June Spencer: The Archers star dies, aged 105

Spencer, who was the sole surviving original cast member, voiced Peggy Woolley for 62 years

June Spencer played Peggy Woolley in The Archers on BBC Radio 4 (BBC)

Actor June Spencer, who delighted listeners of the The Archers – including royalty – for decades with her role as strong-minded Peggy Woolley, has died at the age of 105.

She was the last surviving member of the original cast of the BBC 4 Radio serial.

Her many fans over the years included Queen Camilla,who in 2021 invited her to Clarence House to mark the show’s 70th anniversary, calling her a “true national treasure who has been part of my life, and millions of others, for as long as I can remember”.

Spencer first appeared in The Archers' pilot episode in 1950, and on air her storylines saw her character deal with alcoholism, gambling and bereavement.

A few years after the show's launch in 1951, Spencer took a break to focus on her young family and Thelma Rogers replaced her in the role. She returned in 1961 and remained in the role until her retirement in 2022.

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.

Peggy's first husband, Jack Archer, was a gambler and an alcoholic, and her second, Jack Woolley, played by Arnold Peters, suffered from dementia, which led to her being involved in a moving storyline long before the condition became a national talking point.

Spencer’s family shared a statement revealing that Spencer died peacefully in her sleep on Friday (8 November).

“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,” the statement read.

Spencer, whose TV credits included Doctors, was praised by her former co-star Graham Seed when she announced her retirement, aged 103, in August 2022. He hailed her “remarkable strength and resilience”.

During Spencer’s time on the soap, her character’s husband Jack Wooley had Alzheimer’s disease, which arrived in 2001 – one year after the death of her real-life husband of 59 years, Roger Brocksom, from the disease. They had two adopted children: son David, who died of alcoholism in 2015, and daughter Ros.

Spencer, who had cared for Brocksom from 1992, said of the storyline during a 2010 appearance on Desert Island Discs: “To start so soon after Roger’s death was hard. It gave me wonderful opportunities as an actress, of course, but it was difficult.

She said that scriptwriters offered her the chance to change elements that “didn’t feel right”, but Spencer rejected this as she found that the scenes were “written beautifully”.

For her services to broadcasting and charity, Spencer was given an OBE in 1991 and a CBE in 2017.

Queen Camilla and June Spencer cut an Archers themed cake during a celebration of the programme’s 70th anniversary (Getty)

She was given an honorary degree by the University of Nottingham as a Doctor of Letters in 2012 and, two years later, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2014 BBC Audio Drama Awards.

Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya led the tributes to Spencer, calling her “a longstanding presence and companion for Radio 4 listeners during her exceptional run on The Archers”.

He continued: “Many have grown up with June as Peggy and listened as she journeyed through life’s many chapters, with all of its ups and downs. In her later years, her portrayal of a devoted wife caring for a husband with dementia, including their very moving final goodbye, was deeply poignant and powerful radio.

“We send all our love and condolences to June’s family and the many people whose lives she touched.”

Spencer with Archers co-star Arnold Peters in 1990 (PA)

Howe said that working with Spencer had been “one of the great privileges of my time at the BBC”, adding: “June Spencer wasn’t just a brilliant Peggy Woolley, the ultimate matriarch of Ambridge, but a brilliant actress,” he said.

“I only ever worked with her in radio, but her technique, her precision, her delivery were flawless. 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.

“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.”