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 don't think Helen's anorexia is back. That did seem to be Pat fussing and over-feeding, no doubt with an undercurrent of worry about H's eating issues. For the moment, H is very focused on keeping her boys, which gives her a sense of purpose and control. Perhaps when that doesn't go smoothly, she will fall apart and seek to regain internal control instead.

Yes - when P brought the toast, Helen's response that she'd had breakfast seemed calm not defensive, and P acknowledged she had.

What a kind welcome!
I do think those that said that none of the legal possibilities will be used to help H are undoubtedly right... but in rl a decent family lawyer would be being ACTIVE on her behalf so it is all a bit maddening. Because of course Knob will be hanging around with all sorts of shenanigans still to come. Fasten your seat belts?!

Can I just say how much I'm taken by the idea of Rob n Hazel? The possibilities could be entertaining. He wouldn't be attracted by her money now would he?

Giddy I agree. Helen's priority would be her boys, and she would have sought to protect them via legal procedures all along. in real life there would be involvement with social care too

I can't imagine Anna would be involved in the family hearing but I assume Dominic is so let's hope he's on the ball and gives her proper advice for the hearing and on how to disentangle herself and the boys from Rob as much as possible.
It worries me that she instinctively didn't tell anyone about the encounter in the court corridor. She must tell someone and get some legal protection from his intimidating behaviour.

I cherish a secret hope that Jess provided a stranger's DNA for the patrimony case because she decided at the last minute that she didn't want Rob involved in his life at all.

Hazel is far too old and as hard as nails - not Rob's style at all. Charlotte, who sounds very young and impressionable more likely. However, Rob and Hazel might team up in some dastardly plan eg to scupper the farm shop. Hazel still owns the village shop, doesn't she - might want to expand and take out the competition, and Rob would doubtless love to assist,

Ultimate revenge by Rob on Ambridge and Archer family would be to woo and win Kate. She's enough of a narcissist to fall for his flattery and insecure enough to be taken in by him. She would doubtless buy his line too about Helen being mentally inferior and weaker than her and Kate also has rebellious streak that would enjoy getting a good rise from her parents and being centre of village attention.

Hazel too old and savvy for RT.

Has DocLock remembered where he first saw Rob (before we did)? (Photo of him on Canadian/US media charged with embezzlement?)

Another assault case where he was expert witness?

Kate is probably too old for his tastes - he'll want someone with a few more years breeding potential than her, I'd have thought. And he's probably too old for her tastes too!

ibrowze - I don't remember anything about DocLock having ever seen Rob prior to the paternity test. When they met later, Doc recognised him from somewhere but Rob didn't acknowledge it. (TBF - oh yes, you swabbed me for DNA isn't standard social chitchat). Did I miss something?

Also, won't it look a bit odd when Rob turns up in court for as a fiddle (without the stick) and claims he's capable of caring for 2 small children?

I didn't swear at the radio yesterday but when Pat shut the door on Knob I did shout "BOOM!" and make a hip hop style hand gesture that surprised even me in it's inappropriateness to my age and middle-class surroundings

Love it, BOOP!!

I agree - Charlotte likely to be the next lamb to the slaughter. Came across as deeply trusting and gullible….

I'm worried Pat's door-shutting is going to bite her on the arse though. They have Rob's 'flesh and blood' and he has theirs, 6 days a week... it's easy to imagine the kinds of games that might be played there.

Rob will definitely bring up that incident with Pat in any custody hearing. A fine example of just how unreasonable/mentally unstable those pesky Archers are.

'They wouldn't even allow me a (sob) glimpse of (sob) my own son...'. , oh yes, absolutely. Maybe the Archers should arrange a viewing somewhere like the tearoom with plenty of the family and friends in the vicinity?

The Doc Locke thing was just SW incompetence, unfortunately.

Rob had to have a DNA test. To the great surprise of long-term listeners, the doctor doing the test was Doc Locke, whose return to the area had not been mentioned before.

Months later, Rob went to Shula's for Christmas drinks and was introduced to Doc Locke. Doc Locke immediately recognised him as someone he'd met before but couldn't remember where. Rob said no, we've never met before.

As broadcast, it sounded very dodgy indeed. However, Keri Davies said on Twitter that the script originally had Rob and Richard meeting for the first time. At the recording the actors pointed out that it wasn't the first time - the production team had forgotten! So there was a very hasty rewrite, which inadvertently made all the listeners suspicious, given that many of us were already all smelling a rat about the DNA test.

One of the things that was so inept about the rewrite was that (as many pointed out here) a health professional just wouldn't say 'Where have we met before?' as there are so many possibilities for embarrassment.

Another sign of how badly the DNA story was - KD also eventually said outright that there was nothing dodgy about it, Rob was definitely not Ethan's father. Why write such a stupid SL then?

No, no, no, I hereby establish the Charlotte protection society.

She is young but she's a qualified nanny, probably with some experience and training in dealing with clients, not a total ingenue. She probably has family too. She and they would surely have taken some interest in the trial coverage.

We only think we know she took the job (and hasn't backed out) because we heard her speak, don't we? But there have been one-off 'job interview' characters before e.g. a tattooed young woman who applied for a bar job at The Bull, in the Rhys era and who was considered too urban.

BOOM

The rest of us, of course, say 'BOOP'

Can I delurk to say I don't think Rob understands why everyone is so cross with him.

And also he should have been allowed to see the baby. Long term surely they are going to have to be civil to each other for the sake of the boys.

I'm not sure whether where there has been abuse (not that Rob has been found guilty of anything of course) that she does have to be civil to him. In most circumstances - yes, of course, that makes it easier. But where he's been so controlling surely something like a contact centre would be better for all concerned. But wouldn't make a good story line...

He probably doesn't think he raped Helen and Jess, but he must be aware of the deliberate mindgames he's been playing.

Hazel would make mincemeat of Rob. She wouldn't be taken in by the faux tears for a second, and if they were genuine, she wouldn't care anyway, having shown no compassion ever. Besides, Rob wouldn't be interested - too old, not gullible, nor trusting, nor any weakness, like being interested in someone else's welfare or happiness.

I'm sure Charlotte will have followed the trial, because she asked at interview about what she'd previously read in the papers, and if it were your new employer as the main reason and witness for the case, it would be weird not to take any interest, even if you were determined to think a not guilty verdict was a complete travesty of justice. Hopefully, she's got enough sense to think twice after hearing about rape allegations from two of his wives.