Vanessa Whitburn

Last updated

Vanessa Victoria Whitburn OBE (born 12 December 1951) is a British radio producer, and a former editor of The Archers . [1]

Contents

Early life

Whitburn was born in Totnes, Devon, the daughter of Victor Whitburn and Eileen Wellington. She has a younger brother (born 1954). She failed her 11-plus and her parents sent her to Mount St Mary's Convent School, Exeter, which closed in 1997. [2]

She graduated from the University of Hull with a BA degree in English and American Studies in 1974. At university, she directed theatre productions, and took part in the university television station. [2]

Earlier career

She joined the BBC after university in 1974 as a trainee sound technician. [3] From 1976 to 1977, she worked for BBC Television. From 1977, she worked as a producer in radio drama for the BBC, at their Radio Drama Unit, which produced the Afternoon Play . From 1977 to 1980, [3] she was assistant producer of The Archers while William Smethurst was in charge of the programme. During this period she cast Trevor Harrison as Eddie Grundy and Sara Coward as Caroline Bone (later Pemberton and Stirling). "William Smethurst, recognised that I was good at directing and casting so he let me get on with that whilst he concentrated on storylines and scripts", she explained in 2010. [4]

From 1988 to 1990, she was the producer of Channel 4's Brookside . According to Whitburn, she was with the programme for four years, during the period Jimmy McGovern was still a member of the scriptwriting team, [4]

The Archers

She became the Editor of The Archers in June 1991. [5] She became executive producer of all radio drama for BBC Birmingham at BBC Pebble Mill in 1995 (later based at The Mailbox), including Silver Street for the BBC Asian Network. [6] Clashes between Whitburn and Smethurst (who had left the programme in 1986) became publicly known in 1996, with the former accusing Smethurst of "fluffy and frothy" Conservative propaganda, and the latter retaliating with the assertion that Whitburn had "no understanding of the countryside" and the serial under her had become "badly written feminist tripe". [7] [8] Smethurst wrote that then current plot lines simply did not happen in the countryside, although journalists pointed to real-life parallels. [9] "Farming is, and will always be, central to the show. It’s our USP", she commented in 2010. [10] "I drive in to work every day through the countryside and I’m always watching what the farmers are doing, and making sure we have covered that", she told Peter Stanford. [11]

The programme in Whitburn's hands was periodically accused of being politically correct. The racial origin of the South African character Lucas Madakane (Connie M'Gadzah) was not directly mentioned when he was introduced around 2001, which Victoria Mather in The Daily Telegraph thought "bizarre in a gossipy rural community". [12] Mark Lawson of The Guardian wrote that while any racism in the serial's fictional Ambridge "may be occurring out of earshot", treatment was also dramatically realistic because the issue of a person's skin colour is now seldom referred to directly in Britain. [13] It was also accused of being too melodramatic. "We can’t win", Whitburn said in 2010. "If I do nothing, people say it’s too dull". [10]

The 60th anniversary of the programme was billed as containing developments to "shake Ambridge to the core", which turned out to be long-term character Nigel Pargetter (Graham Seed) being killed in an accident. [14]

Whitburn left her position as the Editor of The Archers at the end of May 2013 after 22 years. From 2011 to 2013, she was also Editor of Ambridge Extra . During the period Whitburn was Editor, The Archers had up to 5 million listeners. [15] Her decision to formally retire from her roles was announced in March 2013. [11]

Personal life

Whitburn lives in Stratford-upon-Avon, and also shares a house in Cape Town, South Africa with her partner. [16]

On Friday 11 February 1994, she had a car accident at 11.30am on Bristol Road near Pebble Mill on her way into work, in her white VW Golf. She was taken to the intensive care at Birmingham General Hospital. [17] [11] She spent 17 days in hospital, after fracturing her pelvis and sustaining other injuries; she returned to work in June 1994. [18]

She was awarded the OBE in the 2014 New Year Honours. [19]

Publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Archers</i> British radio soap opera

The Archers is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural setting". Having aired over 20,000 episodes, it is the world's longest-running present-day drama by number of episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Wood</span> British comedian (1953–2016)

Victoria Wood was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Walters</span> English actress (b. 1950)

Dame Julia Mary Walters is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award.

Norman George Painting was an English actor, broadcaster and writer. He played Phil Archer in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers from the pilot episodes aired on the BBC Midlands Home Service in summer 1950, after the series went national on the Light Programme on 1 January 1951, until his death in 2009, when he was the longest-serving member of the cast. His last episode, recorded two days before he died, was broadcast on 22 November 2009. The character lived on until Phil was "found dead" in his armchair in February 2010. According to Guinness World Records, Painting held the world record for an actor playing a continuous role, a total of 59 years, which has now been surpassed by co-actor Lesley Saweard and co-star Patricia Greene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Wainwright</span> British television writer, producer and director

Sally Anne Wainwright is an English television writer, producer, and director. She is known for her dramas, which are often set in West Yorkshire, where she originates from, and feature "strong female characters". Wainwright has been praised for the quality of her dialogue.

Keri Davies is a radio drama writer and producer. He has been professionally associated with the BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers since 1991. He has worked directly on the programme since 1992 as a producer, senior producer and web producer. Since 2003, he has been an Archers scriptwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jed Mercurio</span> British TV writer, director (born 1966)

Gerald Gary "Jed" Mercurio is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers. In 2017, Mercurio was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Television Society and the Baird Medal by RTS Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Spencer</span> English actress (born 1919)

June Rosalind Spencer is an English retired actress best known for her long-running role as Peggy Woolley in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers. Spencer played the character from 1950 to 1953, and again from 1962 to 2022.

Sean Michael O'Connor is an English producer, writer, and director working in theatre, film, television and radio. He was the editor of the long-running BBC radio drama, The Archers from 2013 to 2016 and the executive producer of EastEnders from 2016 to 2017.

<i>Ambridge Extra</i>

Ambridge Extra is an extension of the long-running radio drama The Archers. It began broadcasting sporadically on the digital radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra from 5 April 2011. The programme ran for five series, before it was "rested".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Archer</span> Fictional character in The Archers

Ruth Archer is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, played by English actress Felicity Finch. She made her debut in the 15 July 1987 episode. The character was created and introduced to The Archers as a love interest for established character David Archer, whose then girlfriend was deemed unsuitable for the role of mother to the next generation of the Archer family by the editor of the show Liz Rigbey. Finch was cast as Ruth after a successful audition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerald O'Hanrahan</span> English actress

Emerald O'Hanrahan is an English actress known for playing Emma Grundy in The Archers on BBC Radio 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Yorke (producer)</span> British television producer and script editor

John Roland Clifford Yorke is a British television producer and script editor, who was head of Channel 4 Drama 2003–2005, controller of BBC drama production 2006-2012 and MD of Company Pictures (2013-2015).

Timothy Watson is a British actor best known for his role as Rob Titchener in BBC Radio 4's long-running soap opera The Archers and voice roles as Mumkhar in Xenoblade Chronicles and Urianger Augurelt in Final Fantasy XIV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Coward</span> English actress and writer (1948–2017)

Sara Coward was an English actress and writer. She was known for her role as Caroline Sterling in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Woolley</span> Fictional character from the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers

Margaret "Peggy" Woolley, is a fictional character from the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers. Portrayed by June Spencer for over 70 years, Peggy has served as the core family's – and by extension, the village's – matriarch. Until July 2022 Spencer was the only remaining member of the original cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Aldridge</span> Soap opera character

Jennifer Aldridge is a fictional character from the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers. The character first appeared in 1951. The role was played by a variety of actresses, until Angela Piper joined the cast in June 1963. Piper was on the show for almost 60 years and was the second-longest-running cast member, until Jennifer died during the episode broadcast on 22 January 2023. The Telegraph had called Piper's voice "somehow sharp and yielding at the same time, like a scone topped with homemade jam."

Mike Tucker (<i>The Archers</i>) Fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera, The Archers

Mike Tucker is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers. Described upon his introduction in 1973 as "the Milkman from Hell", Mike has developed over five decades to become a family man whose grumpy demeanour and gruff attitude won favour with listeners. Radio and television actor Terry Molloy was cast in 1973 by producer Tony Shryane and stayed for four years until leaving the show in 1977, only to return in 1983. He has remained on the show for 40 years, making Molloy one of the longest-serving soap opera actors in the world.

Amy Shindler is a British actress and television writer best known for her portrayal of Brenda Tucker in the UK's long running soap opera, The Archers. She joined the programme shortly after leaving drama school and played Brenda Tucker until her departure from Ambridge in 2014. Brenda was notable in the show for her struggles with her boss, Matt Crawford, her long engagement to Tom Archer and her decision not to have children in order to devote herself to her career. Shindler also appeared in the feature film A Mighty Heart playing Michelle Pearl, and played Charlotte Fox in the feature film Everest.

References

  1. ↑ Companies House
  2. 1 2 Who's who 1997 : an annual biographical dictionary. London: A & C Black. 1997. p. 2072. ISBN   9780713644951.
  3. 1 2 "Honorary Graduate Profile: Ms Vanessa Whitburn - Ceremony 4". University of Hull. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 "The Archers – Vanessa Whitburn, editor of The Archers". BBC Press Office. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Independent June 1994
  6. ↑ "Archers editor Vanessa Whitburn 'was cyber-bullied'". BBC News. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Foster, John; White, Michael (17 August 2016). "William Smethurst obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "William Smethurst, Archers editor – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Daly, Emma; Smith, Richard (30 September 1996). "There's just enough muck in Ambridge". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  10. 1 2 Burgess, Kaya (1 January 2011). "It won't be a tram crash, but Ambridge lives will be changed for ever". The Times. Retrieved 13 June 2017.(subscription required)
  11. 1 2 3 Stanford, Peter (4 April 2013). "Vanessa Whitburn: Hand on heart, I was never asked to 'sex up' The Archers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  12. ↑ Mather, Victoria (14 February 2001). "Notebook". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. ↑ Lawson, Mark (16 February 2001). "The plot thickens". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Summerley, Victoria (4 January 2017). "Fans not happy with Archers birthday drama". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  15. ↑ Sawer, Patrick (26 March 2013). "Archers editor retires after 22 years of controversy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Mahoney, Elisabeth (13 December 2010). "Fans of The Archers should prepare for a shock, says Vanessa Whitburn". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  17. ↑ Birmingham Post Saturday 12 February 1994, page 1
  18. ↑ Stepney, Rob (6 June 1994). "When Life Imitates Ambridge". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  19. ↑ Davies, Keri (31 December 2014). "Vanessa Whitburn OBE". BBC The Archers. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
Media offices
Preceded by
 Editor of The Archers
June 1991 - May 2013		Succeeded by
Preceded by
New programme
 Editor of Ambridge Extra
2011 - 2013		Succeeded by
Programme finished
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.