2: When the Script Hits the Fan: Why Archers Fans Stop Listening (and Why They Can't Completely Keep Away)

In the 70 years since The Archers began, it has evolved from its original remit as ‘an everyday story of country folk’, using storylines to disseminate information to farmers in order to improve productivity during post-war rationing, to ‘a contemporary drama in a rural setting’, including issues such as coercive control, homelessness and alcoholism within its plot lines. According to YouGov (2021), The Archers was the 16th most popular radio programme or podcast in the second quarter of 2021, with an overall 20% approval rating.

This research was inspired by my experience as a member of several online Archers fan communities. I noticed that, in one of the communities, several of the most active and engaged participants were not currently listening to the programme and in some cases had not listened for a number of years; despite this they were enthusiastic members of the group, read and commented on synopses of episodes and regularly took part in discussions about characters and plot lines. This phenomenon was repeated in most, if not all, of the other online Archers communities I belonged to. As someone who has studied non-participatory membership of online communities (also known as ‘lurking’), this behaviour was particularly interesting to me. Many people who identify as fans have experience of becoming disenchanted with a previously-loved show or franchise; fewer people continue to engage with fan communities and activities after they have stopped actively consuming (in this case, listening to) the media product. This chapter will explore the reasons why The Archers fans stop listening, why they start again (if they do), and how they perceive the show as a result of their listening break.