You'd never recognise him, not even the voice. But there he is, larger than life, rosebud lips, glowering eyebrows - Sam Barriscale, aka John Archer (deceased), facing up to doughty television detective Hetty Wainthropp outside a dingy caravan on a hillside above Kirkwell Bay on the Yorkshire Coast, miles from Ambridge. Fifteen seconds of visual fame - a bit of a come-down you might think for the young man who held a nation transfixed just a year ago on Thursday as his lifeblood seeped into the loam below an upturned vintage Massey Ferguson tractor.

That moment froze in our meal-time tracks those of us who had failed to spot the logical conclusion of all those references to burning the candle at both ends, to not repairing the tractor and to a 'most remarkable story development' in The Archers: the moment that held the plangent voice of Tony Archer talking to his cold, crushed son.

At the time, it was reported that 24-year-old Barriscale felt his dark and rather sultry good looks were wasted on radio, that he was off to TV. But, he protests, that isn't true. 'That was the Guardian! It's embarrassing. I'm sure I never said that. I was probably joking about having a 'great face for radio'.

'But I did really want to get out and try other things. It's like if you go for a chef's job and you say, well I can't work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because I'm at another chef's job; people don't want to employ you if you can't give them the commitment. I don't want to sound bitter, it's just that if two jobs can come along at the same time, they usually do. So it was either risk it and stay in The Archers, or risk it and come out.'

What is less widely known is that Barriscale's original idea was to take a year off to test the waters with a script that allowed him to return, no doubt from a far-flung farming ex-colony where he could lick the wounds of his tangled love life. 'But they said, 'actually we'd rather kill you'. They made me make the final decision, but it was either die or stay in. So I took the plunge. And it was worth it. It was a brilliant storyline. I got a lot of good exposure and publicity from it.' The Archers 'family' were very nice about his decision to move on, says Barriscale. Even to the point that producer Vanessa Whitburn told him that if things didn't work out in a few years time, he should come back and 'talk'. What? About coming back from the dead? 'I don't know, it'd probably have to be a dream shower sequence. I hope it doesn't come to that!'

So what has Ambridge's favourite philanderer and much mourned son been up to in the past year? As well as appearing as the shady Geordie smuggler of rare animal species, Dave Skerry, in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates - a taciturn role with one line of script and a fine menacing stare, he's also appeared in Dangerfield, as a painter and decorator bantering with Nigel. And, just to show he's not all voice, he's just finished playing a Mexican executed by electric chair during the time of the Cuban missile crisis - in a silent short film made by a friend at the National Film School. 'I had to scream without words. It was good fun, quite a gruesome piece, but it will be very good. They hope to get it on Shooting Gallery, Channel 4's showcase for new film-makers.' He got no pay for the film, but it was good work, and let him purge a few demons of his own: 'When you don't work for a while, you have a lot of emotion inside of you that you need to get rid of.'

Between jobs, there's also a TV script - 'Irish father and son stuff' - which he's been working on for two years. 'Well, it started out as a TV script, but it's getting bigger and bigger, it would have to be a three parter now. Unless they give me some work soon, it's going to be War And Peace.'

So it would be fair to say work has not gushed in? Though his agent, Lou Coulson, admits things for Sam have not taken off quite as they'd hoped, Barriscale himself is upbeat, hinting at several big primetime projects in the pipeline in time for the millennium.

'I was quite realistic about things and I expected it to be quiet for a while. I knew it would be a shock coming out from regular work to nothing. And it was nothing - I didn't have anything lined up. It really was jumping into the abyss. And I haven't actually landed anywhere yet, but that's the nature of the job. I'd never been an unemployed actor, and I know it sounds awful, but it feels really good because I'm hungry again. I'm still only 24 and there's plenty of time.'

With a lot of theatrical experience as a youth actor in Worcester and several small-screen appearances under his belt, his sights are firmly set on TV drama. 'There's a fantastic amount of good drama going on in TV - that's where the main hub of talent is, and it's that work that gave me the impetus to move on. At the moment I always seem to get gay or villain, but work is work and I want all the experience I can get.'

Barriscale had no illusions about the weight his Archers experience might carry with casting directors. When he's auditioning for telly, he doesn't even mention it. 'The Archers is a love/hate thing with the public and it goes against you sometimes, though more often you're just greeted with a wry smile. But casting directors are pretty open-minded people and anyway, if I'm on TV, people don't know who I am.' Don't know that he is Sam, or that he was John? It would be hardly surprising if he did get a bit mixed up in his personas; after all he was John Archer, son of Tony and Pat, brother of Tommy and the repellent Helen, nephew of Phil and Jill, grandson of Peggy, cousin of etc etc for 10 of his most formative years, entering the show at the tender age of 13 and working his way through adolescence, older women, entrepreneurship, cricket success and living in sin with the too-good-to-be-true Hayley Jordan. Did he hope the show, which drew a record four million listeners for his death throes, might, if not fail, at least falter a little with his passing? 'No. Characters are always replaceable. These people who leave soaps saying 'you'll never replace me' are just silly. Within three months they're forgotten.'

Gone, John boy, but not forgotten. Even the pigs will weep a little this Thursday. And will Sam listen in for the eulogies? 'Um, no. Well maybe, yes, probably. The thing is I've moved on a bit. It would be sad if I hadn't, wouldn't it.'

And what about...

Paul Bradley

Left EastEnders last year determined not to become forever identified with Walford's biggest wally, Nigel. Since then, he's been to Rwanda to make a documentary about war widows which goes out on Sunday as part of Comic Relief's Great Big Excellent African Adventure series. He plays in a band, the Hkippers, and this week records a Radio 4 comedy with another East-Enders ex, Anita Dobson.

Anna Friel

Has never looked back since leaving Brookside's Beth Jordache behind. She was top covergirl of 1998, and recent outings include the Stephen Poliakoff drama The Tribe, Land Girls, and the upcoming movie about Nick Leeson, Rogue Trader.

Paul Usher

Made a brief reappearance last year as Brookside heart-throb Barry Grant. He's now making a second series as a gangster in the ITV police series, Liverpool One, with Samantha Janus. Has also been spotted with Michael Starke (aka Sinbad from Brookside) trying to flog an album they've been working on, linked to an upcoming comedy drama for ITV.

Julie Goodyear

Bet in Coronation Street scored such a hit as Widow Twankey in a Merseyside panto recently that the world's most famous Mancunian was made cultural ambassador for Liverpool. She was last seen hosting a lifestyle programme on the satellite channel Granada Breeze.

Richard Derrington

The Archers' Mr Dull, Mark Hebden, has perked up a lot since being killed off in a car crash. He's a regular at Alan Ayckbourn's Scarborough theatre, with which he's now touring as a medium in the Ayckbourn play Haunting Julia. He's also made guest appearances in Casualty, EastEnders and Heartbeat.

Thelma Barlow

The dithery Mavis from Coronation Street was last seen as Dolly in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies. She also grows organic vegetables and writes a gardening column for her local paper in Yorkshire.

Anna Brecon

Lady Tara in Emmerdale, she was named best newcomer in the National TV awards just before leaving the soap with a rich older man in the autumn. She's since made a low-budget film and has been tipped to succeed Samantha Janus in ITV's Babes In The Wood. Her Emmerdale bosses have told her the door to the Dales is always open.

• The Archers