Radio 4 has lost direction, says 'Archers' star

Graham Seed, also known as the late Nigel Pargetter from The Archers, has voiced his concerns about the future of BBC Radio 4.

The actor played Nigel for 27 years on the radio drama before he was killed off last month. His controversial death, which saw him falling off a roof during the soap's 60th anniversary episode, provoked hundreds of complaints over the script's "poor quality".

Seed, 60, told Equity magazine: "I'm worried that Radio 4 is behaving increasingly like a commercial radio station and I am not sure the direction it is going in is what the audience wants. The listeners want quality drama with characters that they can enjoy."

Seed also said The Archers' production team had been "insensitive" in the way that they handled the anniversary storyline, in which none of the cast knew which character was going to be killed.