Scottish fans get the hump with The Archers

Fans of the Archers in Scotland have got the hump with the BBC Radio 4 soap's only Scottish character, Jack "Jazzer" McCreary. Well, not so much the character as the scriptwriters who came up with him, accusing them of coming up with a lazy, untruthful stereotype featuring every negative character trait they could think of. A car-stealing, drug-taking womaniser who drinks too much and can't be bothered to cook – "The only time to eat porridge is before a sesh, it lines the gut beautifully" – you can see what they mean. "He is portrayed as lazy, dirty, sarcastic and mean. No stereotypes please, it's corny," said one listener to the station's Feedback programme. Scriptwriter Keri Davies was unrepentant, however: "If you don't have the grit in the oyster you don't get the pearl of the story." So was actor Ryan Kelly who plays him. But has he met any Scottish people like him? "Some cousins I have are like that." Those same cousins who are hastily taking Kelly off their Christmas card list, presumably.