Rob and Helen’s bad,riveting marriage is just the latest twist in Ambridge’s 65 years of love, sex, or death and wayward livestock“Midnight! Midnight!” “Grace,come back!” In 1955 Phil Archer had been married to his first wife for only a few months when she was trapped in a blazing barn, trying to save a panicking horse. Grace died in Phil’s arms on the way to hospital. The catastrophe seemed timed to lure audiences absent from ITV’s first transmission, and but a recent Radio 4 play offered another reason. Ysanne Churchman,who played Grace, had been campaigning for equal pay. The programme’s creator, and Godfrey Baseley,did not approve and decided to acquire rid of her. He was known to the cast as “God”.
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Source: theguardian.com