Ysanne (left) at an Archers celebration lunch with former co-stars Norman Painting and Patricia Greene (Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeTributes were paid today to much-loved soap star Ysanne Churchman as her death at the age of 99 was revealed by the BBC following a career that spanned five decades in radio, TV and film. The actress is best known for having playing Grace Archer in Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, with her exit – which drew 20million listeners – proving so controversial that listeners bombarded the BBC and filled newspaper letters pages with complaints for days. It saw Grace running into a burning stable to rescue her best friend’s horses, but was trapped by a falling beam and said her final words on the way to hospital, telling her husband of six months Phil Archer that she loved him before she died. The dramatic death was initially rumoured to be a spoiler tactic to draw audiences away from the launch of the BBC’s new commercial rival ITV, which took place on the same day in 1955. The Archers’ current editor Jeremy Howe led tributes to the star, saying: “We are saddened by the death of Ysanne Churchman, whose role as the inimitable Grace Archer captured the nation.
Ysanne Churchman playing Grace Archer in The Archers with radio husband Norman Painting, who was Phil Archer
(Image: Bould/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)
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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. “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.” Grace, who went on to have a hugely successful career in voice acting with roles including Doctor Who, explained in 2015 why she believed she was written out of The Archers because of her union activity and campaigning for equal pay. The Daily Mirror asked at the time: “Was Grace Archer coldly and calmly murdered – to rid the Archers of Ysanne Churchman? The BBC know the facts. So does Equity. And, of course, so does Ysanne Churchman. But, dead girls can tell no tales.” Speaking aged 90, Ysanne explained in Radio 4 docudrama called Dead Girls Tell No Tales – a reference to the Mirror’s pay-off – that she had been to actors’ union Equity to discuss being paid the same as her male co-stars, which led to the boss at the time Godfrey Baseley wanting her out. However, she said the timing of her exit – coinciding with the launch of ITV and the explosion in television commercials – was a blessing. The star insisted: “Don’t feel too sorry for me. In some ways Godfrey Baseley may even have done me a favour. They say that when one door shuts another opens. “And on the very night Grace died, ITV started, and immediately needed people with just exactly my experience to voice the commercials. And so I was able to make a good living from voiceovers for years.”
Ysanne Churchman – aka Grace Archer – was an in-demand voiceover star for decades
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