Patricia Greene longest-serving Archers actress dies at 95

Patricia Greene, the actress who portrayed Jill Archer on BBC Radio 4's The Archers for nearly seven decades and was recognized as the world's longest-serving soap actor, has died at the age of 95. Her death was announced on Friday, July 10, 2026.

Greene, affectionately known as Paddy, originated the role of the matriarch Jill Archer in 1957 and continued in the part until her death, making her the drama's longest continuously serving cast member. Born in Allenton, Derby, in 1931, she trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London after working in a sheet metal factory and as a ward orderly in a children's hospital.

Her character, Jill, arrived in the fictional village of Ambridge as an orphan raised by her aunt. She later married the widowed farmer Phil Archer, played by Norman Painting, and the couple had four children. On the show, Jill was a pillar of the community, known for her baking-particularly her lemon drizzle cake-and was active in the parish council and the Women's Institute.

Tributes from BBC colleagues highlighted her profound impact. Jeremy Howe, editor of The Archers, described Greene as "utterly singular, a fabulous and raucously funny...