Anthony Head to play Robin Fairbrother in the Archers

Anthony Head, best known for playing Rupert Giles on the TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, has landed a cameo role in The Archers.

The 64-year-old will voice Robin Fairbrother, the “smooth-talking” father of brothers Toby and Rex, in the world’s longest-running soap.

The character was famously the object of Elizabeth Archer’s infatuation, the pair falling out in 1987 after Elizabeth discovered the older man was married.

Although playing a key part in the events at the time, Robin never had a voice and was only referenced in the third person.

Speaking to Press Association, Head said of being cast: “When you’re asked to do something that is a classic British bastion, you say ‘Yes!’

“I don’t listen constantly so I don’t know all the storylines ... But when I’m mucking out the donkeys, because I have some donkeys, I listen to The Archers and Desert Island Discs... It’s such lovely listening, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly what’s going on.”

He continued: “The sound effects are absolutely incredible. When you’re ‘in a field’ you’re standing on a carpet. When you’re ‘on a courtyard’ you’re walking across stone slabs.”

The Split actor said that the character “is a bit of a smooth-talker” and that it’s “fascinating that he’s been around for some time but he’s never been heard before.”

“He’s a wine merchant,” he added. “He is very affable to everyone, as affable as he possibly can be.”

Asked if his alter-ego would cause trouble, he replied: “Not as far as he is concerned.”

And he said of the prospect of romance: “That would be quick work, wouldn’t it?”

Head will be in the BBC Radio 4 soap for a week but the actor could be open to doing more.

“Who knows? We’ll talk about that if anybody asks,” he said of any permanent role.

Head will be heard in The Archers for a week from July 29.

Additional reporting by agencies.