The Queen has said The Archers actress June Spencer will be “sorely missed” following her death aged 105.

Spencer had played matriarch Peggy Woolley on the BBC Radio 4 show since its first episode in 1951, and was considered the longest-serving character on the show when she announced her retirement in 2022 at the age of 103.

Among her many fans over the years was Camilla, who invited Spencer and her co-stars to Clarence House for the show’s 70th anniversary celebrations in 2021.

Camilla also made a cameo appearance as herself in a special episode celebrating the show’s 60th anniversary.

“For over 70 years, June Spencer was a much-loved part of so many people’s lives, brilliantly combining the roles of reassuring matriarch and ‘gangsta granny’ in Peggy Woolley,” the Queen said in a statement shared on the official Royal Family Instagram account. bill.

“We will miss him greatly and I offer my condolences to his family.”

Spencer first joined The Archers for a pilot episode in 1950, and his on-air storylines saw his character dealing with alcoholism, gambling and death.

In the long-running drama about the ups and downs of life in fictional Ambridge, Peggy was often seen as a traditionalist, conservative character.

The statement made by the BBC said: “June Spencer, 105, best known for playing the character of Peggy in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of this morning.

“His family would especially like to acknowledge and thank the staff at Liberham Lodge (care home in Surrey) who have lovingly cared for him over the last two years.”

Jeremy Howe, editor of The Archers, said working with him was “one of the great privileges of my time at the BBC”, adding that as well as his role as “Ambridge’s best patriarch”, he was “a wonderful actor”.

He also said: “One of the actors once said that he had only heard her say her lines once during her time on the show.

“He was an actor who enjoyed his craft; He was someone who could hit the bullseye with a slightly insulting cough, as if it were an Oscar Wilde joke.

“He was also a great company member – funny, sharp, warm, never a gossip, but a self-deprecating and great friend with great stories about the early days of radio drama.”

Mr Howe also hailed her as the show’s “queen” and said, “With her death, The Archers has lost touch with the show’s birth 70 years ago.”

“This is a shameful moment for all of us,” he added.

The BBC said The Archers will celebrate his character’s 100th birthday next week.

Peggy has been a quiet character since the Nottingham-born actress’ retirement.

Radio 4’s controller, Mohit Bakaya, described Spencer as “a long-standing and accompanying presence for Radio 4 listeners during his outstanding run” on the radio series.

“Many people grew up with June as Peggy and listened to her journey through many parts of life, with all its ups and downs,” Mr. Bakaya added.

“In later years, its portrayal of a devoted wife caring for a husband suffering from dementia was extremely moving and powerful radio, including her deeply moving final farewells.

“We send all our love and condolences to June’s family and the many people whose lives she touched.”

Peggy’s first husband, Jack Archer, was a gambler and alcoholic, and her second husband, Jack Woolley (Arnold Peters), suffered from dementia, leading to a touching story long before the condition became a topic of national debate.

Spencer’s husband, Roger Brocksom, died in 2001 after suffering from dementia, shortly before his on-air husband on The Archers developed Alzheimer’s disease.

His adopted son David, a classical dancer, died following a struggle with alcoholism.

Peters died in May 2013 at the age of 87 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.