Another month at the top of the charts for Alice Carter. This month, we also heard Ed Grundy, Jakob Hakansson, Joy Horville and Will Grundy for the first time in 2021. Still no sign of Pat Archer – not heard since before the first lockdown. POSITION CHARACTER APRIL 1 Alice Carter 10 2 Jazzer McCreary 7 3 Chris Carter 5 4 Tracy Horrobin 5 5 Fallon Rogers 4 6 Harrison Burns 4 7 Kirsty Miller 4 8 Elizabeth Pargetter 3 9 Helen Archer 3 10 Jim Lloyd 3 11 Justin Elliott 3 12 Kate Madikane 3 13 Lee Bryce 3 14 Lilian Bellamy […]

POSITION CHARACTER APPEARANCES 1 Alice Carter 9 2 Chris Carter 8 3 Susan Carter 7 4 Clarrie Grundy 6 = Eddie Grundy 6 = Jazzer McCreary 6 = Kirsty Miller 6 8 Brian Aldridge 5 = Jim Lloyd 5 10 Alan Franks 4 = Neil Carter 4 12 Ben Archer 3 = Emma Grundy 3 = Phoebe Aldridge 3 15 Adam Macy 2 = Alistair Lloyd 2 = David Archer 2 = Harrison Burns 2 = Kate Madikane 2 = Leonard Berry 2 = Lynda Snell 2 = Maternity Doctor 2 = Rex Fairbrother 2 = Ruairi Donovan 2 = […]

POSITION CHARACTER APPEARANCES 1 Kirsty Miller 8 2 Elizabeth Pargetter 5 = Shula Hebden Lloyd 5 4 Brian Aldridge 4 = David Archer 4 = Helen Archer 4 = Ruth Archer 4 8 Alistair Lloyd 3 = Freddie Pargetter 3 = Jazzer McCreary 3 = Jim Lloyd 3 = Lynda Snell 3 = Philip Moss 3 = Pip Archer 3 = Rex Fairbrother 3 = Tracy Horrobin 3 17 Alan Franks 2 = DC Tanners 2 = Justin Elliott 2 = Natasha Archer 2 = Neil Carter 2 = Phoebe Aldridge 2 = Robert Snell 2 = Roy Tucker 2 […]

December saw the introduction of a handful of new characters. When Lily and Freddie went for a night out, they were met with an obstructive Casino Doorman and later a Bingo Caller – great for any radio actor’s CV. We also heard from the marriage registrar officiating at Kirsty and Philip’s wedding. We also had an episode featuring all three of the “horses” – Blake, Jordan and Kenzie. We may hear more of them in the new year as the modern slavery storyline develops following Philip Moss’s arrest. Another participant in this storyline is Victoria – will she turn out […]

A momentous month in Ambridge with episodes sounding more and more like they did in the pre-monologue era. Episodes in November featured an average of between five and six characters. The only two-hander we’ve heard since the beginning of September was the brilliant bathroom episode with Alice and Chris Carter. We also heard a voice from beyond the grave when Ruairi played the CD that his mother Siobhan had recorded for him to hear on his eighteenth birthday. And we heard a “Right You Are” from Eddie Grundy. POSITION CHARACTER EPISODES 1 Alice Carter 6 1 David Archer 6 1 […]

BACK TO THE ARCHERS! So many of the lockdown episodes have focused on Alice and Chris, Philip and Gavin, Lynda and Robert, that it was nice to get back to the Archer family in the second half of the month — even if that meant hearing Ruth and Pip moaning and Ben swooning! We also welcomed back Jennifer Aldridge who had not been heard since before the lockdown began. I thought we were going to be introduced to a new character — Evie — the student on the archaeological dig, but it was not to be. We did however meet […]

A CARTER FAMILY TOP THREE THIS MONTH WITH ALICE, SUSAN AND CHRIS ALL OCCUPYING THE TOP THREE PLACES. The month began with a two-character episode featuring just Philip Moss and Gavin Moss, but then things began to return to normal with more and more dialogue episodes with four or five characters per episode. We even had a couple of six-character episodes on the 16th and 29th September. (I wonder if, during the monologue episodes, there has been a rule for the scriptwriters similar to the RULE OF 39.) A new character appeared, although not one that is likely to become […]

Monologues Month 3 A clear leader this month with Alice Carter featuring in eleven episodes followed by Emma Grundy and Lynda Snell in six. We started to get some dialogue scenes in some episodes in August. Some face-to-face, some telephone calls and some via video conferencing. Even with these dialogue scenes, there was still not a “Right You Are” to be heard. Two characters appeared across a week in all four episodes: Alice Carter from Monday 10th to Thursday 13th August followed by Emma Grundy from Monday 17th to Thursday 20th August. POSITION CHARACTER EPISODES 1 Alice Carter 11 2 […]

The second full month of monologue episodes In my opinion, the most notable thing about July’s episodes was the return of Debbie Aldridge. I wonder whether her return had been planned had the current format not been necessary, or whether, like most in the acting profession, she found herself with time on her hands and jumped at the chance of an opportunity to be involved. Whatever brought it about, I welcomed her return – Debbie Aldridge is one of my favourite characters. This month saw the first four-character episode, with Chris Carter, Brian Aldridge, Alice Carter and Debbie Aldridge all […]