Lesley Saweard

Lesley J. Saweard (born 13 August 1934^[2])^[3] is a British retired actress. She played Christine Barford in the long-running radio soap opera, The Archers, from 1953 until 2019.^[4]

Lesley Saweard
Born	(1934-08-13) 13 August 1934 (age 91) Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1953–2019
Known for	The Archers (1953–2019)
Spouse	Geoffrey Lewis ​ ​ (m. 1956; died 1997)​ [1]

Early life

Saweard was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire to parents William and Hilda (née Kiddle).^[5]

Career

Saweard began her career as a teacher, and also appeared in the local amateur dramatic society ‘Playgoers’. In 1953, she began playing the role of Christine Barford (the sister of established character Phil Archer) in BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers; she remained on the program until 2019, apart from a break during the 1960s, between 1962 and returning in 1968.

As of 2024, she was a volunteer for the Lincoln and Lindsey Blind Society, which produces an audio version of the newspapers in and around Louth.^[6]

Personal life

Saweard lives in Louth. In 1956, she married Geoffrey Lewis, who she met on The Archers two years before. They had two children before his death in 1997.^[4]