Radio drama to focus on Archers fire

Ysanne Churchman with the script of the fire episode

One of the most dramatic plotlines in The Archers is to be the subject of a special BBC radio drama.

Dead Girls Tell No Tales tells the behind-the-scenes story of Grace Archer's death in a fire.

The BBC said the drama, which airs later this year on Radio 4, would depict "life in and around The Archers' production office and studio" in 1955.

The cast will feature Ysanne Churchman, the original Grace Archer, who is now 90 years old.

Churchman said: "It was a great pleasure to be invited back to The Archers to record this momentous piece of radio drama and revisit the excitement of September 1955. Looking back on those days, it was another life."

The world's longest running radio soap opera, The Archers is set in the fictional Midlands village of Ambridge.

Twenty million people tuned in to the episode in which Grace Archer died in her husband Phil's arms after she tried to rescue a horse from a stable fire.

It has been the subject of much debate whether the plotline was timed to thwart the launch night of ITV - the BBC's commercial rival.

"This is a really special occasion for anyone who has ever been a listener to The Archers," said the programme's current editor Sean O'Connor.

"We're going to reminisce about the very beginnings of this extraordinary programme - but also unearth the mysteries that surrounded this landmark moment.

"I'm particularly thrilled to welcome back Ysanne Churchman who created an iconic character and was at the very heart of a genuinely game-changing moment in media history."

Dead Girls Tell No Tales, written by Joanna Toye, will feature other characters from the early years of the programme, including Dan and Doris Archer, Carol Grey and John Tregorran, plus Archers creator Godfrey Baseley.

It will be broadcast on 19 September, almost 60 years to the day after the pivotal episode was originally aired.