What a weekend.

Our tenth anniversary conference brought 145 Ambridge Research Fellows back together at the much-loved University of Warwick for two days of scholarship, silliness and the warmest of welcomes, in honour of the greatest radio drama of them all.

We heard brilliant papers and quick pitches on everything from Barwick Green to body weight, queer lives to cricket teas, net zero to the churchmanship of St Stephen's. We sat in on a live recording of the One Stiletto in the Grave podcast with Jane James and Sunny Ormonde (thats Lillian Bellamy, of course) - with special guests Trevor Harrison, aka Eddie Grundy, and Ryan Kelly, aka Jazzer - spent time in conversation with The Archers Editor Jeremy Howe and scriptwriter Keri Davies, handed out our Academic Archers Awards, and rounded the Saturday off with the conference dinner, joined by Brian Hewlett, aka Neil Carter, and had a proper catch-up over drinks.

Our thanks to everyone who presented, attended, listened and joined in. It was exactly the joyful, curious gathering we had hoped our tenth year would be.

The 2026 papers and presenters

Our tenth anniversary weekend was full to the brim with brilliant thinking on every corner of life in Ambridge. Here is everyone who took to the floor.

Fandom and Fiction
Ambridge: Life on the Streets, Ian Merry
Ambridge Extra: radio experiment or fever dream?, Jerome Turner
An exploration of listeners' Pavlovian responses to Barwick Green, Karen Rodham
The Archers Brand, Sarah Buckle
Amp-bridge: tackling the challenge of rural electric vehicle charging, Alexander Lewis-Jones

Characters and Characterisations
Vince and Birmingham, Sarah Spilsbury (quick pitch)
It Can't Only Be Rosie: why The Archers should talk more about body weight, Fiona Gillison
Voices, Silences and Queer Lives: performing identity in The Archers, Vivian Colbert
Grand Designs, Modest Foundations: desperately seeking betterment, Nicola Maxfield

Conversation and Community
'I had this friend who...': exploring the purpose and incidence of anecdotes in The Archers, Pauline Bucknell
Ambridge Community Structure, James Tuite and Aditi Krishnakumar

Interests and Institutions
The Churchmanship of St Stephen's, Jonathan Hustler
The Ambridge Fete: analysis from behind the gazebo, Bev Milner Simonds
Cricket Teas, Meg Burton

Ecology and Economy
Net Zero Ambridge: decarbonisation starts at home, Claire Astbury
Ultimate Arboriculture: quantifying the value of trees in Ambridge, Matt Underwood

Literature and Landscape
Ambridge, Fact and Fiction, Christine Narramore (quick pitch)

The 2026 Academic Archers Awards

No conference weekend would be complete without our awards ceremony, that gleeful moment when we hand out the silverware (metaphorical, mostly) to the papers and presenters who delighted us most. Here are this year's worthy winners.

The Emily Baker Memorial Award for Most Humorous Paper
Jill Manasseh

Academic Archers Award for Most Loved in the Peer Review
Jerome Turner, for Ambridge Extra: Radio experiment or fever dream?

Academic Archers Award for The Most Ambridge
Meg Burton, for The Ambridge Cricket Team and the Importance of The Tea

The Dr Samantha Walton 'Cider with Grundy' Award for Best Title
Alexander Lewis-Jones, for Amp-bridge: tackling the challenge of rural electric vehicle charging

The Amside Property Developments Housing Fairy Award for Lifetime Investigations to the Number of Bedrooms in Ambridge - presented by Lillian Bellamy
Claire Astbury

The People’s Choice Award
Karen Rodham, An exploration of listeners’ Pavlovian responses to Barwick Green

In conversation with Jeremy Howe

We were thrilled to sit down with Jeremy Howe, editor of The Archers, for a wide-ranging conversation with Dr Cara Courage about life at the helm of Ambridge. You can watch the recording here.

It is a real treat for anyone curious about how the programme is shaped behind the scenes, from the big storylines to the small details that make Ambridge feel so wonderfully alive. Pop the kettle on, settle in, and enjoy a proper natter with the man who steers it all.

Keri’s Poetical Upsum 

On a bright Midlands day – the beginning of Spring

Twelve dozen arrived for a rare happening

They duly assembled – and all of them volunt’ry

At the Uni of Warwick (though really it’s Coventry)

In an atmosphere earnest (but warm and convivial)

They came to hear papers both learned and trivial

Taking issues and happenings in fictional Ambridge

To heights that were worthy of Oxford or Cambridge

We first heard about a notorious bully

The mafia matriarch known as Ma Woolley

With handbag of velvet encasing an iron fist

And young nephew David in charge of the hit list

Then we were reminded of old Ambridge Extra

A plucky attempt to give listeners more texture

With Russians and students and audible thinking.

And I’d bring back Mike Tucker without even blinking

Rodders explained a neat aspect of listening

The role of the sig tune in classic conditioning

Where some folk respond with a smile and a tick

While others react with “oh shit” and a click

A marketing microscope was then employed

To analyse just how the show is enjoyed

Ladder, onion and pyramid all work together

Ensuring Brand Archers continues forever

A grand vision was shared – a fine explanation

Ambitions for Ambridge electrification

But we chose to vote for a dire situation

Where Jazzer created a Bull conflagration

A true Brummie spoke about Vince’s home city

A place that – like Vince – is more gritty than pretty

So Elizabeth must have a question to face – “Eee,

what attracted you first to that millionaire Casey?”

Fiona spoke strongly to open our eyes

To the serious point of our characters’ size

Ambridge is in an unusual state

More have landed in prison then tried to lose weight

A queer lens was turned on our favourite fiction

Turns out Adam and Ian provide “voice without friction”

Stella and Pip are an item. But strewth!

It looks like it should have been Stella and Ruth…

Why sometimes do characters tell and not show?

Pauline asked the question and you want to know

So I can exclusively say – this is it

It’s when we end up a bit short in our script

Community structure was subject to query

Employing a technique that’s known as graph theory

If networking Lynda should find that her node’s

Less connected than Susan, her head would explode

From heaven above down to earth here below

St Stephen’s is broad church, not high church or low

The Reverend Alan was fast out the gate

When Crispin experienced near-death-by-Kate

If you want an event where you’ll see and be seen

A load of stalls quickly appears on the Green

With ferrets wheel, beer tent and Hollerton Band

We’ll get the fete fairy to wiggle her wand

After Pavlov and branding, Ambridge Extra and queerness

We finally get to the subject that’s dearest

For churchmanship, anecdote, community…

Are nothing in contrast to cricket – and tea!

So… what do we say of this quixotic Bedlam,

The wild brainchild of Doctors Courage and Headlam?

Let’s drink the bar dry and raise three rousing cheers

To Academic Archers! And another ten years!!