A declaration of "war" by an extremist fan club of the radio soap opera The Archers has brought a taste of real life to fictional Ambridge.

Calling itself the Archers Anarchists, the 600-strong group has launched a campaign of "guerrilla action" to stop sales of books and magazines featuring photographs of the cast.

The underground group, which claims The Archers really exist, says it hates the "pretence" that the voices of Ambridge broadcast on BBC Radio 4 characters are really those of actors.

But the BBC hit back by saying that if the surreal campaign headed towards a real-life clash it had its own secret weapon to unleash: "We'll set series bad-boy Clive Horrobin on you", it threatened.

Four million listeners around the world tune in to the show (55")

Clive Horrobin currently faces a charge of causing gamekeeper George Barford grievous bodily harm.

"Clive can really be quite nasty - he has already held up the village post office," said a spokesman. "We will be calling on his skills to protect our editor or anyone else under threat."

Given the popularity of the show, the world's longest running radio drama, and the addictive nature of soap operas perhaps some fans should be forgiven for confusing fiction with reality?

The group wants to stop sales of books and magazines featuring photographs of the cast.

Over the years, several villages in Britain have claimed that they are the real-life Ambridge - although Ambridge is a fictitious place.

Even comedienne Jo Brand, actor Robert Powell and John Gummer - who is said to eat hamburgers while listening to it - admit to being addicts.

BBC 'Today' radio discussion on the distinction between drama and real life for Archers fans (Dur: 3'19)

Four million listeners around the world follow the fortunes of Britain's best-loved countryfolk and around 7,000 people are members of the mainstream fan club, Archers Addicts, set up by the cast.

From small acorns

Although highly successful, the idea of basing a show on a rural community was, and still is perhaps, not an obvious one.

The Archers was created in 1951 on a small budget by Godfrey Baseley.

Mr Baseley, who died last year, was a BBC farming producer who grew frustrated with the conventions of traditional educational agricultural broadcasting and conceived a rural drama which would use entertainment to get its message across.

He worked with the writers of the series Dick Barton to create a gentle tale of country folk set in the fictional county of Borsetshire and its rural village Ambridge - inspired by his Worcestershire home.

The original actors were all amateurs who had other day jobs. Dan Archer worked as a pottery designer and Doris ran a shop.

For more than 20 years it remained more or less unchanged as an educational programme where episodes included information for farmers to keep them up-to-date with the latest agricultural developments, while entertaining.

In the early 1970s the show, which has always been produced in Birmingham, began to embrace racier, more modern themes to reflect the times, although it still prides itself on its research and its reflection of real rural life.

One of the show's stars, Hedli Niklaus, who plays Kathy Perks, acknowledged the dilemma for some soap opera followers in distinguishing fiction from reality.

"The line between drama and real life is always difficult for some," she said.

"People who meet me are always asking why I don't look different."

But she said she would not be intimidated by some of The Archers' more extreme fanatics.

"If these guys (Archers Anarchists) are out to boost the ranks of Archers followers good luck to them," said Hedli.

"I can only say that if they don't like pictures of the cast then they are missing out - I'm a lot more gorgeous in the flesh than my voice indicates."
 

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