513:) at The Lodge. In 2017, conman Matt Crawford was targeting the people of Ambridge, including Lilian Bellamy and Justin Elliott. Christine was revealed to be one of the victims, having invested more than £300,000. Christine sold her house to Fallon to invest in Crawford's Melling Enterprises. In 2018, Christine moved into The Laurels assisted living facility after tripping over Peggy's cat Hilda and breaking her hip. With Christine impoverished due to her being deceived the year earlier, Peggy paid for her stay at the care facility for the elderly. The accident led to Christine withdrawing from many social gatherings, out of fear of having a similar fall. Once recovered, Christine decided to move into a self-contained apartment at The Laurels, which she was able to fund herself.
455:, described Paul as a "flaky" husband. But the marriage was not without its hiccups - with Christine accusing her husband of having an affair with Marianne Peters. Paul lost his job in 1962, and forced Christine to leave her stables business for Newmarket, where he would train as a helicopter pilot. He later found life as a crop-dusting helicopter pilot was not as glamorous, or well-paying, as he hoped, and the couple moved back to Ambridge a year later. Christine and Paul never had children, which made Paul become a father-figure to friend Carol's fatherless son Richard. The couple decided to adopt, and welcomed Peter into their home.
430:) from Lincoln Station and take him to a fete opening. He told Saweard how "similar her voice was to Pamela Mant" to which Saweard replied: "let me know if she's ill". Mant left the series abruptly that year, and at Folwell's suggestion, Saweard was asked to audition. The Archers official website says she was "pronounced a perfect voice match and the change in actress went unnoticed". In 1962 the role was taken over by Joyce Gibbs, with Saweard returning in 1968.
476:. While Christine worked her way through the separation, gamekeeper and former policeman George Barford (Graham Roberts) and Nora McAuley had split. George and Christine would be thrown together when in 1978, Paul is killed in a car accident in Germany. The pair married once George's divorce was finalised, despite the doubts of the Archer family. This was despite her uncle, Tom Forrest, also being a gamekeeper. An obituary for Roberts in
437:. The actress appeared in three episodes in 2016, 11 episodes in 2017, and 10 episodes in 2018. Saweard made her final appearance in the episode broadcast on 30 December 2019. In the episode, the character is among a group of guests travelling from The Laurels to see the performance of Ghost Stories in the Attic. Her final line in the series is: "I better go, our minibus is due any minute - thanks again all".
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named as the culprit, under the belief George and
Christine still lived there. After being imprisoned for four months, Clive returned in 2004 and held the Barford's up at gunpoint in their home. When Phil unexpectedly called, Clive was roused and made off with the gun. Little more than a week later, Clive petrol-bombed their house, The Old Police Station, leaving Christine and
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engaged. This led
Christine to almost flee Ambridge and go travelling with the mysterious Lady Hylberrow to Ethiopia. Tragedy struck when Grace was killed in a stable fire in 1955, trying to rescue Midnight, Christine's horse. In 1956, Christine wed Paul Johnson, much to his family's chagrin. The Johnsons believed they were in "social superiority" to the Archers. The book,
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Jennifer Archer moved in with
Christine in 1974 while Paul was in Germany trying to set up his horsebox business. Upon his return to the country, Paul moved to London. He would return in 1976 to Ambridge after admitting to having an affair with a colleague and chucking in his job. The next year, he
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Saweard describes her character as a "likable, reliable, capable person, very like her mother Doris" but who "sadly doesn’t see much of her son Peter". The character lives in an apartment at The
Laurels assisted living facility, and is nicknamed 'Auntie Chris' by many of the characters in the show.
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During his time as a policeman, George was responsible for pinning a string of burglaries to Susan Carter's brother, Clive
Horrobin. Horrobin had also held up the village shop in 1993, and knocked George unconscious in 1997. In 2003, there was a spate of "horse slashings" at The Stables. Clive was
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Christine's first appearance was during a New Year's Eve party at
Brookfield Farm in 1951. The following year Christine started up the riding stables with her wealthy best-friend and sister-in-law, Grace Archer. Sadness followed, as she discovered her boyfriend, Dick Raymond, was actually already
516:
In the episode broadcast 30 January 2023, Lynda Snell (Carole Boyd) mentions to Lilian she visited
Christine at The Laurels to document her memories of Jennifer for the village website tribute. Christine told Lynda about the times when Jennifer, Tony and Lilian grew up at The Bull, then owned by
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described George and
Christine's marriage as " enduring and happy, a testament, perhaps, to George Barford's hidden depths" despite coming from "distinctly different class backgrounds". The Bishop of Truro at the time spoke out in the media over the impact of family values, given Christine was
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The death of George put paid to any plans
Christine had to a quiet retirement. She was forced to give up The Stables and riding instructing, selling the business to her niece Shula Hebden-Lloyd. Christine then moved in with her long-time sister-in-law
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The character of
Christine Archer was originally played by actress Pamela Mant when the series when The Archers was first broadcast nationally from January 1, 1951. Christine was a close friend of her brother Phil's future wife,
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trapped inside. George and Christine were left homeless. The episode left Christine shaken, and a year later, George died while waiting to move into their new home.
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Christine Barford with her horse, Midnight, in a promotion photo from the 1950s.
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Archers Omnibus 191229 (29 December 2019) [ArchersOmni_ 2019-12-29]
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left Christine for good after his fish-farming business failed and he went
617:"Picture Post photographer Bert Hardy with actress Pamela Mant, who..."
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404:. Saweard was last heard in the episode broadcast 30 December 2019.
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The Archers: The Ambridge Chronicles: Moments That Made The Nation
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Saweard made fewer and fewer appearances in her later years on
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Hill, Amelia; correspondent, social affairs (20 May 2007).
845:"BBC - The Archers Blog: Six diamond decades - the 1970s"
815:"BBC - The Archers Blog: Six diamond decades - the 1960s"
745:"BBC - The Archers Blog: Six diamond decades - the 1950s"
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For the Love of the Archers: An Unofficial Companion
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Paul Johnson's death and marriage to George Barford
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376:. The character was introduced as the sister of
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402:longest-serving soap opera actors in the world
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16:Fictional character from BBC show The Archers
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900:"How the Queen saved The Archers from axe"
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61:reliable, independent, third-party sources
79:Learn how and when to remove this message
642:"Heather Prichard:Mistress of Marmalade"
55:by replacing them with more appropriate
993:"BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 30/01/2023"
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38:too closely associated with the subject
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661:"Character Statistics for all of 2016"
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970:Kretchmer, Harry (27 November 2017).
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360:) is a fictional character from the
1189:Radio characters introduced in 1951
972:"Archers 'fraud' storyline praised"
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659:Hatton, Mike (31 December 2016).
396:riding stables. British actress
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36:may rely excessively on sources
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713:"Full Character Count for 2018"
711:Hatton, Mike (1 January 2019).
687:"Full Character Count for 2018"
685:Hatton, Mike (1 January 2019).
487:Firebombing and George's death
388:. The character was a skilled
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392:, who for many years ran the
380:in 1951, and the daughter of
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1184:Female characters in radio
955:Farrington, Karen (2008).
254:George Barford (1978–2005)
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786:Who's Who in The Archers
453:Who's Who in The Archers
251:Paul Johnson (1956–1978)
206:Stables owner (retired)
198:In-universe information
135:Joyce Gibbs (1962–1968)
128:Pamela Mant (1951–1953)
1179:The Archers characters
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133:(1953–1962, 1968–2019)
784:Davies, Keri (2012).
769:Miller, Beth (2005).
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148:First appearance
412:Creation and casting
156:Last appearance
119:as Christine Barford
91:Soap opera character
872:. 29 October 2004.
330:Elizabeth Pargetter
1108:Shula Hebden-Lloyd
937:has generic name (
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326:Shula Hebden Lloyd
262:Adoptive sons
184:Introduced by
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1063:Jennifer Aldridge
648:. 4 October 2015.
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350:Christine Barford
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125:Portrayed by
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174:Created by
168:Former; regular
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1000:. Retrieved
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935:|last2=
915:. Retrieved
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620:Getty Images
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511:June Spencer
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386:Doris Archer
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312:David Archer
295:Frank Archer
285:Lisa Forrest
280:Grandmothers
270:Grandfathers
225:Doris Archer
102:
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51:Please help
35:
18:
1153:Borsetshire
1113:Mike Tucker
1098:Neil Carter
1088:Ruth Archer
1083:Phil Archer
1073:Jill Archer
1046:The Archers
500:Later years
494:Jill Archer
441:Development
435:The Archers
428:Jack Archer
378:Phil Archer
373:The Archers
365:BBC Radio 4
316:Tony Archer
299:Tom Forrest
297:Ted Forrest
273:John Archer
239:Jack Archer
235:Phil Archer
103:The Archers
1173:Categories
1148:Borchester
1078:Pat Archer
1055:Characters
1002:2 February
977:20 January
917:20 January
883:20 January
854:20 January
824:20 January
754:20 January
722:2 February
696:2 February
670:2 February
626:20 January
601:20 January
576:20 January
543:2 February
521:References
390:horsewoman
368:soap opera
293:Ben Archer
215:Dan Archer
203:Occupation
69:March 2019
53:improve it
43:verifiable
1158:Inkberrow
927:cite news
912:0029-7712
878:0307-1235
717:DumTeeDum
691:DumTeeDum
665:DumTeeDum
143:1951–2019
105:character
57:citations
1127:See also
474:bankrupt
394:Ambridge
231:Brothers
140:Duration
417:Casting
362:British
358:Johnson
304:Nephews
245:Husband
47:neutral
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354:Archer
352:(also
322:Nieces
290:Uncles
221:Mother
211:Father
1004:2023
979:2019
939:help
919:2019
908:ISSN
885:2019
874:ISSN
856:2019
826:2019
790:ISBN
756:2019
724:2023
698:2023
672:2023
628:2019
603:2019
596:IMDb
578:2019
545:2023
384:and
356:and
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646:BBC
571:BBC
382:Dan
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
