The Archers airs its first lesbian wedding as Pip and Stella marry in a storm
Pip Archer and Stella Pryor have become the first lesbian couple to marry in The Archers, in a storm-hit episode that ended on a cliffhanger for Chelsea Horrobin.
The Archers has reached a landmark in its 75-year history, with Pip Archer and Stella Pryor becoming the first lesbian couple to marry in the BBC Radio 4 drama. The wedding went out in Sunday's episode on 18 October and, in true Ambridge fashion, the day did not run smoothly, because a fierce storm swept across the village just as the couple were due to exchange their vows.
Pip, voiced by Daisy Badger, and Stella, voiced by Lucy Speed, went ahead with the ceremony regardless as the weather worsened outside. In her vows Stella promised to protect Pip from the worst of life's storms, a line that carried rather more weight than usual given the conditions.
Earlier in the day Pip had her hair done by Chelsea Horrobin, who is training as a hairdresser, and few would have guessed then that Chelsea would end the episode at the centre of the drama.
The storm caused trouble well beyond the wedding venue. Eddie and Clarrie Grundy turned back on their way to check on their turkeys after part of the roof of their pole barn came loose, which meant they missed the ceremony altogether. Once the service was over, Vince Casey and Chelsea headed out to help clear the road, and the episode closed with a tree appearing to come down on Chelsea, leaving listeners with an anxious wait to find out whether she has been hurt.
Same-sex relationships are not new to Ambridge, although this wedding is a first. The programme, which began on air in 1951, staged its first gay ceremony in 2006, when Adam Macy and Ian Craig entered a civil partnership, and the pair went on to marry in 2015. Almost twenty years on from that first ceremony, Pip and Stella have given the village its first lesbian marriage, and it is a moment that long-time listeners are likely to remember.
Television soaps have marked similar milestones in recent years. In EastEnders, Suki Panesar and Eve Unwin became the first lesbian couple to marry in Albert Square in the New Year's Day episode of 2025, and you can catch up with the latest from Walford on our EastEnders page.
Pip and Stella now begin married life with the village still counting the cost of the storm, and the next episode will reveal what happened to Chelsea when the tree came down. The Archers is on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Images: Yoshitaka Kono/BBC
