The Archers

Rex faces an awkward encounter, and Freddie ties himself up in knots.

At Joy's house Rochelle tells Mick that he’s unlikely to hear back from Joy anytime soon. Susan appears, fuming at Joy not turning up for her shift at the Shop - and there’s no-one to cover. Despite it being unpaid Rochelle offers to work Joy’s shifts. Susan reluctantly agrees – but Rochelle has to start straight away. Later on, despite the tension between Susan and Rochelle, who hates Susan’s finicky shelf-stacking instructions, they come to a compromise that seems to work. Back at home though Rochelle moans to Mick about bossy Susan driving her to distraction. Mick implores Rochelle not to mess things up for Joy, who needs the job to come back to.Over at the Maliks Akram is getting everything ready for tonight’s Eid celebrations, including lots of fireworks. When Khalil realises Lynda and Robert will be joining them he tells Akram to ditch the fireworks : they will traumatise Lynda after the explosion at Grey Gables. Akram agrees to do the celebrations without them. When Robert and Lynda arrive, Lynda tells

Helen tells Clarrie that Susan’s got the job. Clarrie’s pleased for Susan, and entreats Helen not to get upset as it doesn’t help. Helen goes through the process for Clarrie, telling her she doesn’t have to work her notice. But Clarrie insists; she just wants to get back to work, while she can. She tells Susan she just wants an ordinary day, and Susan’s happy to oblige. Clarrie admits to feeling a bit sorry for Helen, but Susan retorts that’s for Helen to deal with.Mick intimates to Rochelle that Joy has filled him in on their troubled past. It becomes clear to Rochelle that Joy hasn’t told him the whole story. Rochelle tells shocked Mick that the ‘couple of days’ Joy referred to when she said she’d gone away was actually more like a couple of months. Rochelle also discloses she had to deal with their dog dying that summer, assisted by a lad she barely knew. When Joy arrives home and tells them about Constanza, Rochelle makes a barbed comment about disposing of a dead llama. Catching up with the conversation,

Eddie approaches Neil in the Bull. The awkward atmosphere between them dissipates as they share fellow feeling over the predicament of their wives regarding tomorrow’s decision about the remaining job in the dairy. Both women are trying not to think about it and remain philosophical. Eddie’s heard a rumour Martyn Gibson’s on the board of Borsetshire Water, but when he realises it’s news to Neil he thinks maybe it’s not true. Neil speculates that it would make sense though, given Martyn’s reaction to the campaign. They could check the website. They go on to chat about George. Eddie acknowledges how painful it must have been for Neil and Susan to report him to the police. The pair agree it’s been good to chat, and that they care about one another. Emma and Robert make tea before the parish council meeting. Emma’s made the decision to resign – she has no fight for it left in her, and she’s had enough of people talking about her in meetings. Robert’s dismayed. They’re interrupted by Mick, who announces his intent

Lynda’s concerned for Khalil after the loss of Constanza yesterday. Khalil assures her he’s okay. They take Salieri for a walk, the start of a regular thing and Khalil loves it. He admits he sometimes feels stupid and his mother has low expectations of him. Lynda assures him this isn’t true. He tells Lynda about a boy whose funeral he attended. Seeing the boy’s mum’s face put him in mind of his own mum and how she might feel if he died. He knows his cancer could return. He apologises for the dark conversation and Lynda comforts him. She knows his mum’s just thrilled he’s alive and thriving, and has complete faith in him. Joy checks in with Mick, making sure he’s still happy for Rochelle to stay with them. Mick confirms it’s all good; he’s pleased for Joy that Rochelle’s around. Joy declares him a good man. Mick raises the delicate topic of what’s really going on between the two women. He needs Joy to be straight with him. Joy gradually opens up, disclosing the extent of her ex husband’s betrayal as he conduct

Lynda wonders to Robert whether she should pay Khalil to feed and walk the llamas. She wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t become a vet. As they approach the paddock they notice Constanza is lying down. To their horror they realised she’s died. They call Alistair to her, and he explains she had bloat. It would have happened very quickly. Lynda’s sad but tries hard to be philosophical; Constanza had a lovely life. At that moment Khalil arrives and is devastated. He’s convinced he must have fed Constanza something she couldn’t eat. Alistair reassures him, but he struggles. He asks what will happen to her and whether there’ll be a funeral. Alistair’s explanations do little to console Khalil and he leaves, distraught. Lynda’s concerned for him. Joy and Mick are finishing off the cleaning at Home Farm as they prepare to leave the house. Joy can see that it must have been a wrench for Brian and Jennifer to relinquish the the farmhouse, but much as she’s enjoyed her stay she wouldn’t swap it for her Beechwood home.

Emma’s relieved to report that there’s been no negative activity around her media exposure for the water company campaign. Nevertheless she announces she’s decided to resign from the parish council. Robert’s dismayed, and urges her not to be too hasty. Mick praises Emma tentatively for her work with the campaign – he was impressed. Emma snaps that she didn’t do it to impress, rather that it was the right thing to do. Later Robert urges Mick to think again about his complaint to the parish council; Emma’s a good person who’s already suffered enough. Chastened Mick promises he will give it some thought. Helen and Pat face the challenging task of interviewing Susan and Clarrie. Pat reckons due process will at least take the emotion out of it but Helen doesn’t agree – it’s like being asked to choose between two diamonds. As the time draws near flustered Clarrie needs help from Emma to clean her mud splashed skirt. Susan’s somewhat calmer, but in the interests of fairness Emma offers to make them both a soothing c

Emma’s not at all happy to find she’s become the poster girl for the water company campaign; her picture has made the local paper. Robert reckons it’s a positive – it’s all good publicity. But Emma’s worried about the prominence attracting negative comments about George on social media. Her place on the parish council may also be in question, but she’s not worried about that. If they don’t want her, that’s fine with her. Robert reminds Lynda the decision on Emma’s future on the parish council is this Thursday, but Lynda’s distracted. The Malik family have gone back to Beechwood and the house is quiet. Robert reminds her what good news this is that the Maliks’ house is habitable again. Azra has left them with profuse thanks and some delicious chocolates. Lynda’s happy for the family, but still laments their own house feels empty. She’s cheered by the prospect of Khalil returning from time to time to feed the llamas. Clarrie feels no matter how much she prepares for her interview tomorrow, she won’t get the job

Rex is still uncomfortable with the idea of being paid to play cricket, and even more so when Lily confirms there’ll be another player getting money too. He thinks it’s all very dodgy; if it’s not, why are they having to keep quiet about it? Tom interrupts them and Lily covers, expressing her optimism for the season ahead. Tom agrees; if nets is anything to go by everyone’s sharp and focused on improving. Martyn Gibson arrives and accuses Rex of being involved in the imminent bellringing protest against the water company. Bemused Rex denies any involvement. Lily gets back to business. She runs her intended team talk past Rex and Tom. She’ll announce a change to Harrison’s previous ‘playing for fun’ approach, and make clear that nets will be compulsory – miss two sessions and you’re off the team. Later Tom and Rex agree this is all a bit strong. Lily clearly doesn’t understand people’s commitments and motives for playing. As they prepare for the ringing Neil shares with Alan his ongoing sadness that George sti

Tony’s been dropped from the cricket team and feels an injustice has been done. He blames ageism. Pat’s sympathetic but points out Freddie’s probably just trying to put the best team together. Tony implies he’s the better player of the two of them and asks Tom for his opinion – but Tom’s not getting involved. Later the boot’s on the other foot when Pat gets the call. Raging that she’s been dropped too, she admonishes amused Tony for gloating. After her bellringing meeting Pat’s concerned that this method of protest might not be as effective as they’d hoped. She worries that Neil’s right – ten hours of bells risks alienating the people they want onside. Tony apologises for teasing her earlier, and Pat acknowledges her own lack of sympathy towards him too. They reminisce about the good times they’ve had at the cricket, consoling themselves with the thin comfort that they can still go and watch. Tony asks Tom to have a word with Freddie, but Tom refuses. He agrees with Freddie, admiring him for getting on and ma

Neil approaches Alan about the ring of bells for the sewage leak protest, and to his surprise Alan is enthusiastic. He thinks they should aim for a marathon ring of ten hours. It will call people to arms and encourage questions in people’s minds about climate change. Before Neil knows it they’re delivering flyers. Alan’s secured the support of most of the PCC in advance of their meeting tomorrow. Not yet official then, cautions Neil. Akram joins them and Neil explains they’re less anti-Borsetshire Water and more hoping to open a dialogue. Akram helps with the leaflet delivery; he’s right behind them on this.Freddie thinks paying Rex will split the cricket team. Lily assures him they won’t know, but Freddie still thinks it’s against the spirit of the game. He asks her if she’s run the plan past Lynda, and Lily says she intends to. Later Freddie’s dismayed to hear that Vince has approved the payment, and more so that he wants not one but two players to be paid. Lily assures Freddie that this makes it a policy r

Clarrie and Emma visit George and find to their surprise that he’s very worried about Eddie. George believes they’re keeping information from him about an illness. He’s had a letter from Keira and Poppy, suggesting he speaks to the family to find out more details. With Emma and Clarrie nonplussed, George realises he’s been duped by his sisters. Clarrie thinks it’s sweet that they’ve concocted this plan to get George to see her and Emma, but George thinks they shouldn’t have used his grandpa this way. However he does admit it was kind of a Grundy thing to do. Emma’s really happy to see George smile. He admits he misses them all. Emma suggests tentatively that they might visit again, and George agrees. Susan admits to Pat that whilst she’s glad Clarrie’s got to see George, it does still hurt that that he won’t have anything to do with her – and there’s no sign of him coming back from that. Talk turns to the looming fight for their jobs. When Helen ventures that it’s nobody’s fault, Pat’s riled. She puts the bl

Lily has some proposals for Kirsty to begin forging a relationship between Grey Gables and Rewilding Ambridge. They’d start by including the rewilding in their tour offer to guests. But Kirsty’s only half listening, preoccupied with the lack of progress on her Beechwood house sale. Lily reckons she’s being too patient with Tom and Natasha – she should give them a cut-off time. Changing the subject, Lily wonders whether Kirsty might consider being on the cricket team. She can play a bit and has the right positive attitude. Kirsty’s unsure. Lily seeks Rex’s opinion, but he announces he probably can’t play this season himself. He’s busy with the taxi at weekends and needs the money. Lily offers to consider paying him to play. Rex is uncertain about this private agreement, but Lily insists she’ll talk to Vince as their sponsor.Helen gives Susan and Clarrie the difficult news that, with the dairy struggling, one of them will have to go. She offers the option of voluntary redundancy. The two women have a heart-to-h

Lynda and Freddie watch their newly promoted cricket team at nets, wondering how they’ll fare in the higher division. Freddie reckons enjoyment is the key to success, whereas Lynda maintains that setting high standards is key. She can see dead wood that needs clearing out, via a razor sharp selection policy. Anyone who doesn’t make the grade will have to be told. Later Lynda laments Freddie’s lack of discipline during practice, and declares his proposed list of top eleven players ridiculous. Lily assures her he’s joking – there are no women on the list for a start. But Lynda feels this is no arena for larking around. Freddie’s answer is they can look for another captain. Lily doesn’t think it’s a bad idea for her to be involved, and they settle on a role for her as director of cricket, in charge of selection. Helen’s asked Clarrie and Susan to the Tearoom for drinks and cakes. When pressed she admits she has something to tell them, but is interrupted by the untimely arrival of a lorry delivering a mountain of

Emma tells Susan that she’s had a letter from George wanting her to visit him again. Susan’s thrilled for Emma, who can barely contain her excitement. Emma could take on the world if she had to! At the shop Jim asks Brad about being his apprentice scorer for the cricket. Brad quickly accepts and they arrange to go through the basics after Brad’s finished at Uni for the day. When Emma comes in Brad worries she’ll be angry with him for letting George down, but instead she tells him about George’s letter. She wants to know how George was when Brad saw him on Wednesday. Emma meets up with Pat and they discuss the next stage for their protest, agreeing that they need to look at successful campaigns elsewhere and get more people involved. At Greenacres later, Jim explains the arcane principles of cricket scoring to Brad. He tells Brad that it’ll be an honour to have him at his side. While potting yoghurt in the Dairy Helen and Susan discuss a report in The Echo detailing dividends and bonuses given to Borsetshi

While Akram starts preparing their evening meal in Lynda’s kitchen, Khalil is still off with him after events on Tuesday. When Khalil stops doing his homework, Akram tries boosting Khalil by telling him how brave he’s been. But for Khalil the point is that his cancer could still come back. And if it does, he doesn’t want to have spent his whole life being careful, following every rule. They end up having a big hug, admitting how much they’ve missed each other.Brad struggles at nets, but it’s soon apparent he doesn’t have any talent for cricket. Brad’s envious of Chris and Tom, who make everything look so easy. It’s the same for Tracy. Despite Jim’s reassurances, Brad reckons he doesn’t take after his mum at all. Then Eddie calls Brad, heaping pressure on him to do more work for George. After nets, Jim and Freddie discuss how standards on the cricket team have slipped following the winter break – and Brad clearly isn’t the answer to their prayers. Then Freddie thinks of something else Brad can help with, persu

At Bridge Farm Helen’s hoping to generate some new business to start offsetting their recent losses. She’s keeping an eye on Henry too, after yesterday’s misadventure at the demonstration. Tony and Pat admit to being impressed by Henry and Khalil’s commitment to the cause, so long as it doesn’t become a habit. Pat is still up for the fight and Tony reluctantly says he won’t stop her. Henry is suitably contrite with Helen for going AWOL yesterday, thankful that she’s not too angry with him. He also mentions talking to Tony about driving the tractor. Later, whilst planting seedlings in the polytunnel, Tony and Pat are pleasantly surprised when Helen tells them she’s spoken to the insurance company. They should get enough compensation to at least pay for a marketing campaign and potentially drum up some new business. To Pat’s delight Tony starts to feel more positive. She pushes him to have another think about Henry and the tractor. Pat and Helen then watch with bated breath, while Tony gives Henry final instruc

Unknown to their parents Henry and Khalil bunk off school to go to the demo at Borsetshire Water. Tony’s still worried about Pat going in case there’s any trouble, but wishes her and Emma luck. Dressed as toilet rolls Emma and Pat join in with the chants while waiting for Borsetshire Water board members to arrive. They spot Henry and Khalil, who insist they’re doing the right thing by skipping school for a worthy cause. Nevertheless, Pat insists on calling worried Helen and Akram to let them know where the boys are.Later at the demo, Tony introduces himself to Akram, who’s concerned Khalil will miss an important medical appointment. They find Pat and Emma with Henry and Khalil, who are disappointed the board members haven’t turned up and it’s all rather low key. Tony and Akram take the boys away, just as Pat and Emma spot a protestor accosting a worker. It’s not the sort of action Pat feels comfortable with. But Emma persuades her that simply being there, making their feelings known, is important and worth do

It’s good news at Bridge Farm after Helen gets the thumbs-up to re-open the dairy. But the bad news is that their sales figures since the closure are even worse than expected. Meanwhile, Tony’s not keen on Pat going to a demonstration against Borsetshire Water tomorrow at a shareholders’ meeting, although Helen defends Pat’s noble intentions. Tony’s also concerned about Henry wanting to learn to drive a tractor. Later, in the Edible Forest Garden, Tony admits to Helen how the thought of Henry on a tractor brings back terrible memories of how John died. Despite Helen’s pressing Tony’s not convinced Henry’s ready for it yet.Susan and Clarrie are thrilled to be back working at the Dairy, especially when they find the brand new, bright pink wellies Pat and Tony have gifted them. Later, while enjoying just making cheese again, they reckon they’re ready for questions at the viewing window, even if they’re about the sewage leak. They talk about how Eddie’s drumming up more commissions for Brad to make George’s video

At Lower Loxley Freddie’s rushing to get to work for the first big day of his initiative, hoping to persuade the local Academy Trust and their schools to use locally produced food, including Casey Meats. He’ll be giving local farmers a tour of the abattoir while Vince schmoozes the bigwigs from the Academy Trust. Lily is encouraging and wishes Freddie luck. But just as the tour’s about to start Lily calls Freddie - he’s left all his tour notes behind. Then Lynda texts, telling Freddie he’ll be cricket club captain as well as team captain after Tom dropped out – and there’s a long list of jobs to be done immediately! To alleviate Freddie’s stress levels Lily sends over photos of his notes and offers to cover Lynda’s cricket jobs for him. Freddie meanwhile conducts the likes of Eddie, Pat and Ruth on their tour of the abattoir. During this Pat and Ruth find time to discuss the hold-up over Kirsty’s house sale, plus the ongoing effects of the sewage spill and Pat’s determination to hold Borsetshire Water to acco