The Archers airs first ever on-air lesbian kiss
The beloved radio soap opera has been running since 1950
The Archers has aired its first-ever on-air lesbian kiss in an episode that played out earlier this month.
The BBC Radio 4 favourite has a loyal fanbase of dedicated listeners, and has been on the airwaves for over 60 years.
It follows the more traditional looking lives of those living in the fictional rural village of Ambridge, in the fictional county of Borsetshire.
And in an episode broadcast on 10 August, characters Stella Pryor and Pip Archer shared the programme’s first lesbian kiss on-air.
The pair have built up a firm friendship after initially taking a dislike to each other when Stella arrived in Ambridge.
The storyline has developed in recent episodes, with Pip seing a vulnerable side to Stella after her dog Weaver died in a farm accident.
Pip reached out to comfort her friend, and in last week’s episode, they shared a kiss.
This is not the first lesbian relationship for characters in the programme. Other lesbian characters have included Alistair Lloyd’s sister Fiona, and barrister Anna Tregorran.
The show has gradually begun to feature LGBTQ+ characters in recent years.
Characters Adam Macy and Ian Craig entered into a civil partnership back in 2006, which was a soap opera first.
The pair then married in 2015, after laws changed to allow same-sex marriage to take place in the UK.
Anna became the first lesbian character in The Archers when she was introduced as part of an ongoing storyline, playing a domestic violence barrister.
She arrived broken-hearted in Ambridge after breaking up with her partner Maxine, who she then visited in a subsequent episode.
The Archers airs Sunday-Friday at 7pm on BBC Radio 4