Archers star June Spencer who played Peggy Woolley on Radio 4 died

June Spencer, who played Peggy Woolley on BBC Radio 4's The Archers for more than 70 years, has died aged 105.

The actress, who played the character from 1950 to 1953 and again from 1962 to 2022, died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of Friday, a family statement said.

Ms Spencer made her first appearance on the Radio 4 soap in May 1950 and was the only remaining member of the original cast before finally stepping down two years ago.

Her character Peggy served as the show's matriarch, who was regularly forced to manage to highs and lows of life in Ambridge.

Her voice was heard in millions of kitchens and sitting rooms for generations and colleagues had previously paid tribute to her professionalism and ability to never fluff a line.

One of the show's biggest fans was Queen Camilla, who once described June as a 'national treasure'. 

June was made both an OBE and CBE and received the Freedom of the City of London in June 2010. 

Paying tribute, Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya said: 'June Spencer has been a longstanding presence and companion for Radio 4 listeners during her exceptional run on The Archers.

'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.' 

The show's current editor Jeremy Howe said working with June 'was like working with a legend'. 

He added: 'June Spencer wasn't just a brilliant Peggy Woolley, the ultimate matriarch of Ambridge, but a brilliant actress. 

'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.'

Marking the 70th anniversary of the show in 2021, Queen Camilla said June was 'a true national treasure who has been part of my life, and millions of others, for as long as I can remember'. 

June first heard about a potential role in the Archers whilst working on a series of small parts on BBC radio programmes in 1950. 

Whilst in the Corporation's canteen, she heard the show's founder Godfrey Baseley had openly spoke about her being in the new programme. 

Following a few pilot episodes, the Archers was launched on New Year's Day, 1951 - with June Spencer playing a heavily pregnant Grace Archer. 

She initially signed 13-week contract and was not expecting much from the role, but the show became an instant hit. In the modern day, the show averages around 5 million listeners a week. 

In the mid-1950s, Spencer took a break from playing Peggy and the role was taken over by Thelma Rogers, before returning in the early 1960s.  

Her character's journey has seen her go from a young barmaid to grieving widow saw her be involved in some of some of the show's biggest story lines. 

Both of Peggy's husband died on air. Her first, Jack Archer, succumbed to alcoholism, while her second husband Jack Woolley was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Due to the slow moving nature of the daily show, each disease unfolded in real time and both issues were also prevalent in Peggy's real life.

Her husband Roger, who passed away in 2001, was also an Alzhemier suffer and she was consulted by scriptwriters when Peggy's husband was given the same disease in The Archers.

Five years after Roger's passing, her son David, 55, a ballet dancer who had lost his career through injury, died of alcohol abuse.

'We tackle difficult situations that come up in real life, and treat them without being sensational,' she said.

'I think people appreciate that. When they have the same sort of problems, they hear how the Archers coped, and I think it helps them.'