Humbridge

- political correctness in The Archers

We provide an article from The Sunday Telegraph of 26 May 2002, which illustrates the extent to which feminists have infiltrated the UK establishments. The article describes the feminist influence in The Archers BBC radio programme. For those outside of the UK and not familiar, The Archers is a 'soap' about country life set in a fictional village called Ambridge . No scenario could be expected more to show the conservative nature of UK people, and the radio show has been on the air for decades. Yet we find in this article that storylines have been introduced which have upset the traditional scriptwriters and possibly traditional listeners. We let the article itself explain :

Ousted writer plots revenge on the queen of Ambridge

By Catherine Milner, Arts Correspondent (Filed: 26/05/2002)

It is an everyday story of scriptwriting folk who take revenge on their former colleagues. Anthony Parkin, a scriptwriter on The Archers who left the programme five years ago after rows over its "politically correct" story lines, has written a novel lampooning his erstwhile boss.

Mr Parkin, who said at the time of his acrimonious departure from the programme that he intended to write a book about his experiences, has penned a comic novel in which a radio scriptwriter is forced out by ignorant editors - only to emerge triumphant. Mr Parkin vents his frustration by creating Amabel Pike, the editor of a radio soap opera called Humbridge, who clashes with Roger, the heroic but unassuming writer.

Former colleagues have been quick to point out the similarities between the fictional Ms Pike and Vanessa Whitburn, the editor of The Archers with whom Mr Parkin fell out spectacularly over proposed story lines.

Mr Parkin, who worked on the show for 26 years, finally becoming the agricultural story editor, walked out after a string of clashes with Miss Whitburn. In particular he was said to be annoyed by her promotion of politically correct, and in his view unrealistic, plot ideas.

In his novel - entitled Humbridge: an everyday story of scriptwriting folk - Amabel lives in Tufnell Park in north London and makes occasional forays to Sidcup to find inspiration for story lines.

She swears constantly as she berates her staff with a voice that "changes from a seductive cooing to a hectoring screech with astonishing suddenness", he writes.

As the plot develops, Amabel crosses words with Roger but eventually gets her come-uppance: she loses her job and has to beg Roger for work before being seduced by him - even though she has hitherto been a lesbian.

Mr Parkin insisted last week that all the characters were "completely fictional" and "wholly imaginary". Former colleagues say, however, that some elements of the tantrum-prone Amabel are clearly recognisable to those who worked with Miss Whitburn.

William Smethurst, who edited the series for 15 years and worked with Miss Whitburn for five, said: "Tony Parkin has tried to cover his tracks but hasn't done so well. One of my colleagues once said how extraordinary Vanessa was, because one minute she would be shouting and the next she had the soothing tones of Margaret Thatcher. That seems very similar to the description here."

Mr Parkin represents Ms Pike as a lesbian - an echo of newspaper revelations last year that Miss Whitburn lived with a South African woman called Jennifer. Ms Pike also seems to share a number of physical characteristics with Miss Whitburn, such as "high cheekbones, a generous mouth and a slightly retrouss� nose", as well as "fair hair, [which] inclines to be curly".

Poking fun with the politically correct story lines of Humbridge, Mr Parkin invents a scene in which a birthing pool is placed next to the church. In another episode, Amabel is in favour of a plot in which the moles ruining the lawns of the village are trapped and then set free in the woods.

In reality Miss Whitburn was responsible for putting two gay men in charge of the pub in Ambridge and for the plot line in which "wild child" Kate Aldridge became the mother of a mixed-race daughter, Nolly, as the result of her relationship with a South African.

This weekend Mr Parkin said that he had left the series because of a straightforward clash with Miss Whitburn. "I had a basic incompatibility with the editor," he said. "She always pushed what she would have liked to have gone on in a village rather than what really went on."

Miss Whitburn was not available for comment last week but the BBC said that despite the insistence that the characters were "purely fictional", the dust jacket alone, which is similar to the corporation's map of Ambridge, makes clear that the book is inspired by the programme.

"There is not much defence in saying that it is fictional," said a spokesman. "The fact is, though, that Vanessa is a real country girl: she was brought up in the country and lives nowhere near Tufnell Park."

Acknowledgement : The Sunday Telegraph 26 May 2002