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It’s a special week for rural Radio 4 drama The Archers.

Actress June Spencer, who has appeared as Peggy Woolley (nee Perkins) since the series’ pilot in 1950 and is still going strong in the role, celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday 14 June.

It isn’t unusual to find actors working long after so many other people have entered into retirement. Another June - June Brown - who plays EastEnders’ Dot Branning, is 92 and William Roache, Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since its first episode in December 1960, is 87. In the world of documentary, Sir David Attenborough is still actively campaigning and presenting at 93, the same age as the Queen, who continues to maintain a busy working diary.

But it shouldn’t be considered a novelty for those fortunate enough to have a job on telly or the radio. Some experts say going to work at an advanced age can have a positive effect on people, whether it’s to the TV studio or your local supermarket.

As part of a report by the American news network CNN, ageing specialist Professor Karl Pillemer explained how it can be beneficial: “Continuing to have a routine and going into a place of work each day, or even every few days, can reduce the sense of isolation that could come with retirement,” he said.

That sense of loss of a routine, as well as missing out on the daily interaction with colleagues and friends, can have an impact on someone’s mental health and even their physical wellbeing. Staying part of a circle of people through paid or voluntary work can stop that happening.

The emphasis has to be on wanting to work, however. If working beyond retirement age is a necessity for financial reasons, it can have a negative effect.

Dr James Warner, a psychiatrist at Imperial College in London said in the same report that those who stay active in their later years, especially through working, have less chance of developing dementia. Ironically, one of June Spencer’s most renowned performances on The Archers came in 2014 when her character Peggy lost her husband Jack to Alzheimer’s disease, almost three years after the actor who played him, Arnold Peters, died from the same condition.

One woman who knows all about the importance of working at an older age is Frances King-Nash, who still works at a Brighton supermarket after celebrating her 90th birthday in May.

The great-grandmother has worked at the same store since 1991 and worked previously at a telecoms company.

Frances, who still completed her shift despite her milestone, told the store's corporate blog: “People asked me why I was working on my birthday, and I just said 'I don't want to spend it on my own'. I've got so many friends here.

"The best thing about working here is the company. We enjoy working together and we also socialise out of work too. You get your regulars every week who you have a bit of repartee with, and they've become friends too.”

Up in Birmingham, where The Archers is recorded, June agrees on the importance of going to work.

She told ���˿��� News in the run-up to her big day: “I think that’s what keeps me going and I love it you see, I love all the cast.”