The Archers team scrapped five weeks of storylines due to pandemic

\'The Archers\' had to scrap five weeks of storylines due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The long-running BBC Radio 4 soap - which has been on air since 1951 - had to reduce its weekly schedule during the global health crisis, but the team also ended up having to ditch 12 scripts as they adjusted to the current climate.

Editor Jeremy Howe told Radio Times magazine: "We binned 12 scripts and five weeks\' worth of storylines that were about to be written.

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"We then started inventing stories that were set in Ambridge, where the coronavirus had now arrived, that could be told in a way that both reflected the lockdown and could be recorded in the cast\'s homes. I told the team - keep it simple."

He also heaped praise on the production team for bringing \'The Archers\' to listeners, as classic episodes aired over the last three weeks as new instalments were being created.

He added: "The way the team, cast and writers have risen to this challenge has been, frankly, humbling.

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"I am thrilled by what we have produced so far, and I hope the audience will be too."

The programme will be back on air from Monday (25.05.20) with new episodes every week day except Fridays - meaning four instead of the six aired before the pandemic - while there will be a repeat broadcast at 2pm the following day plus a shorter Sunday omnibus.

Jeremy previously promised fans that while \'The Archers\' would address the pandemic, the team would do so in the right way for its listeners.

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He said in a statement: "For nearly 70 years Ambridge has been a haven for our audience, and so it continues to be.

"Whilst coronavirus might be coming to Borsetshire, listeners can still expect \'The Archers\' to be an escape, and the residents to be bickering and as playful and witty as ever.

"We want this new approach to \'The Archers\' to still be a picture of the way we live now in rural England that it has always been."