Nelson Gabriel
The Archers character
Portrayed byJack May
First appearance1952
Last appearance1997
ClassificationFormer, regular
In-universe information
OccupationWine bar owner
Antiques dealer
FatherWalter Gabriel
MotherAnnie Gabriel
DaughtersRosemary Tarrant

Nelson Gabriel is a fictional character from the British BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers and was portrayed by Jack May.[1]

Casting

May was approached by producer Tony Shryane to join The Archers as Nelson in 1952.[2] May remained with the show until January 1997 when he was forced to leave due to his declining health.[2] He died later that year.[2]

Storylines

Nelson was the son of Walter Gabriel (Chris Gittins), the village carrier and self-appointed "character". He was charged with the Borchester mail-van robbery in 1967 but was eventually acquitted. After spells in London and Spain, in 1980, he ran a wine bar and later an antique shop with Kenton Archer. Finally, he disappeared to South America, where he died from strange circumstances.

Reception

Listeners voted Nelson the "greatest rogue" in Archers history,[3] while a writer for SOAP magazine named him one of the "10 Great Archers Characters".[4] They said, "Son of the late, lamented Walter Gabriel whose eloquence and erudition cloak a shady past involving criminal activity and a suspicious absence of any love interest anywhere along the way, though he mysteriously acquired a daughter somewhere down the line."[4]

References

  1. ↑ "The Archers : the official companion" Smethurst,W: London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1985 ISBN 0-297-78715-2
  2. 1 2 3 Hayward, Anthony (20 September 1997). "Obituary: Jack May". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Nelson Gabriel - Confidante or Con man?". The Archers. BBC. Archived from the original on 1 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 "10 Great Archers characters". SOAP. 1 (1): 15. 1994.


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