisis
2 Mar 2001
 Archers
listeners will already have noticed several mentions
of the current outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
The programme's ability to reflect topical
events is well known.
But,
as Archers editor Vanessa Whitburn explains, foot and
mouth has brought an almost unprecedented challenge
to The Archers team.
"The
last major animal health scare was of course BSE, when
we broadcast 12 new topical scenes over two weeks.
"
This crisis is similar in that we have several weeks'
worth of episodes already recorded, which the news has
made instantly out of date. The difference is the restrictions
on movement which affect so much more than just the
agricultural content of the programme.
"So
we have had to look at all stories which concern movement
in the countryside. Any scene in which a character moves
on or off a farm is subject to scruitiny."
The biggest
blow was the cancellation of the Countryside March,
which was announced only hours after a whole episode
devoted to it had been recorded, complete with much
debate on the pros and cons of the hunting case. And
this episode was connected with a continuing story which
was planned to run both before and after the 18 March
date of the march. All this has had to be stripped out,
re-written and re-recorded to a dauntingly tight timetable.
Vanessa
added: "I want to pay tribute to the scriptwriters
and production team who have been working into the
small hours to make The Archers reflect as accurately
as possible the awful crisis facing British farmers."
At the
moment it is impossible to predict how long the shadow
of foot and mouth will hang over the country. The Archers
team know that - like the agricultural community - they
could be in for a very long haul.
After last week's urgent response, foot and mouth disease continues to keep The Archers production office at full stretch
 Practially every episode over the past week has been subject to last minute changes. New scenes have been recorded and inserted, and material that had been overtaken by circumstances (for example, references to the Countryside March) has been cut. In some cases, this has left episodes a little shorter than usual, for which we apologise.
According to Archers editor Vanessa Whitburn, the programme is now entering a new phase in its response: "Up to now, we have worked to ensure that events in Ambridge accurately reflect what farmers are going through. But from tonight (Friday) we start a brand new story showing how Brookfield in particular responds to the crisis."
The programme continues to attract praise for its coverage. The Guardian's Elizabeth Mahoney said it had been "sensitively and quite thrillingly handled...When no television soap even pretends to reflect day-to-day reality, this is to be cherished."
More 'Topical Inserts'
Princess Margaret
Coping with the Weather
Previous 'Backstage' story>>
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