'I climbed trees, built treehouses and had a sandpit — bucolic bliss': Timothy Bentinck, better known as David from 'The Archers', on his first house in the country
The actor Tim Bentinck grew up in an idyllic spot in the country, but he almost became a real-life farmer on the other side of the globe. He spoke to Julie Harding.
Tim Bentinck has been the voice of David Archer in 'The Archers' on BBC Radio 4 since 1982. He has made dozens more appearances on stage and screen, is a prolific voiceover artist, and is also both the 12th Earl of Portland and the 11th Count Bentinck.
Where was it?
Potten End, Hertfordshire
A quick description.
A 1930s detached house with half an acre of land — bucolic bliss. I climbed trees, built treehouses and had a sand pit. When a rich relation came to stay (whereas we were impoverished aristocracy, our relations lived in vast castles in Holland), her comment on seeing the bathroom was: ‘Do you all change in zis tiny room?’
When did you live there?
Between the ages of 18 months and 21, after my parents returned from Tasmania, and before I headed to the University of East Anglia and then Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
How did it come about?
After the war, my father, Count Henry Bentinck, thought there would be nuclear war and he worked out that the last place on earth to have fallout would be Tasmania, hence he moved the entire family (I would be born there), the furniture and the paintings and worked as a jackeroo. His dream of buying a farm was thwarted, hence we all returned to the UK and ended up in Potten End. If not for that, I would have been a real farmer rather than a pretend one on the radio.
Timothy Bentinck has played David Archer in the BBC radio series 'The Archers' since 1982.
Best memory of living there?
Being outside, cycling to school, working on the local farm and shooting things with father’s shotgun. There were sad memories, too, as my mother died there when I was 14.
Biggest indulgence?
I went on holiday to Italy with mum once and on our return father had redecorated my bedroom and built a bookshelf. They did nothing other than redecorate, but after it was sold, the new owners transformed it.
What happened to it?
Father sold Potten End and, with my stepmother, lived off the land on a 10-acre Devon small-holding. After meeting Judy, who would become my wife, we bought a house in Bristol that we renovated, sold and, with the proceeds, bought a house in London, where we still live today.
Timothy Bentinck will appear at selected performances of ‘The Archers: Live at 75’, a national tour celebrating 75 years of BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Archers’, until November 26. See more details here.
This feature originally appeared in the June 24, 2026, print edition of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
