- Source: Lesley Saweard
Lesley J. Saweard (born 13 August 1934) is a British retired actress. She played Christine Barford in the long-running radio soap opera, The Archers, from 1953 until 2019.
Early Life
Saweard was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire to parents William and Hilda (née Kiddle).
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.
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.