June Spencer

The actor, who plays Peggy, appeared in the very first episode of the Radio 4 soap in 1951.

Peggy became the matriarch of the Archers – a fully human character, inconsistent and flawed, capable of great thoughtlessness, but at times rising to her very best, magnificent, loyal self. “When it came to The Archers, though, we were recording on very large discs. The Archers was made in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and designed to dispense farming advice to its listeners while also educating townies about the countryside. (She was part of the Beeb’s regional radio drama repertory company at the time.) It really matters, then, that June Spencer (hale, hearty and sharp as a pin at 103 years old) is stepping down from the programme. Characters – and actors – are born, mature, age, and die in it, at the same pace as listeners’ own lives.

Duchess of Cornwall praises 'a true national treasure' as the actress bows out from role she first took in 1951.

Over the years, she has won the affection of millions of listeners, including many in high places. Spencer said Peggy is often seen as “bossy”, and usually isn’t the favourite character of younger audiences, who don’t understand her attitudes. Peggy, who is now the matriarch of the Archers family, was a critical part of the programme’s original purpose to educate people about new farming methods. Spencer was the last remaining member of the original Archers cast. “David Troughton [who plays Tony Archer] came down, and we did this final scene together, and then they packed up and went home”, she said. In December, the Duchess of Cornwall invited Spencer and her co-stars to Clarence House for a reception to mark the 70th anniversary of The Archers.

June Spencer, the last original cast member of the BBC Radio 4 production The Archers, is retiring at the age of 103 it has been announced.

She originally played Peggy for three years, starting in 1950 when the show began, but took a break in order to take care of her family. She featured as Peggy in The Archers trial episodes in 1950 before then joining the cast for the programmes first official episode on 1 January 1951. Over the course of her career, Spencer has been awarded a number of accolades. David died in 2006 at the age of 55 from alcoholism. She was born in Nottingham on 14 June 1919 and developed an affinity for the theatre at a young age. “Over the years it has thrived and become a splendid great tree with many branches. I couldn’t bear holiday romances that petered out during the winter! “Yet somehow he always seemed to be around. Spencer has said that her retirement has been a long time coming, stating that she has been trying to leave the show “for at least a year”. In a statement, Spencer said: “In 1950 I helped plant an acorn. She said: “I don’t think my mother wanted me to go into it. In 2010, she was made a Freeman of the City of London, the same year she published her autobiography The Road to Ambridge: My Life, Peggy and The Archers.

Spencer featured in the very first episode of the show in 1951, with her final performance broadcast on July 31. | ITV National News.

Among Peggy’s many fans is the Duchess of Cornwall, who last year invited Spencer and her co-stars to Clarence House for a reception marking the show’s 70th anniversary. Spencer then came back to the part in the early 1960s, when Rogers left. Spencer has played matriarch Peggy Woolley (formerly Archer) since 1951, and her last recordings were broadcast on July 31.

Long-running radio soap opera, The Archers, will never be the same again following the departure of icon and original cast member, June Spencer.

Bravo the legend that is June Spencer." To think that June has commanded the airwaves over an Archers career of over 70 years beggars belief. "Over the years it has thrived and become a splendid great tree with many branches.

At 103, life starts to sound like a rowdy party going on a few doors down. After being on The Archers all these years, no wonder you want a quiet life.

Shall I break the stained glass over their heads as Abraham did the tablets of the law? I offered Tom and Natasha a stained-glass window in St Stephen’s to celebrate the birth of their twins … perhaps a couple of cherubim bursting out of veg boxes … something tasteful like that. How did it get to be so biblical?

Spencer has played matriarch Peggy Woolley (formerly Archer) since 1951.

After a few years of playing Peggy, Spencer took a break and Thelma Rogers replaced her in the role. Bravo the legend that is June Spencer.” Spencer said: “In 1950 I helped to plant an acorn.

In choosing to leave The Archers at the marvellous age of 103, the actor has done things on her own terms. Portrait of actors (L-R) Hilary Newcombe, ...

She’s described her character as an “old branch” that has become “weak and unsafe” on a splendid old tree: “so I have duly lopped her.” How lovely that she wielded the chainsaw. They gave her a round of applause afterwards, and Professor Simon Lovestone, a specialist in the condition at King’s College, London, wrote to her that it was the truest depiction of Alzheimers he had ever come across. That means there’s still the whiff of public information about some of the words June Spencer has had to read over recent years. I write as a devoted fan, of The Archers, of June Spencer, and, with some qualifications, Peggy; but surely we can agree that the show and the character became so much more than clunky exposition. In spite of the rural setting, the character of Peggy was a townie. When The Archers first appeared, on New Year’s Day in 1951, it was a show with a brief.