Chris

It's extremely difficult to capture dialogue consistently when people aren't being recorded in the same space. You don't notice it quite as much on TV but it's often quite obvious on radio. If it was as simple as sending kit out to the actors' homes I'm sure they'd have done it, as they have with several live radio presenters. It doesn't matter that Ken Bruce's audio characteristics are a bit different when he broadcasts from home, but the sound editors on the Archers go to such great lengths to create the illusion of characters standing together open fields, kitchens and wherever else, I can see why they might not be keen to start with dialogue recordings that would spoil the illusion from the outset.