No more walking on eggshells for Helen! Heading for an eggsplosive Easter weekend in The Archers - will Helen Archer be resurrected by the end of this thread?

[PseudoBadger]

Helen knows she's not cracking up - Knob is an eggomaniac.

Are we eggshausted with this storyline?

What was our conclusion about the 'black shadows' Peggy spotted under Helen's eyes?

I think that was red herring, not meaningful. Could also be lack of sleep (wouldn't you sleep poorly if you were her?) or melasma (the mask of pregnancy). Or even just wearing too much suncream (I've had people call me pale for that).

Then [Jess] announced she was pregnant - did she come to BHC again?
Jess turned up in person that day on Helen's doorstep, as I recall. I can't remember to what purpose, to show how much denial Hell was already in, I guess.

I don't mind how Richard happened to be the doc who took the paternity sample or Hayley chatted to Jess in changing rooms. A) It gives the actors some extra work; B) we get to see the characters outside of their usual relationship dynamics, and C) I live in a "small world" county so we bump into the same people at different places across the county all the time! It rings true to me, anyway.

I thought it was a pity the interviewer on WH let SOC off the hook in relation to Ursula. She ended the question with something about "Why can't he have a controlling father instead of a controlling mother" and he laughed and said we don't know that he hasn't got a controlling father, but completely swerved the question about Ursula.

The arrival of SoK will give plenty of opportunity to meet both of Rob's parents. His father will either be a brow-beaten shadow of a man or equally vile. Odds on the latter.

Although I seem to recollect when Ursula first popped round to see Hellin she seemed to imply that her DH was controlling, and that she fell into line

Mine too. I'm toying with the idea that Ursula was bullied and abused like Helen and because she never recognised that the way she was treated in her marriage was unacceptable she has turned into this passive aggressive monster as a coping mechanism. I would be most interested to see how Miles has turned out.

Yes he definitely gave a bit of a politician's answer to that question.
What annoyed me was that SOC sounded SO pleased with himself "we've been setting this story up for years but none of the listeners realised he was abusive until very recently"!!! But of re writing history going on there aka gas lighting. Last time he spoke about it he pretty much said he was surprised the listeners had pointed out so many small things that he hadn't realised were red flags and that Rob wasn't intended to be abusive at first.
I thought Louiza came across v well. Not convinced she really did think Pat hadn't had a personality transplant though.

Ooh, cross post, red! Two minds with but a single thought.

I didn't hear much of the first half of the interview (didn't expect them to open with it) but I thought the woman from Refuge was good!

Sorry cross posted. That question as in why a controlling mother. I wish they could have asked about how Rob had such a terrible relationship with his parents and then magically doesn't and also about the missed dinner party. Thing is I suspect if anyone did actually get to quiz SOC or KD on such things, we would be disappointed to find out how many were just slip ups. Get a new archivist guys or the mistakes will only get worse!

I don't think he did say that exactly, elph. He said something like how amazing it was that Archers listeners listen so closely and over such a long period that they pick up on all sorts of little details and are really good at guessing which way the story is going at a very early stage. But I do think either he or Keri Davies has admitted that Rob wasn't introduced to the programme as an abuser from the off - he was going to be a second Brian.

Gasp0de, if I remember correctly, we actually heard Knob visiting Jess (for dinner, I think, to discuss their separation/divorce) and he basically charmed the pants off her...

Great minds Gasp0de

Very likely, MrsW - I find him so disturbing I think I've blocked a lot of his awful behaviour out of my memory!

Crikey 17 pages already! thanks for the 50th thread - off to catch up on Easter now!

D'ya know, Gasp0de, I'm not at all sure that I blame you

On the question of what Rob's father is like, does anyone remember the conversation Rob and Ursula had around the time they visited his old school. He said something along the lines of it being the better option given what was going on at home and Ursula didn't argue, so maybe father was causing some problem when Rob was a child (violence, alcoholism, ...) or was there something else?

What annoyed me was that SOC sounded SO pleased with himself "we've been setting this story up for years but none of the listeners realised he was abusive until very recently"!!!

I don't think he was saying that, to be fair. I think he was saying that in the early stages they deliberately kept it a little ambiguous because is what it is often like with men like Rob - they're charmers when they want to be, they present a face to the public of being lovely, personable, considerate men, and even the person they are abusing believes that to be the reality for a long, long time.

Gosh both phone & iPad crashed on this site earlier...never seen that happen before. So may cross post here.

I thought it was good that Jane Garvey brought up Pat's character change and how strange it would be for her not to pop round to see Hellin given how close Bridge Farm is to BHC. Ditto objections to the introduction of Arsula.

Just a pity -but not an unexpected one- that SOC supplied a politician's reply, especially to the latter.

It would be interesting to see how Pat feels about her transformation over recent months.

I only just had a chance to hear the episode from Sunday night and the interchanges between Hellin, Pat & Peggy. Regarding earlier posts on Peggy & dark circles under Hellin's eyes, I don't think that's a suggestion Knob has hit Hellin. It's just to show how oblivious Peggy is to Hellin's situation - and indeed for Hellin to give a snappy reply. I found it a particularly chilling moment, as you could hear the cold disapproval in Peggy's voice at Hellin's prickliness. Hellin is often heard being irritated over enquiries about her appearance and they are usually from Kirsty or Pat. Surely at some point Pat will wonder why she is quite so sensitive on this????

I don't understand why you guys care about what Rob's dad is like or why Knob became the way he is. Or what his brother is like. Or whether his mother is somehow to blame (obviously ridiculous for a middle-aged man not to take responsibility for his own wrongs, so it's no more than mildly curious what part Ursula had in why he is the way he is). Try to tell me why you care. So that he seems less like a panto villain? Or so you can decide how much to hate him?

Nobody on thread ever seems to think he'll reform or Hell should forgive, so I assume I can rule those out as reasons to care why Knob is how he is.

lljkk I have this vision of Ursula and her husband being like the turnip eating Whiteadders in Blackadder 2.

I will loathe Rob regardless of his parents, but it is often true that people are a product of their upbringing. I'm interested in whether Ursula rules the roost at home or whether they are both as vile as each other and feed off each other's poison.

lljkk - are you sure you are on the right thread?

We spend a lot of time fruitlessly speculating about the characters, their background, what makes them tick, what they are going to reveal next! I completely understand the point that we shouldn't try to excuse an abuser's behaviour, but surely part of the pleasure of listening to TA is about seeing into people's relationships and getting fascinated by these details and nuances.

Just catching up, and someone remarked back thread that " It was in 1972' so I don't suppose anyone on here now who remembers".

Can I just say, very quietly. I used to listen with my Nan when I was primary age in the 50s. Stopped listening until, one day in the late 60s, over at by BF house, his mum abruptly switched off the radio.

Apparently Jenifer was pregnant "out of wedlock" and whe was having none of that filth in her kitchen. She later became my very prudish MiL. (Refused to speak to my daughter when she got pregnant 'O O W' too)

lijk I think that most posters are hoping that the SWs will NOT go down the route of trying to suggest Rob's behaviour is the result of his upbringing, this suggesting it's somehow not 100% his fault or responsibility. So the questions are aimed at finding ways to criticise the SW if they do go down that route. I may be wrong though.

lijk I think that most posters are hoping that the SWs will NOT go down the route of trying to suggest Rob's behaviour is the result of his upbringing, this suggesting it's somehow not 100% his fault or responsibility. So the questions are aimed at finding ways to criticise the SW if they do go down that route. I may be wrong though.

This, or more specifically, that Rob is the way he is because of his mother, a woman, rather than just because he's a dick.

Can anyone link to where Keri Davies said that the paternity of Ethan plot was a mistake and they hurriedly changed the outcome from positive as planned to negative in order to get rid of it? I don't remember that at all.