Not to be confused with American television producer and writer Patricia Green.

Patricia Greene
MBE
Greene in 2010
Born
Patricia Honor Greene

(1931-01-26)26 January 1931
Allenton, Derby, England
Died9 July 2026(2026-07-09) (aged 95)
Buckinghamshire, England
EducationRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
OccupationActress
Years active1957–2026
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1959, divorced)​
Cyril Austen Richardson
​
​
(m. 1972; died 1986)​
Children1

Patricia Honor Greene (26 January 1931 – 9 July 2026) was an English actress best known for voicing matriarch Jill Archer in the radio serial The Archers. She played the role from 1957 until her death in 2026, making her the world's longest serving actor in a soap opera in any medium (radio, television or internet). Greene also briefly acted in television and film.

Early life

Greene was born in Allenton, Derby, England, on 26 January 1931,[1][2][3] the second daughter of Edward Greene, a piano salesman, and Agnes Johnson, a housewife.[4] Her grandfather, Edward Fitzgerald Greene, who lived in Derby, was a butler. Greene has recalled experiences of her mother having an extramarital affair, in which her mother would bring the man home and order Greene to not tell her father. She remarked that it was not the best way to bring up a child.[4] Her family moved to Campion Street in the New Zealand part of the city, where she attended Ashgate Infants School on Ashbourne Road. Later she moved to Kirk Street, Chester Green, attending St Paul's Junior School and the Parkfields Cedars Grammar School.[5]

She began working as a ward orderly at the Derbyshire Children's Hospital and in the sheet metal factory of Hawk Industries, but noticed her father crying at a theatre performance. She credited that moment with her wanting to become an actress as she wanted to make people emote.[4] She then went to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London in 1951.[6] During a microphone technique class, a teacher told her that she would never be on television due to sounding like a "fairy in hockey boots".[4]

Career

In 1957, she auditioned for the role of Jill Archer in the BBC Radio 4 soap The Archers. She was preceded by six experienced radio actresses in the audition process and felt that she would not get it.[4] However, she was subsequently cast in the role.[7] Greene said she found the first six weeks of appearing on The Archers tough due to her inexperience; she recalled that on her second day, she took stage directions too far and threw a glass of water over Norman Painting, who portrayed Phil Archer, and nearly electrocuted him. This impressed series creator Godfrey Baseley and he kept her on the series.[4]

Greene would continue to voice Jill for the next 68 years until her own death, with her final episode broadcast in September 2025. She also voiced the character for an episode of One Foot in the Grave in 1990. Greene holds a Guinness World Record for being the longest serving actor in a soap opera in any medium.[8]

Outside of The Archers, her other roles included a small role in the television film A Man For All Seasons in 1957. In 1961, she appeared as Anne in the British film The Kitchen,[9] and in 1964 she played Mary in the TV series It's a Woman's World. Greene also played various characters in the ITV soap opera Crossroads between 1965 and 1969.[10]

In March 2000, she appeared in the first episode of the BBC medical soap opera Doctors as Margaret Richmond. She reprised the role a month later, as well as appearing in an episode of the BBC medical drama Casualty later in 2000.[11]

Personal life and death

Greene married English actor George Selway in 1959. They later divorced, and she married Cyril Austen Richardson in 1972, with whom she had a son, born in 1972. She was widowed in 1986.[12] Greene was tempted to leave The Archers when her son was a toddler, but felt a loyalty to the programme, and stayed.[4]

In August 2023, Greene moved to Cliveden Manor Care Home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. She continued to record for The Archers until shortly before her death[13] on 9 July 2026, aged 95.[14][15][16][3]

Honours

Greene was awarded the MBE in 1997[17] and was conferred an honorary Master of Arts degree by the University of Derby in 2017.[18]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1957–2025 The Archers Jill Archer (voice) Radio series; regular role
1957 A Man for All Seasons Woman Television film
1961 The Kitchen Anne Film
1964 It's a Woman's World Mary 1 episode
1965–1969 Crossroads Margaret Robson
Mrs. Lynch
Mrs. Grey		 Various roles
1990 One Foot in the Grave Jill Archer (voice) 1 episode
2000 Doctors Margaret Richmond 2 episodes
2000 Casualty Ivy Watson 1 episode
Sources:[9][10]

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Patricia Greene MBE". National Trust. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Greene Patricia H"; Archived 12 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Births March 1931, Derby vol. 7b, p. 92, freebmd.org, accessed 7 January 2025
  3. ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (12 July 2026). "Patricia Greene obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Archers star Patricia Greene: Tutor said I'd never be a broadcaster". Belfast Telegraph. 27 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  5. ^ Ashworth, Pat (19 May 2011). "Derby Born star of The Archers Patricia Greene". Great British Life. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  6. ^ Hawley, Zena (14 July 2017). "Longest serving soap actress Patricia Greene receives honorary degree from the University of Derby". Derbyshirelive. Local World. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  7. ^ "The Archers' Patricia Greene celebrates 60 years of playing Jill Archer". The Irish News. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  8. ^ Moss, Molly. "Archers legend Patricia Greene dies aged 95". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  9. ^ a b Guide, British Comedy. "Patricia Greene". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  10. ^ a b "Patricia Greene TV Shows List". Rotten Tomatoes.
  11. ^ Hawley, Zena. "Longest serving soap actress Patricia Greene receives honorary degree from the University of Derby". Derby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  12. ^ Harvey, Chris (24 July 2017). "The Archers' Patricia Greene: 'I only get £16,000 a year – the BBC salary bill is obscene'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Iconic Archers actress continuing work from Marlow care home". Bucks Free Press. 2 January 2025. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Patricia Greene, voice of Jill Archer whose 68-year stint on The Archers set a world record". The Daily Telegraph. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  15. ^ "Patricia Greene: Longest-serving Archers star dies aged 95". BBC News. 10 July 2026. Archived from the original on 10 July 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  16. ^ Patricia Greene, world's longest serving soap actress ever, dies; Archived 10 July 2026 at the Wayback Machine Metro
  17. ^ "No. 54794". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 13 June 1997. p. 17.
  18. ^ "Patricia Greene MBE". University of Derby. July 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2021.