The Duchess of Edinburgh made an unexpected cameo appearance on the BBC Radio 4 staple, The Archers.

A self-professed fan for many years, Sophie joined the fictional residents of Ambridge in Thursday’s episode.

Her segment was secretly recorded in May at the BBC Mailbox in Birmingham.

Behind-the-scenes photographs showed the Duchess smiling as she stood before her script and microphone under the studio lights. She was joined by actors Tim Bentinck (David Archer), David Troughton (Tony Archer), and Susie Riddell (Tracy Horrobin).

The episode, broadcast at 7pm during the drama’s 75th anniversary year, featured Sophie as a surprise guest at the fictional Borchester Show, appearing in her real-life capacity as honorary president of Linking Environment and Farming (Leaf).

“Nerves are frayed on the day of the Borchester Show, and a surprise guest makes their mark,” the programme’s website had hinted.

The duchess is following in the footsteps of the Queen, who appeared on the soap in 2011.

Camilla, also a self-confessed Archers addict, acted out her role as president of the National Osteoporosis Society in a special episode to mark The Archers’ 60th anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Princess Margaret made a cameo in 1984, when she was a surprise guest at a fundraising fashion show for the NSPCC in the ballroom of Ambridge’s local hotel Grey Gables.

Sophie met the cast and crew before recording the episode, and at one point was shown covering her mouth with her hand in an apparent show of either shock or surprise as she chatted with Charles Collingwood, who plays Brian Aldridge.

The Archers has been aired on BBC radio since 1951 and has clocked up more than 20,000 episodes – more than any other continuous drama serial in the world.

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It reaches millions of devoted fans who tune in to hear the ups and downs experienced by the residents of the fictional village of Ambridge.

Pressing topical issues such as climate change, the economic challenges faced by farmers, alcoholism, modern slavery, domestic abuse and coercive control have all been tackled by the show.