Godfrey Baseley
Encyclopedia
Godfrey Baseley was a radio
executive
, who is most famous as being the creator of the soap opera
The Archers
.
Before creating The Archers, he had previous experience in making over radio programmes about farming
, mainly for the Midland region. However, after being inspired by the idea of another radio programme at the time Dick Barton - Special Agent, he decided to create a farming show with a narrative.
Baseley had tried to write a story, but later threw it away. The story was however saved by his secretary. He then threw it away again, and later contacted a meeting with two Dick Barton writers, Ted Mason
and Geoffrey Webb
. After telling him some detailed biographies
of the characters, Mason and Webb wrote the first Archers script. The pilot programme was broadcast to the English Midlands
on Whit Monday
, 1950, and was first broadcast across the UK on the BBC Home Service on January 1, 1951.
In the late 1960s Baseley took part in The Archers himself as an actor, playing the part of Brigadier Winstanley, although billed in the Radio Times under a pseudonym.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
executive
Senior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
, who is most famous as being the creator of the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
.
Before creating The Archers, he had previous experience in making over radio programmes about farming
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, mainly for the Midland region. However, after being inspired by the idea of another radio programme at the time Dick Barton - Special Agent, he decided to create a farming show with a narrative.
Baseley had tried to write a story, but later threw it away. The story was however saved by his secretary. He then threw it away again, and later contacted a meeting with two Dick Barton writers, Ted Mason
Edward J. Mason
Edward J. Mason was born on May 8, 1912 in Birmingham, England and died on February 3, 1971. He was a script writer for radio, television and movies for both the British Broadcasting Corporation and its rival Radio Luxembourg.-Brief biography:Edward J...
and Geoffrey Webb
Geoffrey Webb
Geoffrey Fairbank Webb was a British art historian, Slade Professor of Fine Art and head of the Monuments and Fine Arts section of the Control Commission during World War II....
. After telling him some detailed biographies
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of the characters, Mason and Webb wrote the first Archers script. The pilot programme was broadcast to the English Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
on Whit Monday
Whit Monday
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
, 1950, and was first broadcast across the UK on the BBC Home Service on January 1, 1951.
In the late 1960s Baseley took part in The Archers himself as an actor, playing the part of Brigadier Winstanley, although billed in the Radio Times under a pseudonym.