You might not recognise the face but you'd know him if you heard him. Andrea Calvesbert meets the Worcestershire man who has played one of radio's best-loved characters for 27 years - and plans to do it a good while longer. Pictures: John Anyon

No self-respecting Archers fan could fail to have been moved when the Grundy family faced eviction from Grange farm.

Head of the family Eddie Grundy was devastated by what remains one of the most poignant storylines of the long-running series, and it wasn't only the character who was affected. Trevor Harrison, who plays Eddie, admitted he too couldn't help but be affected by the trauma faced by his alter ego.

"I have had lots of very good storylines and very poignant ones too, like the Grundys' eviction from Grange Farm. I have to admit when we were in the studio doing the recording for that episode I had tears in my eyes," he said.

Is it any wonder? Mr Harrison has been stepping into Eddie Grundy's shoes for the past 27 years -- more than half his life -- but it was nearly very different.

"I went for an audition in 1979 for the part of Eddie Grundy, but I think I was very nervous and I didn't think the audition went very well at all."

Fortunately, Vanessa Whitburn who was running the auditions and who now edits The Archers, obviously saw Mr Harrison's potential and invited him back to re-do his audition. At the age of 22, Mr Harrison landed his first radio acting role, probably never realising it was going to make him a household name.

"The cast were so good and so professional that I learnt on my feet and they helped me through," he said.

To enable storylines in the The Archers to be as current as possible, the programmes are recorded only a few weeks before they are broadcast and several episodes are taped at the same time. This leaves the actors, who are all freelance, time to pursue other roles and interests. Mr Harrison has also been involved in theatre productions and pantomime, and he is also in demand for other local events such as fetes and switching on Christmas lights. However, it is clear from chatting to him that Eddie Grundy holds a special place in his heart.

"The Archers is not a one-off or a series so I suppose it is fairly unique and it is definitely part of me. I have sort of grown up with Eddie. The Archers is a real team effort and it is quite special to belong to that team. There are the actors but also the story writers, producers and all the others behind the scenes.

"I feel privileged being part of what people regard as part of England -- a British institution, I suppose."

Asked whether it was more difficult to act on radio rather than on stage when actors are obviously 'in character', Mr Harrison believes it is a quite different art form.

"As a radio actor you have only got your voice, but that is a very powerful tool. On television your face is very important and you have to be careful not to move your face too much.

"In the theatre, you can be really over the top and project your voice, whereas on the radio it is just your normal voice. It is a fascinating tool."

When he's not working, Mr Harrison enjoys the country life with his wife and border collie dog, spending his time walking and bird watching among other things.

"We are so lucky to live in such a lovely county and I am quite a home bird really. We have Malvern, Upton, Tewkesbury, Pershore and Worcester on our doorstep."

So will Trevor Harrison carry on living with Eddie Grundy?

"I very much enjoy The Archers and how Eddie Grundy is going to end up or what storylines he is going to follow I don't know. Will he follow his father and become a joke character? As long as I am working in acting, which I love, then I am happy. I would like to grow old with Eddie. That would be lovely."

How the archers is made

The Archers, which broadcast its 15,000th episode recently, has a particular place in the hearts of Worcestershire people, with the famous Ambridge pub The Bull based on the Inkberrow pub of a similar name. Many of the actors are also based around the Midlands.

Broadcast for the first time by BBC's Midlands Home Service in 1950, The Archers was produced by Godfrey Baseley, who had previously worked mainly on agricultural programmes. He hoped farmers would pick up messages that would help them feed a Britain still subject to rationing. It went nationwide in 1951 and even today prides itself on the quality of its research and its reflection of real rural life.

These days, editor, Vanessa Whitburn leads an eight-strong production team and nine writers who look ahead months or years in biannual long-term meetings. The detailed planning is done at monthly script meetings two months ahead of transmission, after which four of the writers have to produce a week's worth of scripts each in just 14 days.

Actors receive their scripts a few days before recording, which takes place every four weeks at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. Twenty-four episodes are recorded in six intensive days and transmitted three to six weeks after recording.

Listeners are occasionally intrigued to hear topical events reflected in that evening's broadcast -- achieved by a flurry of rewriting, re-recording and editing on the day of transmission.

You can enjoy The Archers on BBC Radio 4 (92-95 FM and 198 LW) at 7.02pm Sunday to Friday, repeated at 2.02pm the next day (excluding Saturdays). Omnibus edition of the whole week's episodes is every Sunday at 10am.