''Ambridge Extra'' is an extension of the long-running radio drama ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural settin ...

''. It began broadcasting sporadically on the digital radio station

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

from 5 April 2011. The programme ran for five series, before it was "rested".

Overview

''Ambridge Extra'' ran in addition to ''The Archers'' and gave an insight into other areas of the characters' lives. Writer Tim Stimpson explained the show "should be a little extra gift to our regular ''Archers'' listeners, crafted with affection and giving them a new perspective on life in Ambridge." He stated that the team wanted the series to be accessible for people who had never listened to ''The Archers'' before. ''Ambridge Extra'' featured a number of new or previously silent and minor characters from the main series and initially focussed on several of the younger characters. The programme was broadcast on Tuesday and Thursday with an omnibus on Sunday, all following ''The Archers'' on Radio 4. ''The Archers'' theme tune "

Barwick Green "Barwick Green" is the theme music to the long-running BBC Radio 4 soap opera ''The Archers''. A "maypole dance" from the suite ''My Native Heath'' written in 1924 by the Yorkshire composer Arthur Wood, it is named after Barwick-in-Elmet in Yor ...

" was re-arranged for ''Ambridge Extra'', and was performed by folk group

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical style ...

. The first series of ''Ambridge Extra'' ran for 13 weeks (26 episodes) from April through to June 2011. A second 13-week series began airing from 4 October 2011 at 2.15pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was produced by Sara Conkey and Rosie Boulton. ''Ambridge Extra'' was recommissioned for a third series, which began airing from 3 July 2012. A fourth series was broadcast from 4 December 2012. When the fifth series of ''Ambridge Extra'' began on 2 July 2013, there was much criticism over key scenes appearing in the show rather than ''The Archers''. On 30 January 2014, it was confirmed that ''Ambridge Extra'' would not be returning for a sixth series and was going to be "rested". Anita Singh from ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that the show was "highly unlikely" to return. The commissioning editor for Radio 4 Extra stated "Our ''Ambridge Extra'' decision won't impact on ''The Archers'' in any way, but across the BBC we are having to make tough financial choices and prioritise and protect the services and content that deliver the most value to audiences."

Reception

Listener response to the early episodes were largely negative. Vicki Power from ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' suggested that the series showed potential, but needed to include storylines that the main show could "not afford to ignore", suggesting that the current format felt like listening to "the reserve team". The show was nicknamed ''AMEX'' by listeners. It was also dubbed "''Archers Lite''". The show attracted an average audience of 250,000 listeners per week, compared with the main show's five million.

References

External links

''Ambridge Extra''
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambridge Extra 2011 radio programme debuts 2013 radio programme endings BBC Birmingham productions BBC Radio 4 Extra programmes The Archers