June Spencer, who played matriarch Peggy Woolley in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, has died at the age of 105, her family has said.
Spencer had played the character since the show’s first episode in 1951, and when she announced her retirement in 2022, aged 103, was credited as being the longest-serving character in the programme.
A statement released by the BBC said: “June Spencer, aged 105, best known for playing Peggy in BBC Radio 4 The Archers, died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of this morning.
“Her family would like to pay particular tribute and thanks to the staff team at Liberham Lodge, who so lovingly cared for her in the last two years.”
June Spencer, who played Peggy Archer, and Arnold Peters, who was Jack Woolley (Michael Stephens/PA)
Peggy was often viewed as a traditionalist, a conservative character in the long-running drama charting the ups and downs of life in fictional Ambridge.
Spencer first joined The Archers for a pilot episode in 1950, and on-air her storylines saw her character deal with alcoholism, gambling and bereavement.
Jeremy Howe, editor of The Archers, said working with her was “one of the great privileges of my time at the BBC”, and added that aside from performing as “the ultimate matriarch of Ambridge”, she was a “brilliant actress”.
He also said: “One of the cast once remarked that in all her time in the show he had only ever heard her fluff her lines the once.
The Queen and June Spencer with an Archers-themed cake in 2021 (Kate Green/PA)
“She was an actress who revelled in her craft, someone who could score a bullseye with a gently insulting cough as if it were a bon mot from Oscar Wilde.
“She was also a great company member – funny, sharp, warm, never gossipy, but with wonderful stories of the early days of radio drama, self-deprecating and a great companion.”
Mr Howe also hailed her as “the queen” of the soap, and said with “her death The Archers has lost its link with the birth of the show over 70 years ago”.
“It is a humbling moment for us all,” he added.
Her many fans over years include the Queen, who in 2021 invited Spencer and her co-stars to Clarence House for a reception marking the show’s 70th anniversary.
Camilla also made a cameo appearance as herself in a special episode marking the 60th anniversary of the show.