The Archers: The Crook, the Vet, His Wife & Her Lodger - discussion #80

[DadDadDad]

In full acknowledgement of PseudoBadger's great achievement in providing the previous 79 threads over the past 4 years (and credit to R4 for this thread's title)...

Discuss TA (The Archers). New posters encouraged - it's not (too) cliquey here and plenty of regulars are happy to answer questions.

One rule: no spoilers (ie no mentioning future plot teasers from Radio Times listings etc) - there's a separate thread for that.

So, is Phoebe pregnant? will Anisha dob in (dobbin - geddit?) Alistair?

PS I don't presume to take on PB's role permanently - hopefully the job of starting new threads will rotate among regulars until she returns

Spot on Viques.

Well, all I can say about that is that at least Pat is challenging Helen for once. And good on her. Being pregnant with two young children is hard, Helen will need even more support from her parents than normal.

I'm sure the whole village would be horrified at another pregnant Helen. She's such a nightmare

Helen's back to her normal self, I see. 'I know what I'm doing, Mum'. That's always turned out so well before, hasn't it?

Panic not. It's never going to happen.

It is very "soap opera" isn't it? Young woman gives birth 3 times, 2 courtesy of the Turkey Baster and one via Rape - and one is given away at birth to be raised by her cousin.
It sounds like a plot from Soap.

And another thing, can Bridge Farm afford to lose her valuable input/pay her maternity cover? They are already pushed , poor old Tony with his dicky heart having to cover for Johnny (who is bound to find he bright lights of Home Farm more appealing than grey muesli knitted Bridge Farm)

Pat won't say a dicky bird, Tony learned his lesson the hard way last time, Tom has his sights set on the big time. We can only hope that Peggy steps up to the plate.

"We can only hope that Peggy steps up to the plate."

She wasn't much help last time, was she? Wasn't there a scene at the village fête when Helen was obviously in distress and all Peggy had to say was that no one had ever heard of hormones in her day, they just got on with pregnancy and child rearing without making a fuss about it?!

I just love viques' post.

Didn't someone predict this earlier? FFS I have no words

It wasn't hard to predict.

Missed the episode, but I gather Helen's offered to be surrogate.

So, her first child had no father.
Her second child had one father.
Her third child will have two fathers.

Mathematically pleasing, but complete crap in every other way!

DadDadDad that sounds like something a brain would say - to JD's horror. (I love Brian, he's just the best thing in The Archers).

ANNOUNCEMENT

While I'm here I should point out that this thread will fill up in the next few days, so I'm happy to start the next one, but someone else needs to come up with a good title, or else it will just be "The Archers discussion #81"

Brian not "a brain", FFS.

Quite apart from all the other ishoos that PPs have identified, wouldn't Helen have problems with attachment? as in, not being able to detach and accept that she's been the incubator, and is not the parent in this situation? It's got alarm bells and elephant traps all over it. Run, Adam, run for your life!

She would drive Ian and Adam crazy, expecting to co-parent and expecting Henry and Jack to be included in everything as the child's brothers.

I cba to look back but I think I predicted that Helen would stupidly offer Anyone else remember?

She's a bear of very little, if any, brain

This could be the end of Adam and Ian. There is no way I can see Adam accepting Helen as a surrogate.

It's a stupid idea and Adam has as much right as Ian to say no to it

Helen is mentally weak and I think would benefit with speaking with a professional.

And does she think her pregnancy will be rush free because she's 'in a good place'? Unfortunately that's not how it works!!

This could be the end of Adam and Ian. There is no way I can see Adam accepting Helen as a surrogate.

I thought the same, but I suspect that Helen and Ian would forge ahead nevertheless.

On a practical level is Helen actress still in Corrie. If she is, surely we are safe, the surrogacy storyline would be major one, she won't be available to do that surely. I had envisaged lots of references to Helen 'just picking up Henry' but being in the main silent.

I wonder if the SW are caught up with the idea that this is a wonderful "redemptive" story arc: Helen had her first child purely by her own choice, her second child against her will, so now she will have a child selflessly to satisfy the needs / desires of others...

They'd manage it somehow birds

Doesn't being a surrogate require going through counseling type stuff? On what planet would any HCP recommend Helen as a surrogate for anyone? Surely she has far too many risk factors?

I would also have thought the farm business should be considered - if she was taking time off for any other job they would need to agree it.

Its a really irritating storyline - adoption could be just as interesting even if a bit less soapie.