Alan Devereux Dead at 75

Alan Devereux

Alan Devereux, who played the role of Sid Perks in British radio soap opera The Archers for nearly 47 years, died on May 29. He was 75.

Devereux landed the role of teenage tearaway Sid in September 1963, and the character later went on to become the landlord of The Bull pub.

He remained on the show until the Sid’s death in 2010.

The Archers editor Sean O’Connor said, "Alan’s voice as Sid had a genuine sense of authenticity to it - instantly recognizable and full of rich character. He arrived in the village just as the sixties took off and when Archers writer Edward J. Mason observed that the program should reflect the real world ‘that does include vulgarity, that does include sex, that does include strong language and that does include violence…a world in which values are constantly changing, in which the youth culture is dominating and in which coziness plays no part.’ Sid – and his wife Polly- were very much part of this agenda for the program to keep up with the rapid social changes of the times.

Former editor Vanessa Whitburn added: “Alan was a consummate and brilliant radio actor. Always a delight to work with, his versatility as publican Sid Perks meant that he created superb partnerships with the actresses who played all three of his wives. A modest man, I don’t think he knew just how talented he was.”

Devereux's character was involved in one of the show’s most controversial moments, when Sid had sex in the shower with Jolene in 2000, with the pair later going on to marry.

Devereux's real-life daughter, Tracy Jane White, also appeared on The Archers, playing Sid’s offspring Lucy for over 10 years.