Archers addict Camilla makes Ambridge cameo

Duchess of Cornwall to play herself in episode of Radio 4 soap, with village still reeling from death of Nigel Pargetter

As a dyed-in-the-wool countrywoman and hunting fan, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has landed a cameo appearance in Radio 4's enduring soap, The Archers.

A longtime "Archers addict", she has agreed to play herself in a forthcoming episode as the everyday story of country folk celebrates its 60th year.

Part of royalty's role is to unite and soothe the country in times of crisis. And so the Duchess of Cornwall's impending visit is revealed with Ambridge still reeling from the death of stately-home toff Nigel Pargetter, felled by merciless scriptwriters last month in the quest for a record audience for its 60th anniversary episode.

Listeners learned of her appearance tonight when Caroline Sterling, owner of the Grey Gables country house hotel, revealed plans for the special guest. The duchess will feature in the programme on 16 February in her role as president of the National Osteoporosis Society, a charity she has supported since 1994.

It's not the first time The Archers has harnessed royalty to mark significant anniversaries. Its 50th birthday was celebrated at a starry reception at St James's Palace hosted by Prince Charles, who seized the opportunity to highlight the foot-and-mouth crisis and the suffering endured by the rural community in recent years.

The Duchess of Cornwall, then just plain Camilla Parker Bowles, revealed an addiction to the drama series which has hooked generations of listeners with a diet of sex, infidelity, family rivalry, GM controversy, fires, fraud and all the other normal travails of village life.Chatting to the cast, she displayed an impressive knowledge of plotlines, including that of the love triangle involving philandering pub landlord Sid Perks, his wife Kathy, and the temptress Jolene. It was reported she had confided to one actor that Jolene was "a bit of a slapper".

Having already recorded her b! rief par t, this time she will meet cast members at BBC Birmingham on 16 February before attending a reception hosted by the chairman of the BBC Michael Lyons.

She is not the first royal to grace Grey Gables. In 1984 Princess Margaret was a surprise guest at an NSPCC fundraising fashion show in the hotel's ballroom. The original plan was for the Duke of Westminster to appear in his capacity as chairman of the charity portrayed as a fictional relation to Caroline Sterling (then Caroline Bone). But when the princess heard, she asked to take part too, in her role as NSPCC president.

Her appearance bequeathed Grey Gables its coveted Royal Garden Suite, named in memory of her fictional night's stay in the 24-room hotel. At the time the producer, William Smethurst, revealed the princess had quickly mastered the microphone techniques required.

Other people to appear as themselves over the years have included TV and radio personality Gilbert Harding, radio DJ John Peel, actor Britt Ekland, presenter Alan Titchmarsh and jazz musician and broadcaster Humphrey Lyttelton.


guardian.co.uk Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UK greenhouse gas emissions fall 8.7%

Image
Total UK emissions plummet as recession lowers electricity and fuel use A dramatic fall in greenhouse gas emissions following the recession has brought the UK's climate change targets for the next five years within easy reach, taking the pressure off government and business to comply. Government estimates released on Tuesday showed greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.7% from 2008 to 2009, the biggest drop since records began in 1990. Carbon dioxide levels plunged 9.8%, a fall only matched in 1980, in records extending to 1970. The unexpectedly deep slump in emissions mirrors the fall in industrial output in the recession, with high-emitting sectors including construction and transport hit particularly hard. But it also means that government-set climate change targets of cutting emissions by 35% by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, now look much easier to meet. The UK has already met the targets for 2016, provided emissions stay at 2009 levels. This raises the prospect that business...
Keep reading

Top flyer boo-boo : Shut off noisy engines

LONDON: It's too noisy, could you please turn off the engines ? Could you please open the window? These are some of the "foolish" and "bizarre requests" flyers often make to flight attendants, according to a new survey. The survey of some 3,000 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members found that some passengers fail to understand why they are prevented from opening the window, others think "turning down" the engines could reduce the noise. "Please, can you open the window?" was among the most common unusual queries made by uncomfortable passengers who seem to be unaware of the benefits of a pressurised cabin at 35,000ft. Other unique questions included "could you turn the engines down because they are too noisy?" and "please can the captain stop the turbulence?", the Telegraph reported. The survey also laid bare the level of comfort and service some customers expect, with several asking flight attendants "can you sho...
Keep reading

Dogs can be trained to sniff out bowel cancer, Japanese researchers say

Image
Experiments show that labrador retriever's sense of smell can identify minute traces of chemicals circulating in human body Dogs can be trained to sniff out bowel cancer, even when the disease is in its early stages, researchers in Japan claim. In a series of experiments that involved sniffing the breath or stool samples of patients, a specially-trained labrador retriever proved nearly as good at identifying those with cancer as a conventional colonoscopy examination. The team, led by Hideto Sonoda at Fukuoka dental college hospital, said some dogs have such a keen sense of smell that they can detect minute traces of chemicals that appear to circulate in the bodies of people who have cancer. The finding builds on previous experiments in which researchers used dogs to sniff out cancers in the skin, lungs, bladder and ovaries. Writing in the journal Gut , the researchers describe how the eight-year-old dog was trained to distinguish between the smell of a patient with colorectal canc...
Keep reading