The Archers is a long-running British radio soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting". With over 16,800 episodes, it is both the world's longest running radio soap and, since the cancellation of the American soap opera Guiding Light in September 2009, the world's longest running soap opera in any format.
The Archers is the most listened to Radio 4 non-news programme, with over five million listeners, and it holds the BBC Radio programme record for the number of times listened to over the Internet, with over one million listeners.
Read more about The Archers: Outline, Characters, The Village, Topicality, Actors, History, Themes, Cameo Appearances, Theme Tune, Serious Occasions, Ambridge Extra, Fan Clubs, Overseas Parallels, Spoof, Documentaries