Is Helen Archer the most annoying pregnant person ever, but is heading for a fall...

[NigellaTufnel]

... maybe from her step class.

Although I cannot stand her, and find her smugness annoying enough to batter the radio, I feel a bit sad that they may make something bad happen to the baby becuase she is a bit organic.

Yes she is. She is. She is! Dreadful woman.
I don't think they will hurt the baby, I think she is going to go all anorexic nuts again :)

One imagines the birth won't go according to plan, at least.

I thought it was quite funny tonight - Helen patronising Emma, and Emma kindly refraining from eye-rolling till later.

She is being very cagey about the midwife knowing about her fitness program. I think early labour is coming.

No, no - they won't hurt the baby, but I have a feeling she'll be begging/ screaming for an epidural while Emma will have a beautiful waterbirth. It's only right surely?

...there is a shilling wager placed in our house that Haughty Helen's offspring will have a disability.

This would 'tick' an inclusivity box, feed the schadenfreude of many towards Helen, and could potentially provide a much needed disabled character in British cultural life for a generation...

(whispers they aren't real people...are they??)

Agree that it would be great to have a disabled character become part of the furniture, as it were in the Archers, having good story lines etc, rather than just being an ishoo.

What happened when Emma gave birth to George?

Oh and they ARE REAL!!!! :o

who said they're NOT REAL?!

Loved Helen and Emma tonight, it was hilarious.

iirc nothing really bad happened - she just went into labour unexpectedly (when is it ever otherwise?) and a bit early. She was out with Ed (having 'driving lessons' I think) and he stayed with her til Will arrived near the end. I recall she was a bit shocked by how painful it was.

well it would be lovely if Will wasnt being a total arse. Mind you, a lot of people are being unbelievably tactless gushing about him being an uncle etc. Maybe Vikki didn't know the history, but she's so into everything that seems unlikely.

I predict major unpleasantness at the Young Farmers' Ball.

This is the first time I have opened an Archers thread...consider myself a proper fan now!

Agree that the smuggy-smuggery is foreshadowing some sort of issue/fall for Helen.

Although, if she wasn't being smug we'd be thinking that pregnancy has induced a character change!

she is getting right on my pip - unbearable - feck orf

I reckon they're writing a crash C section into her birth plan right now. She is sooooo smug.

And I agree with you Grimma- all this is totally in Helen's character.

Another vote for C-section here. Preferably after she has asked for an epidural.

I think that maybe she is not pregnant at all but is faking it. She is obviously getting bad again, the way she is setting calories against exercise. Smug witch.

i can still imagine this as a phantom pregnancy....she is being very weird about it.

there'll be a murder in the new year though, so....who do we think they are building to getting rid of?

I would like Helen to have a reasonable birth, but then go on to have the nightmare screaming whirlwind misbehaving baby brat tot boy, and she could spend all her time saying:

"If only I wasn't doing this on my own"
"I guess boys do need dads in their lives"
"I've read all the books, why is being a parent so hard?!"
"I never realised how hard childcare could be to get"
"I didn't realise I'd have to change my life so much"
"Gosh, being a single parent is so hard, I never realised how hard it would be, woe is me"

and other such things to let me feel perfectly justified in taking great glee at her self-inflicted misfortune.

I don't think she's faking it but I do foresee disaster looming, though I don't think the SWs would go as far as stillbirth/miscarriage. I'm betting on horrific birth experience, possibly involving Amy the vicar's daughter, followed by PND so Tony has to put on his smug I told you so hat step in and come to the resuce. I heart Tony!

I think PND is a foregone conclusion. We don't definately know a murder is coming - just that the story will shake Ambridge to it's core. It has been suggested that Helen will lose her baby and then nick Emma's. I certainly think there may be some social worker involvement coming her way - she is being very, very controlling and the mad exercising and evasiveness about food is v worrying!

hmm. cras hsection would mean a golden opportunity to point out how difficult it is to have a baby by yourself, with no-one else to pass you the lo to feed it or make meals etc for you....

ok. I favour crash section under GA for Helen. Emma goes intervention free, with much admiration from supportve daddy.

cue Helen telling Emma how lucky she is (when in fact Helen has chosen the single parent route) losing weight, not Bfing (and torturing herself about it) ..etc etc with even more script writing that could have been C&P from a thread on Mumsnet. when they cover issues like that it is always so awkwardly done...