The Archers star Ysanne Churchman has died at the age of 99.
The radio favourite voiced long-standing character Grace Archer in the beloved BBC Radio 4 drama throughout the 1950s. She continued to work for the broadcaster in both radio and TV.
The BBC confirmed in a statement on behalf of the family that Ysanne passed away peacefully at her home on July 4. The Archers’ current editor Jeremy Howe said: “We are saddened by the death of Ysanne Churchman, whose role as the inimitable Grace Archer captured the nation.
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“In the 1950s, Ysanne was at the heart of one of Ambridge’s most shocking storylines, with listeners so distraught at her character’s death they subsequently jammed BBC switchboards.
(Image: BBC)
“Ysanne was a wonderful actress and off air she campaigned tirelessly for equal pay for women in the industry. She will be much missed by all at The Archers and our hearts are with her friends and family.”
Her character’s storyline on the beloved radio show was one of the soap’s most shocking in its history, and even sabotaged the launch of the BBC’s rival TV channel. In 1951, 26-year-old Churchman joined the cast of Archers.
But four years later, on September 22, 1995, her character was killed off in a dramatic stable fire. More than 20 million peopled tuned in for her explosive exit.
(Image: Getty Images)
The dramatic episode majorly overshadowed the launch of ITV, becoming the most-talked about show on the airwaves. Thousands of loyal fans even jammed the BBC switchboard for 48 hours in a desperate bid to tune into the shocking episode.
Her exit impacted listeners so much that many vented their frustration in newspaper letter pages up and down the country. The episode became quite controversial due to its unusual timing, with critics accusing the Beeb of deliberately attempting to overshadow ITV’s opening night.
The Radio play Dead Girls Tell No Tales was released in 2015 for the 60th anniversary of Grace’s death on The Archers. Sean O’Connor, who edited the radio drama between 2013 and 2016, shut down the idea that Grace’s death was a deliberate tool to conspire against ITV.
He told the Radio Times: “That is the folklore I inherited, and is what most of the people on the show believe, apart from the senior executives who knew the truth. But there were slightly different versions of that truth, some of them more melodramatic than others.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Writing in The Times after Ysanne’s death, Sean said The Archers star shared “the whole and nothing but the truth” about her character’s death. He wrote: “Grace’s death was nothing to do with the launch of ITV or the dwindling number of radio licences. She explained that the editor and creator of the programme, Godfrey Baseley, had a personal vendetta against her.
“Her departure from the programme was a result of what we would now regard as workplace bullying.” Despite her character’s death, Churchman continued to be involved with The Archers.
She went on to voice five other characters on the show, with her last being Mary Pound in 1983. She was also involved in Dr Who, and at the age of 92 in 2017, she returned to the show and voiced alien Alpha Centauri.
(Image: BBC)
After the news of her passing hit the headlines, fans of the actor flooded to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their sympathies online. One user penned: “Her contributions to both radio and television will be remembered fondly. RIP Ysanne Churchman.”
Another gushed: “A specialist in voice for radio, film and TV for over half a century, Ysanne Churchman gave #DoctorWho the definitive performance of an alien hermaphrodite hexapod with ‘the pure voice of a young boy with the mentality of a civil servant’. Truly iconic. RIP.”
A third gushed: “Legend! Oh bless her. Ysanne Churchman, who shocked the nation’s radio listeners as Grace Archer & made history by returning to Doctor Who to voice Alpha Centauri in 2017. 43 years after she’d last done so, has died aged 99. RIP.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
