An Archers prequel will trace the history of the character of Peggy Woolley as part of the marking of the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Peggy, the longest-running character in the BBC Radio 4 soap’s history until actress June Spencer retired from playing her in 2022, will return for Victory At Ambridge.
Spencer, who played Peggy for more than 70 years, died last year aged 105, and tributes were paid by famous faces including the Queen.
Archers actress Emerald O’Hanrahan will take on the role of matriarch Peggy in the upcoming special, which is set towards the end of the Second World War in 1945 and six years before the soap officially began in 1951.
Peggy’s story will see her as the young pregnant wife of her first husband Jack Archer, who had storylines of being a gambler and an alcoholic, trapped in bomb-hit London.
Other actors on the soap, Timothy Bentinck, the 12th Earl of Portland, and Felicity Finch, will play Jack’s parents Dan and Doris Archer, who live at Brookfield Farm. In The Archers Bentinck plays Dan’s grandson David.
The couple will invite Peggy to the fictional village of Ambridge to live with them, while Jack is away at war.
Producer Kim Greengrass said: “Victory at Ambridge is a heartfelt tribute to resilience, community, and the triumphs and tribulations of everyday life during World War II.
“This special prequel takes listeners on a thrilling wartime adventure, and gives Archers fans a unique glimpse into the hidden history which shaped modern-day Ambridge.”
Spencer first joined The Archers for a pilot episode in 1950, and her character’s storylines saw Peggy deal with alcoholism, gambling and bereavement including when her second husband Jack Woolley (Arnold Peters) died after a dementia diagnosis.
In the modern day, Bentinck plays David Archer opposite Finch as his wife Ruth Archer, while O’Hanrahan usually portrays Ed Grundy’s (Barry Farrimond) wife Emma Grundy.
Other Victory At Ambridge plots include a land girl, Wanda Lafromboise (Madeleine Leslay), meeting dashing RAF officer and war hero Max Gilpin (Angus Stobie), and local scoundrel Walter Gabriel (Nick Barber) dabbling in the black market during the war’s rationing.
The two-parter episodes will also see The Bull landlord Bob Little (Ryan Kelly) in grief from his son dying in action and taking in a Polish refugee, Roza (Susie Riddell), and the Lower Loxley estate being requisitioned as a home for wounded RAF officers.
Riddell will also play the character of Pamela Pargetter, who tries to help her easily-led son, Gerald, also played by Barber.
The modern-day series sees Riddell play The Bull barwoman Tracy Horrobin, and Barber portray houseboat owner Rex Fairbrother.
Victory At Ambridge is based on the novel by Catherine Miller, the third in The Ambridge Chronicles trilogy.
The audio drama version will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday May 4 at 3pm, with part two at the same time the following week.
Both parts will be available on BBC Sounds from May 4.
