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Article: NORMAN PAINTING
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 31, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Actor and writer who broke records in his long-standing role as
Phil Archer in 'The Archers'
In fictional terms, farmer Phil Archer of Brookfield Farm,
Ambridge, Borsetshire, was the perfect paterfamilias (though "patri-
archer" might be the juster mot): bluff, honest, capable of being
acutely (and comically) embarrassed, yet wise - even calculating -
in an old-fashioned way. He was a rock-like presence around whom a
variegated and characterful faux-famille danced; arguing, joking,
bully-ragging, shouting and bawling (and there was a good deal of
shouting and bawling around the turn of the Millennium when Phil
finally decided to slice up the family fortunes and discovered just
how sharper ...