I'm a celebrity -get me in The Archers! The jury's out in Ambridge.

[PseudoBadger]

New thread for the celebrity packed hour long special tonight! Welcome to regulars and newbies alike

NO SPOILERS please there's a thread for that here

Added by MNHQ: NB there will be spoilers on this thread for those who are yet to listen to the one hour special.

I can't wait for Susan to welcome Helen back to the village nasty cow

If it hadn't been for Eileen Atkins, that would have been utterly dire. However, she just about turned it round for me. So relieved by the verdicts. I hope Tim Stimpson and SOC are paying some sort of royalt to the writers of Twelve Angry Men, though...

I also shed a tear on hearing the full-length version of Barwick Green, which Vanessa Whitburn hated and never allowed to be played. It was good to hear it again.

As for Henry, his fate has been determined by the family court. Currently the ruling is that Henry lives with Rob and sees the Bridge Farm Archers on Sundays. In Borsetshire today is Friday, so Helen will have to wait till Sunday to see Henry. Next week we have the horror of another family court hearing. Nobody who read the guest blog earlier this week can be expecting that to be a foregone conclusion.

I could see how the jury turned round - Eileen Atkins began the process, Catherine Tate character who was determined to convict had been brought to admit that the men in her life had been absolute bastards, and finally Nige probably annoyed the rest of them and got left out on a limb on his own.

What was disappointing was that they filled in none of the gaps from the trial. Not one of them even mentioned the way that Rob got angry when he was challenged, and there was no-one saying anything like "When she asked him about why he was tracking her phone he didn't have an answer, did he?"

I only listened to the first 30 mins, and couldn't bear the jury any longer. Glad for the thread to follow on with comments, thanks to all posters.
Now want a good result for Kaz.
Bye bye SOC.

Oh - meant to say - I did actually think it was written quite well, aside from the jury members being straight out of central casting that is.

I can't imagine that Helen will want to press CC & rape charges against Rob.She will certainly never want to appear in a jury trial again (even as a witness)

It's likely that she will have to go to the family court again to get Henry back I think. Not sure though.

Thank you, Olivia! I do concede that it's probably the case that to avoid the verdict altogether you'd have to live under a rock somewhere, though!

Jacke sounded like Marjorie antrobus.

Oh Rob's such a bastard.

I liked the jury and how they had to stumble over and face their personal frailties and prejudices.

Surely Helen will press charges if it means keeping Rob away from the children.

Oh, wahh, waaah, waahhh! (rubs eyes with tears). don't come on fucking Mumsnet if you're an Archer fan and you don't want to know the verdict at this point in the evening. FFS.

I loved the reunion scene with PatnTone. There was a little bit of me though, thinking of old vindictive Helen, that wondered why she hadn't greeted her mum first and handed over Jack.

I hated the jury stuff, 'twas a pile of bollocks to get a load of luvvies in for that with its lazy stereotyping. Made me cringe. And I don't understand what changed their minds...all puff and no substance.

For me great radio was John's death or even Phil's.

Farewell SOC. Don't let the door bang on your arse on the way out.

It's terrifying to think of having a jury like that decide your fate. I'm pretty certain at 7:50 they all found her guilty and at about 7:52 they announced her innocence. Ridiculous.

anyone else just pissed off with the whole thing. I wish we could have had several months of flower and produce, may pole dancing, missing bunting, what tilly button has done now, etc, etc. it has been instaed a whole shit heap of unreality. the most unlikely outcome just to get news and attention.

Cross post with Gaspode re family court thing.

I need to re watch twelve angry men. Such a great, great film.

Not been listening to the archers for ages but decided I'd give this a go out of idle curiosity. Reasonably well done I thought - ripped off in some detail from 12 Angry Men but if you have to steal you might as well steal from the best.

But the end was very scary. The statistics are very clear that men who are abusive but not murderous to women and children within their control can often become lethal when their victims break free and are no longer the abuser's possessions. Being "brave" and "strong" may not be enough for Helen without a healthy dose of paranoia and family protecting her all the time. I suspect that he will end up attacking Helen and/or the boys, but won't succeed because that would be too appallingly depressing. If it were a TV soap then somebody would kill him at that stage.

Blardy hell

Just clocked in at 8.30 to find 'This thread has 465 messages'

I may be here some time then...

Loved it. i LOVED how all the jurors were bringing their own agendas into the discussion- I imagine that is fairly true to life on similar cases. Thought the blanket not guilty was a bit of a cop out though. But that bit was redeemed with the Rob/Hellin encounter and Rob reverting to type.

Well I thought the writing of the Jurors was pretty dire and very tedious to listen to them arguing like that. I've never sat on a jury though & read somewhere that SOC has been on 3, so maybe that is what it's like.

Does he think the Archers' Radio 4 audience won't be familiar with 12 Angry Men?

It got better after the verdict. Lots of interesting stuff to come I'm sure.

BlackeyedSusan, completely with you on that. Though Eileen Atkins was great.
GypsyFl0ss - John's death was excellently well done. (I still remember where I was when I heard it.) As was all the stuff around Kathy's rape. SO'C clearly doesn't understand the "less is more" theory.

What's the deal with Shula? Richard isn't interested in her, her sandwiches were rejected, she went to court and Rob thought she was there to support him. Now this evening Tony was sharp about her calling him for an update.

I just love love love Tony and Helen when they're emotional. So believable.

Did anyone else notice Tony saying, "We'll never have to see the inside of this court again", and immediately think, oh yes you will.
Rape trial, coercive control, child abduction, please not murder coming soon to an everyday story of country folk.

I didn't really see the point of the jury arguing we could have just heard their verdict

I haven't read the whole of this thread but why has Rob not been arrested for rape?