So, does John Archer have a secret love child?

[Sinkingfeeling]

Is that what Pat was getting at tonight when she was quizzing Susan about how old Kylie's half-brother was? Or am I way off beam?

yes ponders That sounds like it ;the type who has to make herself indispensable to justify her existence.

ooh Sunday! Get to hear result of Pat's chat with Sharon.
How much will SWs drag it out?

OMG

Fabulous :o

Ha!

so what's she going to do now...???

May I just refer you to my post of November 16 : "Emma has been on facebook with Kylie, according to Susan. I bet there will be a photo of the brother who will be the image of John".

Why is Pat so willful about making Rich part of her/their life?
AIBU to think it's incredibly selfish of her? (kick off huge debate...)

I think you have to go back to John's death and what it did to Pat - he was the apple of her eye. In her eyes Rich is the reincarnation of John. YANBU to think she is being selfish, but knowing what went before I think it is entirely believable that this is how she would react.

Oh yes absolutely. Poor Pat - the loss of John will always be a raw wound.

and Helen is going to hit the roof. I expect Tom will too actually. He was always very much in John's shadow. He's not going to welcome a rival.

Oh god, neither of them are going to react well to this - they are no way going to want Pat to contact Sharon. I normally hate the sanctimonious Bridge Farm lot but I have to say this is quite exciting - a lot more interesting than the sodding e. coli outbreak

A fantastic plot twist - and who saw it coming? I love this about The Archers - picking up a plotline from 13 years ago. Cue DH "It's not real life you know!" But it sort of is like real life when you've been following the goings-on every day for 30 years in fact that is the joy of it. It doesn't work though if you dip in and out - because all the everyday forensic detail that seems a bit trivial to the casual listener is what adds up to a fantastic plotline when it finally comes together. I love it - it would be my Desert Island luxury!

there's an interesting thought on the BBC board - how would Pat react if Henry's sperm donor's mother turns up when he's 13, wanting to be part of his life???

I do hope it occurs to Helen to bring that up at the family meeting

I honestly thought that Pat would merely ask Sharon to only send a Xmas card every year with news about the boy, and otherwise leave it to Sharon to decide when and whether to ever tell the boy truth about his paternal grandparents, and leave it to him to contact them when older if he wanted.

13 is like the worst possible age to tell a boy that the man raising him is not his "real" father, too. For once I actually agree with Moany Tony.

If I were Pat I would immediately wonder why Sharon had said nothing about Rich to them, If she's a golddigger or 'fortune hunter' as she apparently actually called her then surely she would have 'used ' Rich as an entree to the Bridge farm fortune wouldn't she?

This thread is fab - no one in my RL gets my Archers obsession :o

Can anyone answer my question? - Are Sharon and Clive played now by the same actors that played them back then?
Clive has such a good "Im going to worm my way into your life voice" - gives me the creeps!

\link{http://www.gdmiddleton.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/archersfrom96.htm\cast list since 1996}

looks like Cloive is the same actor (& \link{http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/the-archers/whos-who/characters/clive-horrobin\on the BBC site he looks pretty scary!})

Sharon isn't on it, as her main appearances were before 96 - has she actually spoken this time? (I don't listen to every minute so have missed her if she has) She doesn't appear in the characters list on the BBC site yet.

actually that cast list is way out of date, as there is no actor's name for eg Phoebe, but it does confirm about Cloive.

(I wonder what the actor's been doing while Cloive's been in prison )

On this thread NorksAreMessy says that Clive is played by her friend's DH :)

On the Pat thing, it's all going to end in tears isn't it. Poor Ruch isn't some Pet Sematary [sic] reincarnation of John. I bet he's a nasty snotty nosed rude boy wannabe teenager with a major attitude problem, who couldn't give a shiny shit how much he looks like his dad.

*Rich :o

Is this is a good opportunity to post a picture of Sam Barriscale who used to play John Archer ?!

Yes Obviously no doubt if Rich is a typical 13yr. old he'd be like that but he IS a teenager isn't he?

Bramshott That actor is cute but he could quite easily pass for a snotty 13 yr old couldn't he? Or maybe i'm getting old

gosh, he looks like a young \link{http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01180/arts-graphics-2007_1180556a.jpg\Stewart Lee}