The Archers

At The Bull Tracy and Jolene agree that George overstepped the mark asking for Ivy’s ring to give to Amber. Kenton wants to send Mick home from his unpaid duties as security guard, worried they’re overreacting to what happened with their cat Tortoise. But Tracy and Jolene reckon they should continue taking precautions. Kenton and Jolene look forward to providing cocktails for Tracy’s party on Wednesday, though Tracy insists she’s still not going.Pip and Stella talk about farming matters and Rosie’s birthday party before heading to The Bull for lunch. Annabelle Schrivener keeps texting Stella, while Justin is avoiding answering Stella’s emails about the renewal of Home Farm’s contract with BL. Stella’s still hoping that the BL Board will persuade Justin to change his mind over taking the Estate land out of food production. Pip surprises Stella by asking if it’s okay for Rosie to call her ‘mum’, before they’re distracted by noisy motor bikes in the car park.Jolene, Tracy and Kenton rush outside, joined by Pip a

Justin and Martyn talk over their newly agreed plan for BL, on the pretext of just having a friendly cup of tea. When Martyn discloses the recent flurry between him and Helen, Justin’s surprised. Martyn claims he was the one who turned Helen down – not his type. Justin thinks it would be unwise for Martyn to accept Jazzer’s invitation to Tracy’s party on the basis that a certain distance from staff needs to be preserved, however well you get on. Martyn isn’t so sure. He’s now free to attend – his only dilemmas are whether or not to keep his arrival as a surprise, and what he should wear.Jazzer has good news and bad news for Tracy. He’s proposing a mobile sauna for her party, which she thinks is genius – but Martyn is coming along after all. Tracy’s appalled, and declares she’ll go elsewhere on the night.Neil prises from subdued Susan the story of George and the engagement ring. Neil’s furious. He can’t believe Susan gave in to George’s extortion, and quietly confronts Amber, explaining there’s been a misunder

Azra’s frustrated that Akram’s hosting a fete meeting. She escapes for a walk and vents to Oliver. They agree the Green’s looking a bit scrubby and not at all ready for use for the fete. Oliver thinks he can help, suggesting to Akram later that Grey Gables could sponsor the whole thing. Akram is thrilled. Emma visits George, finding him warmer and more open than of late. He admits that he thinks about everyone often. Emma informs him they’ll be taking Bert to see Ivy’s grave on their wedding anniversary. She tells him about Clive stealing Ivy’s engagement ring – she’s surprised her mum managed to get it back. George shares that Susan showed the ring to him once. When Emma brings up Amber’s previous harsh words to Neil, George promises to speak to her. He also asks her to pass on a message to Susan. Susan’s stunned to learn George wants to call her. Emma declares to her mum that she feels like George is changing. Later Susan’s moved when George tells her it’s nice to hear her voice. He goes on to say he’d lik

Akram’s enthusiasm for helping with the fete begins to backfire. Azra has little sympathy for his pressed schedule, and when he asks her to cover a meeting for him while he handles a plumbing emergency, she’s unimpressed. Grudgingly she capitulates and attends the meeting, and despite her insistence she’s there merely as a scribe, Lynda ropes her into contributing suggestions for a big idea. When Azra floats the idea of a traditional fete, Lynda seizes on it. Akram arrives just in time to be handed a growing list of tasks—including gauging public opinion and securing sponsorship. Tracy’s astounded to hear Neil’s invited Martyn Gibson to her birthday party, declaring it would be a disaster. Jazzer assures her Martyn declined, but reluctantly admits he himself left the door open in case Martyn found himself free. Tracy now doesn’t know where things stand. She’ll have to tidy the house, and they’ll need to spill into the garden for more room. When Jazzer protests the garden’s a tip, Tracy instructs him to do som

At Berrow, Jazzer and Neil talk about Tracy’s fiftieth birthday party. Jazzer wonders whether Neil and Susan might want to join them. Neil equivocates, suggesting instead that they have Bert at Ambridge View for the evening. Jazzer’s grateful. Too late, he warns against mentioning the party to Martyn. Martyn overhears and invites himself – it’s a while since he’s been to a party. Neil predicts to mortified Jazzer that Martyn will back out, claiming a double booking. He’s proved right when to Jazzer’s immense relief Martyn bows out, saying his brother’s coming over. Jazzer feigns disappointment, declaring Martyn will be very welcome if things change. George meets with the prison chaplain to discuss his plans to marry Amber. He insists on a ceremony inside the prison, unwilling to wait until his release. The chaplain questions his urgency; he can’t pull the strings George thinks he can to get things moving. George eventually admits he fears Amber will leave him. He worries she’ll realise he’s not good enough. H

Susan is still reeling from Amber’s harsh words about Neil. She’s frustrated Neil didn’t tell her sooner. He declares he didn’t want her hurt, but she counters she’d rather have known and not had to depend on Clarrie to tell her. She wants to talk about it, and if Neil won’t talk, she’ll go and see Emma. Neil admits he hasn’t told Emma either. He feels he needs to put it out of his head or it won’t end in peace. He fears telling Emma could damage her fragile relationship with George. He would rather let things blow over. Susan disagrees. Emma has a right to know, and from them rather than anyone else. Neil reluctantly accepts her decision. He wonders if they’re the ones who need forgiving. Susan confesses she worries about things getting worse when George is released, feeling selfish and unkind for having such thoughts. Lynda tries to recruit Azra to help run the village fete. Azra’s adamant she doesn’t want to do it, and resists despite Lynda’s persistence. Lynda runs into Akram, who to her surprise offers h

Kenton and Tracy are shaken after the poisoning of the pub cat, Tortoise. Though the police can’t act without concrete evidence, Kenton suspects Markie or one of his crew. Tracy urges him to tell Joy so she’s got the full picture. He does so, and Joy’s relieved her titbits weren’t responsible for Tortoise getting ill. Kenton recommends she and Tracy take time away from work in case things turn nasty, but Joy’s determined not to be intimidated. Both she and Tracy refuse to be driven out of The Bull, standing firm behind Kenton’s decision to report the gang. Justin and Martyn take to the golf course to discuss Justin’s plans for BL. Martyn is sceptical, calling them ludicrous, impractical and expensive. Justin’s curious to know if there’s anything going on between Martyn and Annabelle. He’s heard they’re meeting frequently. Martyn assures him there’s nothing to report, agreeing that she’s a difficult woman and he’ll be steering well clear in future. When Justin reveals new ideas – vertical farming, eco-tourism

Clarrie tells Susan and Neil that Henry’s advice to disregard all the challenging comments at school is working – she simply reports trouble makers for a detention. Susan switches the topic to Amber, who she hasn’t met yet. She wants to know everything. Clarrie reports how hard Amber worked at the haymaking. Susan doesn’t know what to make of Amber in light of all she’s heard – Emma and Ed think she’s always putting her foot in it and doesn’t seem to care. Does Clarrie like her? Clarrie carefully admits that she does. Susan’s keen to meet her, but Clarrie thinks this might not be a good idea after Amber and Neil’s encounter last week. Mystified Susan gets the truth out of Neil. How dare Amber have a go at him! Now they have to face George getting more angry with them instead of less. It’s unfair; never a good deed goes unpunished. Alistair congratulates Jolene and Kenton on their award nomination. Kenton observes Tortoise isn’t eating her food, hoping she’s not full of leftovers. Alistair acknowledges overfee

Eddie puts the finishing touches to his nomination of the Bull for an award. Amber comes downstairs all ready for a day’s haymaking. Eddie questions her clothes choice; it can get grubby helping with the hay. Amber assures him she sees farmers all the time at work. When he realises she works at Farm Supplies he cheekily hopes for a discount. Clarrie scolds him fondly, but Amber’s preoccupied with her socials. When Clarrie arrives at the hay field she’s surprised to find Amber driving the tractor. Will asks how long she’ll be staying at Grange Farm. Clarrie isn’t sure – though she feels things aren’t right between Amber and her parents. Amber comments that George misses all this, and the farm. She remembers his posts from last year and how cute and tanned he looked. That’s probably when she fell for him. Eddie recalls George’s last night of freedom at the farm, and is touched to hear that George recounted an anecdote to Amber about the escaped turkeys last year. Eddie can’t wait for George to get home. Amber

In a break from band auditions Jazzer joins Tracy in the beer garden, where Tortoise the cat is happy to be fed a morsel of chicken as a treat. Tracy can’t believe Jazzer thought Martyn was having an affair with Lilian. They agree Martyn needs cheering up; a new girlfriend might help. Ed and Fallon mull over the band members they’ve seen so far. None of them seem right and Ed comments they’re making him feel old. He wonders ruefully if they’re past the ‘band’ stage. Later with their last prospect a no-show they admit defeat. They wish they could locate their original member, Ash. Jazzer produces an old publicity photo they reminisce. When he plays a cassette of their music as well, it proves too much and Fallon begs him to turn it off. She and Ed agree they were awful, but Jazzer insists they had raw talent. When their only half suitable auditionee turns them down due to ‘musical differences’, they see the funny side and decide to have a jam for old times’ sake. Eddie’s still complaining about the Bull food.

Martyn and Annabelle are in agreement about Justin’s rewilding proposal. Annabelle confirms others on the BL board are too. It’s inviting risk, and they need to threaten resignations. As Chair Martyn’s not happy to have multiple resignations on his hands. He’s keen to discuss it over dinner but Annabelle declines. Eventually they agree on a plan to work on various board members. Martyn’s keen to establish they’re on the same page on a personal level, but Annabelle retorts he was just a bit of fun and nothing more. She ends the call, but not before Jazzer appears in the doorway. Martyn wonders what he heard. Later Jazzer questions the wisdom of getting involved with a married woman. Confusion ensues until Jazzer names Lilian as Martyn’s love interest. Martyn’s aghast – he’s not in the least attracted to Lilian! He’s just been dumped over the phone and feels humiliated. Jazzer reckons it won’t feel so bad after a few days. Amber’s a high maintenance house guest. Ed asserts the arrangement isn’t going to work. T

Kenton proposes a ‘phones off’ event at the Bull. He reckons mobiles are eroding people’s desire to socialise. Jolene’s really not convinced, but Kenton spots Alistair as a perfect test candidate, demanding his phone and insisting he talks to someone. Alistair protests he’s just here for a quiet drink, but reluctantly capitulates. Later he reports his conversation companion wouldn’t stop talking; it was hard to get away. Nevertheless Kenton declares the experiment a success. Eddie complains his beer tastes funny. Surprised Kenton gets him another. Eddie accepts it but still keeps his original pint. Later he maintains he’s been given the wrong flavour crisps. Suspicious Kenton knows this isn’t true but Jolene replaces them without a quibble. Eddie declares her a star, again keeping his original offending packet. Emma’s cleaning frantically. She’s invited Amber round in the hope of generating some wedding talk. Amber arrives, happy to be able to share her excitement with someone other than George. She admits h

Neil finds Lilian in search of a few moments’ peace by Peggy’s grave. He hopes he’s not disturbing Lilian. She assures him he’s not; she could actually do with some advice. This will be her first birthday without her mum and her sister. With their families at the centre of their lives they never seemed to have any self-doubt. She’s not like them – she’s always had an escape plan. Now, with Jenny’s children, is the first time she’s felt needed. It scares her to be relied on, and she can’t be a replacement. Neil asserts she doesn’t need to be. She just needs to be herself. He shares his struggles with trying to do the right thing by George. Lilian declares he and Susan saved George, and he’ll see that, eventually.Kenton thanks Joy for her recent advice; it’s down to her and Usha that he felt able to go to the police and identify Markie’s accomplice. Joy thinks Kenton’s brave.Joy tells Susan she hasn’t got time for the fete this year. She suggests Susan volunteers, but Susan hastily squashes this.Susan can’t bel

Martyn comes into The Bull again, suggesting it might become his regular drinking venue. He starts expounding on the virtues of flirting in a marriage, before admitting to Jazzer that there is a new woman in his life. The more Martin talks about the qualities of his new woman, the more Jazzer encourages him to go for it, like he did with Tracy. Martyn would prefer her identity to remain secret though. But later on, when Jazzer tells Tracy about their conversation, the clues Martyn was dropping and the flirtatious talk about his horse riding lesson, it suddenly clicks. Martyn’s heart wants Lilian!Amber is visiting George in prison and tells him she thinks Brad is a bit weird, staring at her and asking about school. When George defends Brad as a loyal friend Amber quickly changes her tune. George then asks about dinner with Ed and Emma, so Amber explains what happened with Clarrie and reducing Neil to silence by telling the truth about what Neil and Susan did to George. George loves her loyalty, no one else get

Lilian’s telling Jazzer at The Bull that Tracy would love a big fuss for her fiftieth birthday, when Martyn walks in and starts pontificating on how much a marriage is worth investing in if it’s only going to end in divorce. Martyn then tells Lilian he’s still sore after yesterday’s riding mishap, before they swap innuendos to Jazzer’s bemusement.Having invited Annabelle for a drink Justin tries persuading her to align with his rewilding plans at the next Board meeting, emphasising his concern for the future of society. After Martyn interrupts the conversation Justin makes his exit, assuming he’s got Annabelle’s support. However, once Justin’s gone Annabelle makes it clear she hasn’t been won over, before arranging a tryst with Martin. Justin meanwhile remains confident, while Lilian’s glad Martyn won’t be suing The Stables.Neil bumps into Clarrie at Underwoods Local just as Clarrie gets a message about Amber inviting herself to tea with Ed and Emma. They’ve been delayed, so Clarrie will have to look after A

At Berrow Jazzer and Neil discuss what they’ve been told about Amber by Brad and Emma, neither of whom seem that impressed. Brad did say the relationship’s very serious, which surprises Neil, given that George is in prison. Neil and Jazzer then grumble about Martyn’s interference in their work. They presume he’s taking out his frustration with Justin on them, but for the time being they’ll continue sprucing up the arks, as ordered. When Martyn comes to check on their progress Jazzer gently mocks Martyn’s appearance: new haircut, all geared up in jeans and boots for his riding lesson. Oblivious Martyn leaves them cakes, burbling about a happy team, before heading off to The Stables. Later, Jazzer speculates that Martyn’s joined a cult, but Neil’s convinced there’s a new woman in Martyn’s life.Despite Justin’s newly-won pariah status amongst her relatives Lilian is supportive of his legacy project, continuing what Peggy started with Rewilding Ambridge. Lilian mentions that Martyn has booked a riding lesson at T

Brad scrolls through Amber’s posts online while listening to George on the phone, boasting about his gorgeous girlfriend. When Brad mentions Tilly Button George is scathing – Amber is in a different league. Brad reckons George should slow down, but George insists that Amber is the one. She gets him like no one else does. George then asks Brad to retrieve the t-shirt from his room that he was wearing when Amber first saw him. She wants to wear it next time she visits. Outside No. 1 The Green Brad remembers Amber from school, telling her she looks really different, but Amber shuts him down. Once inside Brad becomes irritated by Amber’s patronising attitude, reminding her how she used to look at school before she grabs the t-shirt and goes.Usha drives Kenton to the police station, having persuaded them to let him do the Identification again. She gives him a pep talk, but Kenton just wants it all to be over. Afterwards, Kenton buys Usha lunch, telling her he definitely identified the right man. He’d still rather

During her interview at The Bull Joy admits her catering industry experience is limited, while Kenton’s attention is elsewhere. Joy clearly has the passion, and Fallon is supportive. But when Kenton leaves abruptly, followed by concerned Fallon, Joy is left with Tracy, who fills her in on Kenton’s troubled weekend after the ID parade. Joy then comes to the rescue as the pub is inundated with roadworkers wanting sandwiches and Tracy can’t cope on her own. Meanwhile, outside in the car park, Kenton confesses to being haunted by the dog that attacked him. Fallon’s sympathetic, suggesting he take some time out, but Kenton can’t - they’re far too busy. Fallon then helps Joy complete the order for the roadworkers and is very impressed by the way Joy coped and stuck to their house style: classy but not fussy. Joy recommends Usha to Kenton for helpful advice on legal matters, before Fallon offers Joy the job, with Kenton’s backing.At school dinner time Clarrie tells Henry she’s getting much less grief from the kids n

While watching the cricket against Greenbury Usha tells Joy she just needs to be herself at her interview tomorrow for the kitchen job at The Bull and she’ll be fine. On the field Henry is last man out, while Brad can’t stop sneezing. As the players come in for tea Clarrie appears upset when Helen asks how her dinner lady job is going. Henry tells Helen he saw some older kids at school being rude to Clarrie when she told them to sit down, but didn’t intervene because it would have made things worse. When Henry goes Clarrie tells Helen how humiliating the incident was. She always thought she was good at supervising kids, but this generation don’t have any respect. After the match Henry tells Clarrie that the only way to deal with those kids is to be firm and not take any nonsense. Clarrie is doubtful she can do that, but Henry reminds her what she was like at Bridge Farm, never a passenger. Do the same at school and she’ll be fine. Brad tells Usha and Joy he hasn’t got hay fever, but Tracy’s accused him of get

Writer: Shaun McKenna Director: Dave Payne Editor: Jeremy HoweBrian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee Pip Archer….. Daisy Badger Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan George Grundy…. Angus Stobie Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly Stella Pryor…. Lucy Speed Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd Amber Gordon…. Charlotte Jordan