Patricia Honor Greene (born 1931) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

radio, television and film actress, who is best known as matriarch Jill Archer in radio serial ''

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 ...

''. She has played the role continuously since 1957, making her the world's longest serving actor in a soap opera in any medium (radio, television or internet).

Biography

Greene was born in

Allenton, Derby Allenton is a small suburb of the city of Derby, England, situated about three miles south of the city centre. It is located between the suburbs of Osmaston, Boulton, Alvaston and Shelton Lock. Allenton is a busy part of the city of Derby, wi ...

, England. Her family moved to Campion Street in the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

part of the city, where she attended Ashgate Infants School on Ashbourne Road. Later she moved to Kirk Street, Chester Green, attending St Paul's Junior School and the Parkfields Cedars Grammar School. After working as a ward orderly at the

Derbyshire Children's Hospital Derbyshire Children's Hospital is a children's hospital in Derby, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. It was the only entirely new children's hospital built in t ...

and in the sheet metal factory of Hawk Industries, she decided to become an actress and went to the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

in London in 1951. She has had a lengthy career in radio and film, and is best known for portraying matriarch Jill Archer in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

soap ''The Archers'' since 1957 (originally Jill Patterson). She has also appeared in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' both in 2000. Greene married English actor

George Selway George Selway (21 February 1924 – May 1994) was an English actor who had a lengthy career in film and television. He was married to and later separated from English actress Patricia Greene, of ''The Archers'' radio serial fame. Coincidental ...

in 1959. They were later divorced and she married Cyril Austen Richardson in 1972, by whom she has a son, Charles, born in 1972. She was widowed in 1986. Greene was awarded the

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in 1997 and was conferred an honorary Master of Arts degree by the

University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ea ...

in 2017.

Filmography

Radio

Footnotes

External links

Characters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Patricia Living people Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English film actresses English radio actresses Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Derby Actresses from Derbyshire The Archers 1931 births