50 ways to leave your lover. Get on the bus Gus, give a knife to your wife, Rob. How not to write helpful storylines masterclass from The Archers.

[PseudoBadger]

Poor poor Henry

That rather leaves out the fact that TA has been building up over the last two years, that Hellon was terrified of Knob

Exactly. Making a tuna bake to prove your DH is a gaslighting bastard liar, then triumphantly sweeping out the door (apparently Helen's original plan) is what you do in a sitcom, not RL or a drama that is supposed to be modelled on RL. Totally implausible and inconsistent with Helen's behaviour until now. What a waste of two years building a storyline. Just utterly crap

Can't find TA in the Today running order - have I missed it?

yonkers Nothing Rob did within BHC would lead to a long prison sentence (imvho). (Assuming he has no previous imprisonable conviction and wasn't actually attacking Henry or Helen with a weapon last night.)

If only lostinyonkers

I'm afraid that Helen's goose has been well and truly cooked. Still, i"my guessing to SOC, Helen is an unlikable and difficult woman, so that will be OK.

Looking forward to reading what Nancy Banks-Smith has to say about this debacle. I can't understand why there seems to be so many positive responses on Twitter etc. Surely they understand that the long term impact on Helen and Henry will be devastating.

SOC translation please.

Sean O'Connor, the departing editor

The thing is, I could have accepted Hellin attacking Knob to protect Henwee - Knob comes home, lose temper with Henwee, Hellin snaps (still wouldn't find the stabbing of Knob a reasonable conclusion, but could see how that might happen). What I can't believe is Hellin deliberately setting up a confrontation with Knob with Henwee in the house (and then continuing to goad him when she could see how the situation was developing). If Knob had to die - and I can see why that suits SOC it is the typical conclusion of a SOC storyline (huge hoo-ha over Great North move - never happens because would involve years of follow-up, HPs move south - huge hoo-ha, never happens because she would have to be incorporated into the storyline, if Knob lives years of follow-up required over fight for access etc etc) - could it at least have happened in a more realistic way? Whatever happens next is going to be hugely unsatisfactory because of the melodrama that sparked it. The sooner SOC get back to EE the better. I hope who ever takes his place understands the difference between event-led and character-led drama and loves and understands the characters enough to let them set the pace (always assuming they haven't been completely detroyed by SOC already - ie Patbot to name but one).

Sarah Montagu announced it would be on at 6am. It hasn't been on yet and it's unlikely to be in their big political slot, so I'm assuming after 8.30.

8.20 according to twitter

Coming up in the next hour.....

Re. Henry as a witness. What exactly would his testimony be? "I heard Mummy and Daddy shouting. I went downstairs. Mummy had a knife and was shouting at Daddy. Dadddy shouted at me to go back to bed and ran after me. Daddy stopped shouting and Mummy told me he was asleep, then she let me watch my favourite programme on telly." I don't think we can rely on him to back up any story other than Rob's. And I know it's been repeated many times on the thread but Helen did scream "I'll KILL him" only last week.

From the relationships board, I would imagine Rob wouldn't have said the only way to escape is to kill yourself, he would have said you're mad, everyone knows you're mad. You try and leave and I will get custody of Henry and new baby and make sure you never get near them again. You can't win against me. And she would have believed him, sadly.

Henry saw Rob carrying the knife first and coming at him, surely? Although you'd never think that from Henry's calm reaction.

Excellent. Thanks you two!

Oh this is going to be miserable. I wouldn't want to be writing the next six months - year of the BHC story. Fictional legal wranglings are unbelievably tedious, Rob revivified with an even greater hold on her would be grim, there's no way they'll be able to accurately portray the immediate and long term effects on the Bridge Farm clan ...

I thought R'd already given the knife to Helen before Henry arrived? I don't think I can listen again.

Thanks, Pseudo and Sticker. I think I will listen to Toady and then step away from it all as my BP is suffering. I'm wondering what I would be thinking if I'd not been reading the MN threads during the last months, though? (I have mostly not been listening in general protest at SOC's storylines, starting with the proposed Brookfield move, through the floods and then the increase in Rob's gaslighting.)

Just listened. What a load of shite. After years of clever, sensitive script writing we get this crap. It's like the editor was suddenly told he had to wrap up the story with 12hrs notice so decided to go in all guns blazing. It's so uncredible that I have no sympathy for any of the characters now.

Kirsty would have hung around in the garden and burst in at the first raised voice. Helen would have put herself between Rob and Henry and let him beat her instead. Kirsty would have driven straight over when she missed that call, not risked calling back. So many holes

I have to disagree on one point: I think Tim wrote this episode quite well, it built nicely even if the ending was pants. But I assume he didn't have real control over that. The one thing he should have changed is Helen should have rung 999

Woke up this morning still feeling so annoyed! Had been expecting this week to involve Helen, phoning WA again, telling Patbot everything with Kirtsty backing her up, planning her escape/reporting Knob to the police. But no. Instead we have this awfulness.

Is such a let down. And they worked with experts for it to end like this?? What a joke.

Still have a tiny hope that tonight he turns out to be alive and not as seriously injured as Helen thinks. Seems the least bad outcome now.

one assumes that the next episode involves Kirsty coming over and calling 999 though...? (not posting spoilers, just assuming this is the likely follow-on)

I think they are playing that party game where you write bits of a story and the next person has to carry it on. "Hah! Get out of that one, writer of Monday's episode!!!"

Bertrand hahaha!

All the major mistakes I've made in life crash into my mind whenever I'm feeling less than 100%.

Just imagine Helen waking up every morning for the rest of her life thinking "why didn't I just grab Henry's hand and leave with Kirsty?"

On r4 now

On now!