The Ambridge Family

Welcome to the fifth series in the annual podcast programme from Academic Archers, bringing you papers from our 2024 conference.

This episode brings together four papers from the session The Ambridge Family, exploring queerness, grief, education, and money in village life.

The Only Gay in the Village? Queer(y)ing Family in Rural Borsetshire - Peter Matthews

The Archers has long been rooted in the heteronormative nuclear family, with drama created when norms are broken. This paper explores how the show “queers” family life: from Adam and Ian’s surrogacy with Lexi and Adam’s relationships with Pawel and Charlie, to Helen choosing to have a child outside heterosexual partnership.

It also considers how the housing crisis forces new family forms and how the intimacy of the programme allows negotiations of gender roles, such as Harrison reducing his hours while Fallon works more – and, of course, Pip and Stella.

About the speaker

• Professor Peter Matthews is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Stirling. His research focuses on equality, diversity and social justice.

A Tractor and Family Overturned: The Death of John Archer and Its Ongoing Implications - Deborah Miller and Meg Burton

John Archer’s death continues to reverberate through Bridge Farm. This paper explores how the loss of an adult child affects surviving parents and siblings, focusing on Helen and Tom.

It considers how the tragedy changed their roles and shaped their self-esteem, drawing on grief theory, developmental psychology, and the risks of PTSD. Helen’s behaviours and Tom’s drive to ‘replace’ his brother reveal how this event still haunts Ambridge.

About the speakers

• Deborah Miller has a professional background in health and local government, and has presented multiple Academic Archers papers.
• Meg Burton brings both personal and professional perspectives to grief, trauma, and family life in Ambridge.

Mia and Brad Are Doing Four A Levels: Will Widening Participation in Higher Education Finally Hit Ambridge? - Janette Myers

University has been rare, and fraught, for Ambridge residents. This paper asks whether Mia and Brad might break new ground, tracking educational life chances in the village and comparing them with national patterns.

It also considers whether informal learning – such as Tracy’s discovery of Lark Rise to Candleford – or Borchester College might shift opportunities, and what this says about class, aspiration and higher education.

About the speaker

• Dr Janette Myers is an Open University academic specialising in widening participation. She has listened to The Archers for over 45 years.

Ant to come next week, though it was part of this session -

Looking After the Penny Hassets So the Pounds Look After Themselves - Katherine Jennings and Vikki Barry Brown

Money is everywhere in Ambridge, but rarely spoken of openly. This paper explores how financial norms, taboos and silences mirror English cultural attitudes.

From inherited wealth to debt, employment to entrepreneurship, money shapes status and relationships. Themes of shame, aspiration and social standing reveal how the programme presents financial lives to its audience.

About the speakers

• Vikki Barry Brown leads qualitative research at behavioural science consultancy CogCo and is completing her PhD in Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London.
• Katherine Jennings is Director of the Talking Taboos Foundation and a social researcher with Common Collective, focusing on taboo issues and behaviour change.

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