| Ruth Archer | |||||||||||||||||
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| The Archers character | |||||||||||||||||
 Felicity Finch as Ruth | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Felicity Finch | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1987–present | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 15 July 1987 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Liz Rigbey | ||||||||||||||||
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Ruth Archer (also Pritchard) is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, played by English actress Felicity Finch. She made her debut in the 15 July 1987 episode. The character was created and introduced to The Archers as a love interest for established character David Archer (Timothy Bentinck), whose then girlfriend was deemed unsuitable for the role of mother to the next generation of the Archer family by the editor of the show Liz Rigbey. Finch was cast as Ruth after a successful audition.
Ruth is portrayed as being strong-willed, determined and loyal. She is also a New Woman and a farmer, traits that made her stand out from the other female characters in The Archers at the time of her introduction. In later years, Ruth has mellowed and is more open to negotiation. Her storylines have often revolved around her marriage to David and her work on Brookfield Farm. In the early 2000s, the scriptwriters had Ruth and David isolate themselves from the community during a foot-and-mouth outbreak. Ruth was also diagnosed with breast cancer, a storyline which Finch undertook extensive research for and later named as one of her Archers highlights.
The show's 15,000th episode focused on Ruth contemplating whether to consummate her affair with herdsman Sam Batton (Robin Pirongs), after believing David was having his own affair with his ex-girlfriend Sophie Barlow (Moir Leslie). Ruth ultimately chose to return home to her family. The storyline, which had begun in 2004, was heavily criticised by listeners, who inundated the BBC with complaints. Low listener figures were also attributed to the storyline, while the editor Vanessa Whitburn said the backlash helped keep Ruth faithful to David.
Critical opinion on the character differs. She has been described as a "much-loved character" and a "cheery supermum-farmer", but has also been called the "most irritating" Ambridge resident and she is disliked by some listeners for being a Geordie. Other listeners hoped Ruth would be killed off during the show's 60th anniversary celebrations. Away from The Archers, the character has appeared in the Rwandan radio soap Urunana, the BBC telethon Children in Need and has been frequently parodied on the comedy programme Dead Ringers.