Sean O’Connor’s move to EastEnders leaves Ambridge fans traumatised by floods, affairs and marital abuse - but still keen for more drama

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The BBC is on the hunt for a new editor of the Archers who can strike a balance between rural mundanity and audience-grabbing drama after losing Sean O’Connor to EastEnders .

The corporation has until spring to replace O’Connor, who leaves the Radio 4 drama to take over from Dominic Treadwell-Collins as executive producer on the BBC1 soap.

He became editor in 2013 and leaves a much changed, and some detractors may say traumatised, village of Ambridge. Recent plot lines have included floods, unexpected deaths and extramarital affairs.

The high-octane stories have prompted complaints from the show’s notoriously sensitive fans, including former home secretary David Blunkett, and, early last year, led to a rebuke from director general Tony Hall urging the team behind the show to make sure “we don’t lose what is precious”.

Since Hall’s intervention the newfound sense of jeopardy has faded, and bar the first swear word in the show’s 65-year history in an episode in December life in Ambridge has been what the Guardian’s resident Archers expert Nancy Banks-Smith describes as “dazzlingly dull”.

Yet neither the extra jeopardy nor the dramatic lull following Hall’s intervention have damaged listening figures. The show peaked in popularity in 2013 with an average audience of 5 million, but in the most recent quarterly figures from Rajar it was still attracting 4.8 million listeners. It also performs well on iPlayer, with five episodes appearing in the top 20 most listened to shows in December, each being played around 100,000 times.

Its power to motivate listeners was demonstrated earlier this month, when a JustGiving page set up in response to a storyline about Helen Titchener (née Archer) raised more than £55,000 for the domestic violence charity Refuge.

Producer and former BBC executive John Yorke, who was acting editor on the Archers for three months between O’Connor and his long running predecessor Vanessa Whitburn, says O’Connor’s tenure will be looked back on as a golden period for the show.

“The great thing about Sean was he had made Footballers Wives and he had also made a Terrence Davies film [The Deep Blue Sea starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddlestone]. It is a fairly unique qualification to have.

“You need to absolutely understand it is pop entertainment, it is about soap storytelling, but it also needs intellectual rigour and integrity.”

For O’Conner, the move to Walford may not prove too jarring, but he has big boots to fill. Treadwell-Collins impressed in his two-and-a-half years overseeing EastEnders. His casting of Danny Dyer and the Who Shot Lucy Beal storyline won awards and ratings success.

However, O’Conner is no stranger to the show, having picked up directors credits 11 years ago, and he has worked as a producer on a range of soaps including Hollyoaks and Family Affairs.

Finding someone to replace him on The Archers with the right blend of skills to chart a course between change-averse fans and the need to create gripping drama will prove more challenging.

“The Archers audience is incredibly loyal and passionate,” said Yorke, who is now managing director of production company and consultancy Angel Station.

“The trick is to make things happen without making the audience feel like everything is changing, nothing that is implausible. It’s an incredibly demanding job, all in the public spotlight. It’s having a commercial sensibility disguised under a veneer of huge subtlety.”

Yorke has one key piece of advice for whoever is tasked with keeping the show fresh without alienating the fans. “Never, under any circumstances, look on the web forums.”