Norman Painting, who played Philip Archer in the much-loved radio show The Archers since its trial run in 1950, has died aged 85, the BBC said.

Painting was also a scriptwriter on the BBC Radio 4 programme from 1966 to 1982 and wrote 1,198 scripts.

Mark Thompson, BBC director general, said he was "deeply saddened" to hear of the death.

Born in Leamington Spa, Painting was credited with being the longest-serving actor in a single soap opera. In recent years his appearances on The Archers became more limited as he suffered poor health. He was last heard on the show in September.

Painting was diagnosed with bladder cancer several years ago, but said it would not stop him doing "what I love".

More recently, he had been suffering from a heart condition. He lived near Banbury, and died on Wednesday night.

Painting spent what was to be his final day in the studio on Tuesday last week.

Fans will be able to hear his final episode on Sunday November 22, when the character will be surrounded by his grandchildren, preparing for Christmas.

Mr Thompson said Painting chose to leave a promising career in academia at Oxford to devote 60 years to BBC audiences - who regarded him as a "friend".

He said: "He rightly became renowned for his portrayal of Phil Archer, a role he created in the pilot episode in 1950, but he was also a gifted writer and talented, versatile broadcaster. He was a pillar of The Archers family, but to millions of listeners he became a friend and latterly a wonderful father figure. His death leaves us with a great sense of loss but an even deeper feeling of gratitude for such a huge contribution to the BBC and its audiences over six decades."