Hello on kirsty young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of desert island discs from BBC radio for for rights reasons, the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcasts from information about the programme. Please visit bbc dotcom, dont uk slash radio for my customary this week is the actress Patricia green. as jill in the archers she's play the part of the most famous farmer's wife in britain for nearly sixty years. The linchpin matriarch with a voice characters familiar and comforting as a slice of madeira taken a nice cup of tea. dialogue is the personification of creating common sense and steer

the radio for soup, through decades of average harvests, hot breaks and hijackings these days, jewellers back where she belongs at brookfield, fine, tending hobbes, popping a pie in the argo and putting her some david and his family with a warm embrace and a backbone of steel that, since the part she plays, of course, But what about the real, patricia, green or paddy, as she's, better known well as a child she says she was a little show off and her love affair with the world of make believe began in the bleak years of post war. Britain, when she went to watch a performance of Oklahoma, as a young actress she toured behind the iron curtain performing in czechoslovakia, romania and poland. It all sons a long way from both censure she says of the archers and the role that has defined her career. We all care about our characters. I feel I know my character backwards and she is very, very good. So welcome petty green. It is so nice to have you here.

so first conceived, of course, as this every detail of farming focus, we knew january the fresh twenty. Sixteen will be the sixty fifth anniversary of its first broadcast as a long time hey. How does it feel to be part of the archers? You dont ask yourself how it feels he just do it after a lot of. He is h to second nature really does love I was doing charity thing a very long time ago, standing next to dame civil thorndyke. Can she said to me? Are you nervous? I said yes, I am. He said it gets worse and if you know particularly that you are at the heart of a story like that is causing great interest in arches listeners does not make you more nervous. The fact that probably there are a few hundred isn't more people shooting in then there were the week before you don't think about the numbers. When you do it,

think about where you are in that kitchen, I mostly in the kitchen, and you try to be your character as hard as you can just that one's own foibles It will I fluff. Will I lose my voice, things like that that make you nervous here's the thing when you came today and I have to fill up early on. I am agrees, arches fan when you came in today, you said nice to meet you. How did I thank goodness me? It's actually her wet. When you go into an unfamiliar paper shop, sit down to publish some, whether you don't normally go when you open your mouth, to order order two to us for something to people sort of start back. Sometimes they do, I was in wages some years ago and it was a very difficult storyline between ran all discharge Collingwood and an irish lady was having a love affair which have on it was, and it was reaching a crime. and the lady I hadn't met ever before came up to me and wages

She grabbed my army. She said I've been in I did out to drink some friday. May I go, I assume we don't want mrs thing: almost the entirety of jewels life, amene from a young married woman, has been broadcast. We know the intimacies I can find. almost nothing really about your life. When I was doing research, is that a deliberate strategy? It isn't it it is the best now my eye, Outta children were then toad speak. When you spoken to and be modest, will you let me blow your trumpet for you today? I presume you tell me about your first piece of music and what are we can clearly going to start off with brush up your shakespeare, fruit, kiss me, kate. Did have the most amazing a love affair with america musicals. It was fairly drab joy,

the war and then suddenly one was taken to london up, in the guise of course, to see Oklahoma and the energy and bizarre that these america me today the color it we just amazing and of course I've always been state struck, so sure spirit is my greatest love and I think the americans to brush up just shakespeare, sod, quarrying him now. rice with white radiation. Passing through I gotta, listen lying make sense. Your worries, AMOS brush up your six.

Your son, by a normal, can John burden from the ninety that he seven western production of coal bushes. Kiss me, You are enjoying that very much indeed pedigree. All archers fans have a view of what the village of amber looks like do you have a notional map in your head? Do you know that of the ceiling is not my mangoes black, because I'm spatially not good. But yes, I know umbrage it cuts, while village honey, colored stone lots of trees. A little bit- hilly, darling, little houses and a village green there are some things happen they are right. Neither do not very darling. Indeed, I'm thinking of rob tichborne his dastardly manipulation of Helen throughout the year the archers has had so many wonderful and often controversial, store. lines gray, such as death in a fire which led to your introduction as a characteristic live horrible holding up the village short. It was said, perks affair with Julian. There was brian old, just

I've already spoken about an illegitimate child from an affair nigel purchaser a few years ago, falling off the roof. and so on, and so on what have been your favorites? I move I'm really pleased about the teaching, a story, because I think this business about bullying. Why leaves and be nasty two wives? It's time Was at an I'm really glad we're doing it. My favorite very, very favorites, joy was in the olden days. I wasn't allowed to anywhere near the animals really, but one day, a golden eagle came into the yard? Brookfield and jewels was the first person to see it, and that was quite rightly cause I'm a bit of a bird and the door as I understand it, sort of ten eleven? two is altogether too they ever our sweden put you ever save them. Can I have a word: I've never dad. I can't believe that over the years you haven't cracked up in a fresh new stripped and thought she wouldn't do that

salute the and then, if it's something not going into the bargain saying attacker sweet sharing, you know very well that children strike out. Do you say we do is twig little bit. Sometimes I think I gave you a giggle early on which she didn't have, but now I think it's the editors job to do the storyline. What about what To do right now, she's back brookfield, as we know, and these have perilous times for her sons. Relationship with his wife did have invested. Do you feel in what's going happen? Next goes against women. We listeners really care of to do. I I desperate and I'm really sorry for ruth, because you know didn't really want your mother, your living with you, putting cakes, india

then showing you up all the time. Would you, but you see, jealous a strong. She is strong. I she is in love with that augur broke field, and I think you should give it a lot of things. She was data. Tell me about your next piece of music pedigree. What we're gonna hear agent is probably my very favorite composer. When we were amateurs, my father was an amateur. We did a play by Andre obey core noah and ivory miss seeing this silver wig and a spotlight on this lovely to coming out after the floods, A note see my father in the wings with a little tear on his face, and I I've never seen a cry, and I thought this is what I want he potter,

the shepherd. Some from this is me.

They haven't six symphony played there by the london simply orchestra, conducted by bernard, heightened, can chosen by you petty green, because you say that you remember seeing your father shared a tiered at a beautiful piece of beethoven music and you ve never seen that happened before your father was edward. Your mother, just you were born in nineteen thirty one you lived in darby in those early years. Tell me about family life. It was always fun. we had no money. I was brought up in the terrorist house for the first six years of my life with a row of laboratories in the courtyard at the back, but my parents had charisma, normally but charisma, and they seem to gather towards them a lot of very in Sixteen people and it was always cheerful- and there was a little fire burning in the great my father, distempered the house, and we had a gate like table in the living room and when the leaves were done. That was my space. Listening, probably two conversations I shouldn't have heard and didn't understand, but

bed and my mother took me to the cinema. Every weaken it was mostly of hollywood. Love story is really so. This is what I thought. Life was bowed, and I mean the first comedy that I remember was and had he, of course, and I remember laughing and my father said he was quite shy- was my father and he said he would you really quite upset by my horrible, you say your father was quite shy on your birth certificate. It says that he was a piano salesmen, that my poor father was because it was a slump. It's worse than recession sounds it does, and I really could not sell bread to a starving men. He left school at fourteen and become apprentices to an engineering, and the practice was as soon as they became qualified his engineers. They got the sack automatically

so he went out to get money wherever he could only be one of the jobs he told me about later, with tee showed a penny life insurance to the people in the slums of darby. And may I tell the story, So tell me later he said you not one day to get his penny and the woman s eyes. It diminute master, green and with us. a full and he went inside and la coming from the cupboard and, of course, that was a rustle cheap, so that was what it slightly in those days. So then the poor man got a job selling pianos, goodness noted ever sold. One. He was a keen amateur actor. It was very good. Amateur was a eve. Didn't start until he was nicely settled, rolls royce where he worked and till the end

and even I join him in the rolls royce dramatic society. Some stupid play was a child and when John dexter, who later did knows Andre, obey they got hold of my father and made my father the linchpin merely of his new amateur, dramatic society, and we did a lot of very push. People were I get the feeling listen to you, wanna daddy's girl. Well, I spent more time with my mother, of course, and she was gamblers and naughty. My think. Probably there was a better bond between my father may? Yes, let's have some music tell me about your search, what're. You gonna here we're going to hear the theme from the film brast off in debate. We had in odin days. We had pits all around and I would see black faced minors on the buses because issued before pit bar to understand, and so the

the thing that happened to them. When they closed all the pits it hurt really on my way. He says musical memories like music was a brass band in Dublin. I can. Member all the lovely silver instruments, watching along an ice was so excited. I followed them and they had to drag me back. one event,

come to a more composed by hooking rhodesia and play, thereby the crime sort cleary banned from the original centric of the movie brast off petty green. You set an inch looking thing a moment ago about your mother. You said she was naughty. Yes, her mother had this. Almost french idea, You got your man and then you took a lover. I am afraid my mother fell for that one s, for the road that now it s not going to hurt anybody. How did you know that one could see difficult? I was under the table. Listening all the time. Goodness me was your father aware. This is hitting I've never asked myself, but I don't know. I really don't know he never mentioned to me cause. I did you ever talk to your mother about it. So don't tell father not the best way to bring up a giant. Is it well? I'm glad you drew that conclusion? Yes, because I was certainly thinking it's. What what? How do you think it made its impression on new long term aid at all to do with this things in it

cinema easy. I lived and his fantasy about love and make believe, yes make believe being but nicer than real life well just another I'd. Really you were a bright little girl, when a scholarship to the local grammar school now, of course, grammar school require their children while they did at least to be very smart. You know with the hat and the these are in the winter coat, and how did you afford all of that? What did you they didn't afford that, my father was mean partly because he had suffered this business of being made and having the chad when he had no money and because there are no jobs about so it made him care for, let us say for the rest of his life, and so I had a blazer, but my browsers, which were supposed to be green, were recycled. Wealth blouses die it. My

how can shoot were a pair of boys shoes? There were quite heavy that sort of thing, but I did it didn't in any way make me feel strange or our do. I think it was just life a little bit about this man called John dexter. He would go on to become associate director of the royal course in the national theatre. He had been invalid, it out of the army and he locally set up an amateur delay that in darby and for some strange reason and took up with us and text was that every night for years and years and until of course he went to land. And he started this dramatic society win. My father of these very ordinary plays way too many. Sixteen women, you know, and we started to do proper

he's an he took hold of me really and said now. If you want to be in the theatre, you will never get a job, probably ever, and if you do, you do with your told your prayers cost and he taught me the value of being part of a team. Never trying to stand oh certainly, never tried to up stage, are not very valuable. Things like you spent a few years at the center. school of speech and draw me describe as the most amazing three years. If your life, what made it says, actually wonder, fried we were any albert hole for starters right at the top went to london in nineteen fifty one which was festival year, so britain within festival, mood and trying to throw off the bleakness if postwar britain- and it was just like champagne alone,

for a time everything was knew. It was the most exhilarating time in my life. Did you fall in love? I did dominum Let's keep them wanting more petty green, tell me, but what we're gonna hear next, you can t have not king cobra singing and forget. again that's. But you forget it. O neil, goes back. Please to me to me that was net

in poland unforgettable and I think, petty grenoble shiver went up. Your spine lindsays deal very special memories of first love of that's wonderful. Getting time of being in london? Yes, what tell me: what are you prepared to tell me about your first love? Then he little relics, people is still alive, but I did fall in love with him and stage really like it became friendship later all my life and all his life? It was one thousand nine hundred and fifty seven. The arches by this point had been going on for six years. I think, has a radius yet and you go to kohl's they would you like to come and be a temporary member of the concert I mean You were the love interest fulfil archer, whose wife grace had famously been killed in a fire on the nice I tv launched. How did you get on in those first few weeks and months of a totally useless

They said you're coming in his love interest for phillip six weeks. Only sixty blown dignity tat was in brackets sexy blonde imitator, whether that that is what the direct tony shrine. Romeo me said: will you do it? I said no can't I'm going on to her with the production and I caught that had we wait for you, the bbc never said that ever again but term. So I went up six weeks and I was getting seven pounds a week in the theater and tony try said you get several guineas and episode, and that was a lot of money and a boat the rest of the cost and they said go and do it so I did and I went up. Then there were six proper radio actresses before

me- and I was the last- but I had been told by tunisia- and this was a sexy blonde in the teeth- and I got the script and said- I represent a household drudge- a machine that would do out to get everything and cause- that's how they read it, and I did financial fielding. Oh did you or hope and on the job, can you do it now? I was your voice. I voice went to inhabit diet. I represent the household triage than I did. What I was told tried to at the drama school we had been offered seeks classes in my phone technique had gone to the first and the tuesday with John richmond, and he was a broadcaster item out my mouth and did a little bit me said: you'll never broadcast because you sound like a fairy unhappy boots. So I felt good by what I wanted to be a category actress said that was it, so I couldn't do it.

I had come straight from a poor norman in the script in my second day or something it said, jill throws a cup of coffee over fill, and this was norman painting whose wage almost pansies, lousy, now being very kind, and I picked up a glass of water and through it all over and it went down your glasses, of course, had stopped the recording. I really know anything lucky you didn't electrocuted

Absolutely he was very kind. Let's have some music petty green. Tell me about this. Is your fifth! Well now I dont pay cricket, but it does play any huge part in the arches and it is one of the funny things have ever her ass. He tried to get a new is the tragic thing about. He knew exactly what's gonna happen to try to step over stump, some just flicked about what is in his right, modest will try to the splits written on forces in a part of his. I must just removed about justice inquires like over. You develop well indeed, under the thirty one minutes and three force than we had louis play extremely well, both his forty seven not out again to stop it and he was joined by two freighters who was in four forty minutes are used for little part ship there they put on thirty five and

three minutes and then he was called by the usual evolve lawrence, always entertaining that if a third, thirty, four thirty five minutes the fall of the we keep. This goes for the sake of it. If that's lawrence, That was the leg of women from tanzania, the pain. Kindly. I should tell people, of course, for those who do not account surely be a radio for listening it doesn't. That was from tests, my special and we were listening to brine johnson and jonathan agnes, and I want to ask you about godfrey basely, who, who was the first editor Indeed, he did you work under him, then, with data he was the man who gave me the job after my first six weeks, initial horrible, I couldn't do anything he came in any said: congratulations cut the sex you're going to

him, that's coming to the chase. Isn't it easier and given that every actor spends much of their life worried about, Being employed did you feel a sense of great joy? What I felt was happy to learn it if I've got to do it, and I didn't have little times out when I went back to the theatre I'm you were married relatively briefly for the first time to fellow actor that ended in divorcing. You may for a second time in nineteen. Seventy. due to Austin Richard syria- and you had your only chance. Charles when you were forty one. Yes, I was yes, it was the most important part of my life. Of course we all adore our children, the elderly and the own rush of hormones was quite surprising merely, and so my life after that

people say to me: do you know this and meet the sum that some? No, I know from nineteen seventy two onwards. It was all bob, our black sheep, and that sort of thing and it was- your husband died in nineteen eighty six. He was a good bit older than you. If you have the time that he died, you were fifty five and your son. of course, would have been around about fourteen yes owners. Did you cope with that. I was really more concerned with what it would do to him and, of course he with it say on this. Is he the guilt of being? Oh, having a child. So the guilt became worse because not only had you to bring up this child with no money, but you have to stay alive because you didn't want to make him an orphan.

I've heard people who ve been widowed and have young family say exactly the same thing as you. Just said that, above all else, it is, their survival with his imperative for jack. You must not go wonder. Did you talk to people about less at the time? What did you just get on with it attracting started programme? I went to the bbc and said, look I know without reading now and that sort of thing a peace? Could I do programme because people were writing to me in asking for my advice. Strangely enough, I was giving it an awful I'm not bad at this, and I thought I could do a little programme about grief and about that sort of thing. I heard you on women's over fairly We are talking about grief and lose. Yes, you were very wise about it. Thank you. They might commission at now tell me about your next piece of music and what we can do here. Well now, as a girl, I was fascinated by thoughts because,

He couldn't get accustomed as well, but someone gave me some faint cometh them echoes the shots on the bad things, and I just thought that the clarity of their singing and, of course it always to do, is romance in french films working in another. So I do want to have one french record and it's going to be happy one because of what happened in paris recently. What I would like here pieces shall convey singing boom Not bonding dig, that is whether you do like big like lead. The electronic lush thing than dome gone, not a girl,

that agreed a boom is set on sunday, you shot a loving mother, already book shelves colony and boom the archers gets. I mean a huge. I don't need to tell you this, of course a huge amount of attention and it is not always positive. How often do you find yourself going out and having to bat for the archers and having to defend it? I can't ever defended. But I do listen, everybody knows I listen, then they know I take it very seriously so that if they ever dat criticise it to me, we act is of course knocked a bit sometimes in agreement, but in the nicest gently

at June spencer did quite an unusual thing. She said a brute covered and twenty eleven and she said that, of course, she plays a peggy woolly. She said that the actors on the archers didn't get paid enough. What what? What do you make of that where we started off by being given what they called especially low fee, because we were regular. Could you don't argue with the bbc about money, and so really one is just grateful for what on gas- and I think is quite well paid now really when you work costing when you don't and because world arms you ve plate. Other rules, aside from dialogue, should, of course you appeared in the arnold whisker film kitchen in nineteen. Sixty one you his gray in the tv so cross routes in italy who could he loved the cat? That's it was such a giggle, what sort of wobbly doors

No, that's Andrews! No one time we went along and no bless her. She was such a good boss, gordon gas. Yes, she said now today we're going to have some virtual furniture and there were over. And save money easy, so just be careful way you what don't walk through sideboard. So everybody fortnight we had to virtual furniture onsets that restricts is well. I'm you were in the BBC tv show the doctors had been in cattle too I'm wondering if you ve ever seriously considered leaving the archers life. Could I couldn't now because I couldn't do anything,

EL snow. There was a look in your tie. That should be that you had serious, but you see I did go from time to time when they gave me a bit of time off light not needed. I went when Charles was about to three and I went to concentrate because I knew the director and I said peace can I come and do something he said. Yes, you can come due to play straightway. He said to me at the end of come next season and do the first replace and choose your personal gosh. I was tempted, but of course I couldn't because I had a little boy. I have looked into the programme tankers more music, petty green. Tell me about this. It's your seventh of the morning. I noticed it most, I stopped being male orientated and I'm really quite a feminist, so I am determined to have a woman's voice, so they call me me me from Berlin, I love opera. I have dawns oliver really

me. Maybe They call me me me from virginia labour when some thereby kitty gonna were accompanied by the london symphony orchestra conducted by can't nagorno. There are brilliants, strong and vivid female characters in the archers. You know you ve got linda snow russa. Helen got We got you being surrounded by by other women working as that an important part of your life. You saint women, have wonderful, in every way. I just do it soap. Opera is really that are the only programme

one of the more parts for women, the men which is making, if it's more than your chops, worse to leak any plot lines. But what would you like to happen? Roofs and David are going through yet another, curiously sticky patch. What what about jewels role in all of this? What would, if you were writing it? What would you like a rule to be? How can you interfere in somebody else's marriage? Easy, I mean everybody has problems. We know that I think they'll come through it. I don't know idea, but they will be trouble in hand. I feel, and without a cheer went up around the nation on both fronts. I think what it might you patty green on this island highway? How would you cope? Are you I mean you know you ve been waiting for a long time. Are you? Are you good on your own, you somebody who likes you don't come in. I am, but I I would miss terribly laughter and I will tell him his people, but you see I've

he thought about the food and I'm going to find an advocate a tree and a lemon tree, and I would hope to find a little hot. That's being lived in by proof, this person on the island. Tell me then about your final piece of music. What are we going to hear you going to hear some CBS, the second symphony which just overwhelmed?

that was part of the food movement from sabellius, a second symphony played there by the vienna philharmonic conducted by Lennart Bernstein. It's time I petty for me to give you a first of all the books. We give every castaway the complete works of shakespeare and the bible and they get state one other book long to accompany those. What's your book to be adapted to take tat patch it one of the disk word books with grannie whether what had happened Poverty is grannie whether wax when I'm on the island. Rice, that's yours, then, under luxury, the luxury will be a sack of bird food, because I will want to attract summit thing to me while I'm there, and if you had to save this one of these discs, which one would it be she base it's yours patricia green patty. Thank you very much for letting your desert island discs cast. He thanked him very much. Indeed. May I say what locks

applause. You listening to a download from the bbc. You'll find information on the radio for website BBC co uk slash radio for