IAN PEPPERELL, best known for his longstanding role on the Archers, has died after a long illness.
Here’s all we know about the radio actor’s career and his loving wife.
Who was Ian Pepperell?
Ian Pepperell was a radio, television, and theatre actor, beloved by fans of Radio 4’s The Archers thanks to his twenty-year stint on the show.
Ian, “the perfect Archers actor”, died on Friday, 22 December 2023, at the age of just 53, after a long illness, the BBC confirmed.
The radio star was born in 1970 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, but had a New Forest accent.
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Alongside his acting commitments, Ian was a pub landlord, and owned the The Star Inn in Ringwood, Hampshire, with his wife.
Although best known for his role in The Archers, Ian also appeared on EastEnders in 1985, Beck in 1996, and Get Real in 1998.
He has also performed on stage, such as in the black comedy He Stumbled in 2000.
Jeremy Howe, editor of The Archers, said: “Ian was the perfect Archers actor - he loved being part of an ensemble, relished the camaraderie and gossip of the Green Room, and had a seemingly effortlessly fine-tuned vocal technique.
“Like all the very best radio actors he could think on his feet and change the way he played a scene in the blink of an eye.
Fans of the Radio 4 show took to X, formerly known as Twitter, after news broke of Ian’s passing, to pay their respects.
One wrote: “Oh no, it's sad to hear of Ian Pepperell's passing.
“He was such a beloved actor and played the role of Roy Tucker on The Archers for many years.
“His death is a loss for the radio drama and for all of his fans.”
Another said: “Oh no. This is so sad. Such a good actor.”
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Who did Ian Pepperell play in The Archers?
Ian played single dad Roy Tucker on the BBC Radio 4 show The Archers, set in a fictional village,
Ian played Roy for two decades.
Roy, an Aston Villa fan, was the father of two children, Phoebe and Abigail.
Ian’s character Roy was born in 1970 and was part of a racist gang that targeted Usha Gupta before he turned his life around.
Roy had a teenage fling with Kate, resulting in his firstborn, and then married Hayley, before divorcing after Roy’s short-lived affair in 2014.
Later came a relationship with Lexi, who went on to move back to her home country, Bulgaria, leaving Roy single once again.
The long-standing character worked in the hospitality industry, at Grey Gables Hotel and later at Lower Loxley Hall.
Archers editor Jeremy Howe said:
“Thanks to Ian’s brilliance, he created in Roy a character who managed to face in two directions simultaneously in almost every scene he played.
“He captured Roy as both genial and anxious, funny and sad, easy-going and permanently stressed — a man who could hold down with ease a top job, yet who always carried with him Hamlet’s sense of failure.”
Who is Ian Pepperell's wife?
Ian Pepperell was married to Nikki, with whom he owned the Star Inn in Hampshire.
Nikki wrote a tribute to her beloved husband on Facebook: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must tell you all, that Ian – left this world today – in peace, his way.
“As I, and all of the closest to him knew he would.”
Actor and Ian’s former Archers co-star, Graham Seed, offered his condolences under Nikki’s post:
“Such sad news. I was privileged to have Ian as a loyal friend since we met working on The Archers all those years ago.
“Bright witty and such fun to be with - and such a talented actor. RIP dear man.”
On December 5, 2023, Nikki wrote an update to customers of the pub the couple share on Facebook:
“So many of you ask daily after Ian…. he is very poorly, and has today been taken to the Macmillian Unit at Christchurch Hospital to be looked after for a little while.
“Ian is too poorly now to comprehend how many well wishes are sent by you all through all of us at the Star, to him, but he would be so grateful.”
