Ysanne Churchman (14 May 1925 – 4 July 2024) was an English actress. She starred and narrated on British radio, television and film for over 50 years, from 1938 to 1993. Churchman gained prominence as Grace Archer, wife of Phil, in the long-running

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio drama series ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

''; the series attracted publicity when Grace died after a fire on the night that ITV launched in 1955.

Life and career

Ysanne Churchman was born in

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

, Warwickshire, to Andrew Churchman and Gladys Dale, stage and radio performers in London. In 1938, Churchman appeared on both

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

Children's Hour ''Children's Hour'', initially ''The Children's Hour'', was the BBC's principal recreational service for children (as distinct from "Broadcasts to Schools") which began during the period when radio was the only medium of broadcasting. ''Childre ...

'' and in a

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

play, ''Gallows Glorious''. She trained as a dancer at Cone-Ripman College. After learning repertory and theatre, she specialised in radio and voice work for film and television. She played Grace in the long-running radio series ''

'' when Grace suffered grievous injuries in a fire on the night of the ITV launch in 1955; the character died in the following day's episode. She strongly suspected the producer was glad to be rid of her at the time as she had discovered that some of her cast members in this regional,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, production, were not being paid Equity minimum rates and raised the matter. She voiced five other Archers characters over the years, the last being Mary Pound in 1983. Along with many story-telling and reading roles on the BBC, she also performed as: Sara in the series '' Sara and Hoppity'', Marla and Cassie in '' Space Patrol'', the voice of

Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (, α Cen, or Alpha Cen) is a star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus (constellation), Centaurus. It consists of three stars: Rigil Kentaurus (), Toliman (), and Proxima Centauri (). Proxima Centauri ...

in the series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', and Soo the computer in '' The Flipside of Dominick Hide'' and its sequel. She was the first actress employed by

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

, reading a serial book. She married Tony Pilgrim MBE, a senior BBC engineer, in 1951; they celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary in 2011. He died in January 2015 after 63 years of marriage. She retired in 1993, but continued to do the occasional voice-over and television appearance, most recently reprising her role as the voice of Delegate Alpha Centauri in the ''

'' story " Empress of Mars" in 2017, having last voiced the character in 1974. Churchman died on 4 July 2024, at the age of 99.

Selected credits

*''

'', BBC Radio, 1938 *''Gallows Glorious'', BBC TV, 1938 *''Red for Danger'', BBC Radio, 1954 *''

'', BBC Radio, 1951–1985 – Jennifer Archer, Grace Archer, Barbara Drury, Joan Ilverton, Jocelyn Page, Mary Pound. *''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by E. Nesbit, Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the ...

'', BBC TV, 1957 – Ruth *''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

'', BBC Home Service (Radio 4), 1959/60 – Marianne Dashwood *'' Sara and Hoppity'', ITV, 1960, – Sara and other voices *'' Space Patrol'', ITV, 1963, – Marla and Cassiopeia *''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

'', BBC Radio, 1969 – Mary Sutherland *'' Crossroads'', ITV 1960s/1970s – four different appearances *''

'', 1972, '' The Curse of Peladon'' – Voice of Alpha Centauri *''Doctor Who'', 1974, '' The Monster of Peladon'' – Voice of Alpha Centauri *''Doctor Who'', 1974, '' Planet of the Spiders'' – Spider voices *'' The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'', 1976 – Additional Voices, English version *'' Beasts'', ITV 1976, "Special Offer" – Joyce *'' Softly, Softly'', BBC 1970s – four appearances *'' Shoestring'', 1979, "Knock For Knock" – Woman's voice *''

A Dance to the Music of Time ''A Dance to the Music of Time'' is a 12-volume ''Book series#History, roman-fleuve'' by English writer Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim. The story is an often comic examination of movements and manners, power ...

'', 1979 – Milly *'' We, the Accused'', TV, 1980 – Edith Hanks *'' The Flipside of Dominick Hide'', 1980 – Soo (computer) *''Another Flip for Dominick'', 1982 – Soo (house computer) *'' Ghost in the Water'', 1982, – Mrs. Parkes *'' Amy'', TV, 1984 – Lilly *'' Starlings'', TV, 1988 – Mrs Grimshaw *''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'', documentary, 1988 – Voice artist *''

Prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

'', 1991 – Magistrate *'' Lipstick on Your Collar'', TV, 1993 – Mrs Atterbow *''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'', TV, 1999 – Woman in street *''Doctor Who'', 2017, " Empress of Mars" – Voice of Alpha Centauri

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchman, Ysane 1925 births 2024 deaths English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English radio actresses English voice actresses Actresses from Sutton Coldfield 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses