The Archers

With George in bed most of the day, Emma worries to Will about his state of mind. They agree he needs a purpose – low mood is common after leaving prison. Will remarks that Amber perks him up, though George is unhappy she’s paying for everything. Emma thinks being barred from the Bull hasn’t helped. She heads off to appeal to Lilian as one mother to another, but finds little sympathy there. Lilian maintains that George has been rude and unpleasant. Emma accuses her of being a hypocrite, taking pleasure in making George an outcast. Lilian insists the Bull isn’t responsible for George’s rehabilitation. Tracy tries to soothe upset Emma, stating Lilian’s only trying to protect Alice. But Emma remains worried about George’s future. She begs Tracy to try and persuade Lilian to think again, but Tracy insists she can’t. Emma snaps that she thought family meant as much to Tracy as it does to her. Emma reports back to Will. Will reckons if George’s support worker can’t be of more help, they need to do it themselves. He

While Josh is milking the cows at Meadow Farm he tells Ruth he’s spotted another case of mastitis, so they really need Alistair. Later, Ruth confirms Alistair’s coming and Josh offers to wait for him there – he reckons that Esme might need some company. They talk about music for the funeral and Josh helps Esme decide what might be best. Then Esme suggests inviting the Archers to be guests of honour there and wonders whether the song “Bring Me Sunshine” should be played at the end. This inspires the thought that her dad’s computer password might be Eric Morecambe – and it works! Esme quickly finds the Will, acknowledging she’ll have to start making decisions now. Brian finds unhappy Alice at the Stables. She berates Brian for screwing things up over Home Farm. Brian chastises himself for ruining Alice’s birthday, asking her to celebrate Adam and Ruairi taking over. Brian’s excuse is that no-one had actually committed to running the farm, though Alice reckons Brian should have known it’s what Adam has always

Tracy badgers Oliver into meeting her for lunch at The Bull. But when he gets there Oliver finds that Carly, one of his foster children, is joining him instead. Carly praises Oliver and Caroline for turning her life around, before filling Oliver in on her life since they last met. She mentions two other foster children, before spilling the beans about the original plan for a party. Carly apologises to Tracy, but Oliver thinks his birthday surprise has worked out perfectly. Adam and Ruairi give Brian a cool reception when he walks into the Eco Office, back from his holiday. Adam is particularly scathing about Ruairi’s lack of experience regarding the management succession issue, while his own impressive qualities have been overlooked. Ruairi objects to this, while Brian claims he was simply trying to cover all bases and make the best decision over who will end up in charge at Home Farm. Adam points out he gave up his job to rescue Brian when he was in crisis, before adding bitterly that he’s never been Brian’

Adam and Ruairi discuss Brian’s imminent return, before Ruairi breaks off with news about the castle he sourced for Peggy’s legacy holiday: there’s a huge discount if they bring forward their booking to three-and-a-half weeks’ time. Adam’s clear, he’s not taking Xander out of school and he’s pretty sure others will feel the same way. Kate though is all for it when she phones Alice, only for Alice to rebuff her as Adam predicted. Kate then reminds Alice she’s coming to dinner tonight, with Adam and Ruairi. At dinner Ruairi’s bullish about the holiday going ahead, before bringing up Brian’s promises to him and Alice. Kate assumed Adam and Ruairi were in charge now, with Alice admitting her disappointment about that. Adam regards Ruairi as just an apprentice, while Kate wants to be considered for a management role too, believing Brian should talk to all of them. Join the back of the queue, Adam suggests.Esme tells David she still hasn’t cracked her dad’s computer, and without a Will she’s struggling to make prog

Lying in bed with Amber, George complains that she’s always on her phone. Amber defends herself, that’s how influencing works, but suggests taking George for a drink in Felpersham. George doesn’t want her driving him everywhere though, paying for everything. He thinks they should move away from Ambridge and start afresh. Amber isn’t keen, pointing out that living rent-free with George’s dad is a big reason to stay, comparing Will favourably to her own father. George is luckier than he thinks he is. But when George sees Tracy later he reckons being barred from The Bull is cruel and unnecessary. Tracy corrects him: what he did to Alice was cruel and unnecessary. At the Stables Alice is distracted, still thinking about the conversation yesterday with Ruairi and Adam. Lilian’s surprised to hear she’s interested in managing Home Farm. She’d expected Alice to take over at the Stables one day. However, Alice is more concerned about Brian’s promises which don’t mean anything. Oliver turns up for a ride, explaining hi

At Home Farm Adam and Ruairi are confident everything’s going well in Brian’s absence, when Adam gets a call from Xander’s school saying he may have broken his wrist. Then Ruairi calls Alice in a panic, telling her his tractor’s on fire. Unimpressed Alice heads to Home Farm and has a dig at him over his lack of farming experience. Confident Ruairi is undaunted, claiming he will be ready to take over as manager within a couple of years. Alice reckons he’s mad to think Adam will just retire gracefully when it suits Ruairi, who then reveals Brian has promised him the running of the farm one day. Alice counters that she’s been promised the same thing. Back at the Office Alice and Ruairi tell Adam about the promises Brian has made. Adam’s put out, maintaining he’s best qualified to run Home Farm but hasn’t been promised anything. What the hell is Brian playing at? Tracy tells Jolene that Brad and Zainab have tracked down three of Oliver’s foster children to invite to his surprise birthday buffet. She’ll check wit

It's clash of the titans at The Bull, and Josh makes a friend.

WRITER: Shaun McKenna DIRECTOR: Marina Caldarone and David Payne EDITOR: Jeremy Howe12-17th OctoberDavid Archer.... Timothy Bentinck Jolene Archer.... Buffy Davis Ruth Archer.... Felicity Finch Lilian Bellamy.... Sunny Ormonde Leonard Berry.... Paul Copley  Clarrie Grundy.... Heather Bell Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison George Grundy.... Angus Stobie Brad Horrobin.... Taylor Uttley Tracy Horrobin.... Susie Riddell  Akram Malik.... Asif Khan Khalil Malik.... Krish Bassi Zainab Malik.... Priyasasha Kumari Fallon Rogers.... Joanna Van Kampen Oliver Sterling.... Michael Cochrane Esme Mulligan.... Ellie Pawsey

George tells Jolene he’s trying to get his life back together, but knows he has to earn people’s trust. He offers to help out at The Bull while Kenton’s away. George then plays the sympathy card, mentioning how he put himself in danger helping them locate Markie. Jolene can’t promise anything but says she’ll think about it.Leonard’s concerned about Ruth taking on extra duties while David helps at Meadow Farm. Ruth knows David feels really shaken by Mulligan’s death. But she agrees they can’t stand by and watch cows being neglected. So, for now they’ll keep going like this. When Esme turns up at Brookfield she apologises for putting David and Ruth out. She still hasn’t found her Dad’s will or accessed his accounts, but gives Ruth a bottle of whisky for David. Esme then becomes emotional and Ruth invites her in. Over tea and biscuits Esme confesses to Ruth and Leonard that her passions are website design and marketing, not farming. Her Dad turned increasingly inward in the last year, refusing to get help and ha

Akram continues helping David with the milking at Meadow Farm. David admits the whole farm is a shambles and they still haven’t managed to get in touch with Mulligan’s daughter. He wishes he’d checked in on Mulligan more often, instead of assuming everything was okay. Akram asks about Brookfield and David admits how big a challenge it is keeping the farm going. Then Mulligan’s daughter, Esme, arrives, expecting to see her dad. Awkward David and Akram tell her that he’s died. Over a cup of tea Esme explains that she missed her last couple of regular visits and is shocked by the state everything’s in. Not being a farmer herself she’s incredibly grateful for everything that’s been done just to keep the farm going. David assures her they’re happy to help out in any way they can.Having just found out about George’s visit yesterday Lilian takes Jolene to task for not telling her. Lilian then conducts the draw for the second ticket to the Awards do and Fallon’s the winner, although Lilian is suspiciously quick in di

At Grey Gables Zainab is shadowing Oliver, who thinks it will be good for her to see the frustrating realities of his job. Zainab thanks Oliver for his support over her complaint about Lawrence and the golf club. Zainab gets on with one of Oliver’s more mundane tasks, before spotting on a personnel file he’s shared that his eightieth birthday is coming up. He’d rather forget all about it, but Zainab thinks Oliver should celebrate such a momentous event. Later, Zainab reports an error she’s spotted and how she corrected it. Oliver suggests she’d make a good manager, but Zainab is more interested in organising a party for Oliver’s birthday. Once again Oliver demurs. Eddie, Clarrie and George arrive for lunch at The Bull, taking a table in the corner. Jolene assures them everything’s fine, but after some ill-advised comments by George the atmosphere becomes awkward. Clarrie apologises and Jolene reassures her there’ll be no trouble, so long as George doesn’t go looking for it. Fallon then tells Jolene she won’t

Akram has walked to Brookfield to collect a birthday cake that Leonard’s made for Khalil. When the rain starts David offers to drive Akram home, with a detour to drop off a machine part to a neighbouring farmer, Mulligan. But when they get to Meadow Farm they hear the distressed sound of unmilked cows and discover Mulligan lying dead in the milking parlour, before calling the emergency services. Later, David is grateful for Akram’s company while milking the cows. They discuss what happened when the paramedics got there, waxing philosophical about the meaning of life and death. David worries that he could have prevented Mulligan’s death if he’d called earlier, lamenting he doesn’t even know the name of Mulligan’s next of kin, his daughter, to let her know what’s happened. The least David can do is keep milking the cows, until another solution presents itself. Akram offers to help and both hope Mulligan’s at peace.At the Maliks, Zainab and Khalil banter about his 'surprise' birthday party and presents. Zainab j

The Grundys make plans, and there's tension at the Bull.

Writer: Sarah Hehir Director: Dave Payne Editor: Jeremy HoweJolene Archer.... Buffy Davis Chris Carter.... Wilf Scolding Neil Carter.... Brian Hewlett Susan Carter.... Charlotte Martin Ruairi Donovan.... Arthur Hughes Mick Fadmoor.... Martin Barrass Amber Gordon.... Charlotte Jordan Clarrie Grundy..... Heather Bell Ed Grundy..... Barry Farrimond Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison Emma Grundy.... Emerald O'Hanrahan George Grundy.... Angus Stobie Will Grundy.... Philip Molloy Brad Horrobin.... Taylor Uttley Adam Macy.... Andrew Wincott Paul Mack.... Joshua Riley Lily Pargetter.... Katie Redford Fallon Rogers.... Joanna Van Kampen Prison Guard.... Janice Connolly

It’s the day of George’s release, and nervous Emma sets off with Amber to collect him. Amber’s excited for all the plans she has for them both for the next few weeks. Emma reminds her it might not all be roses. Not everyone feels as they do about George. Amber counters that George has done his time and should be allowed to have some fun. Emma concedes the point and they carry on chatting happily. Eddie can’t wait to have their boy back in the fold. There’s something really special about George. As they gather to welcome him home, Will feels a bit sorry for Susan and Neil. He resolves to send them a photo. Meanwhile George is upset to find there’s no sign of the clothes Amber sent him for his release. The officer apologises, but George will have to wear a prison issue discharge kit. George eventually rallies and looks forward to his journey home. He’s going to treat his mum to a fry up on the way, and stop off for flowers for Amber. They’ll share their first proper kiss when she greets him at the door. Finall

Chris shares news of how Martha’s doing at school with Susan and Neil. When Susan mentions the rat situation at church, Neil reckons Susan’s handling everything brilliantly. The last few months have been so tricky for the shop. Talk turns to George’s release tomorrow. Susan reckons it would mean a lot to Emma if Chris could show his face at the party on Friday, but Chris is adamant he won’t go. He’s happy for Emma that she’ll have George back, but he’ll never be family to him. Susan and Neil understand.Susan has the idea to offer deliveries while the shop’s closed. Neil’s not keen initially, but soon gets on board with it and helps her load up with essentials. While they’re at the church they share a quiet moment of contemplation. They feel thankful and count their blessings, admitting they’ll never stop loving George no matter what.Jolene admits to Chris and Fallon she feels relieved George is being released on time, having felt dreadful about getting him involved in their troubles. Fallon agrees it wasn’t f

Brad sees things from another perspective, and Neil attempts to stay positive.

Susan wants to make worried Emma a drink but she has to get to a tree job. Mick’s surprised to see Emma so preoccupied; he thought George was being released this week. Susan comments that nothing’s ever plain sailing with George. As they’re talking horrified Susan spots a rat. She brandishes a candlestick but amused Mick isn’t sure that’s the solution. When they flush it out of hiding Susan’s convinced it’s not the same rat. What if there’s an infestation? Susan heads off to break the news to Alan.Amber’s topping up her social posts in between preparing the house for George’s arrival home on Thursday. Will offers to help but Amber’s keen to get the bedroom ready herself. She can’t believe George will soon be here with her at No.1 The Green. Will reminds her things might not go their way today at the hearing; they have no control over the situation. Amber’s trying to think positively. Will confesses he hasn’t told Poppy yet. Amber acknowledges she’ll be gutted. Will loves that Poppy gets on so well with Amber.

Jolene finds herself bearing the brunt, and Paul struggles with small talk.

The Grey Gables job shadowing scheme is underway, and Brad tries to persuade dismissive Ian how crucial and interesting the porter’s job is. Ian asserts he’s never been good at sticking on a false smile. However when he notices a restaurant reviewer’s booked in, he hastily offers to look after her. He reports later that she was very impressed with the shadowing idea. He apologises to Brad for his earlier sniffy attitude – it’s been good for him to see the front of house stuff. Brad admits ruefully he’s not looking forward to his billet on Security, shadowing Mick.Kirsty tackles Justin about his intention to sell his Borchester Land shares. She’s concerned about the implications, and for the future of Rewilding Ambridge. Justin insists it will make no difference, but Kirsty protests they’ll have a much harder time of it with the Board. Justin assures her he’s keeping his own personal stake in the scheme, and will always be on hand to offer advice on how to handle the Board. George is still in suspense over the