Alas poor Nic! I sacked her, Kenton. Death comes to Ambridge. Discuss the remaining Archers here. (Title Edited by MNHQ)

[PseudoBadger]

So it’s taken a sad, untimely death to bring me out of retirement. How I have missed you all
Welcome to thread 86!

@Vango
one so uncontroversial

'one so insipid and pointless'. Good riddance. And take Joe with you. This is the sort of thing that might kill an old man like Joe off. Here's hoping.

I didn't realise the "no spoiler" rule didn't apply once the episode has been aired.

I may misremember, but I thought Will was generally vile to Ed before they fell out over Emma? When did Will inherit a large enough sum of money to enable him to buy a house, from an aunt who didn't bother to change her will after Ed was born, and refuse to even consider doing the right thing and go halves with his younger brother? Was it before or after the debacle with Emma? Will also got all the benefit from having Caroline as his godmother and lorded it over Ed.
I must be in the minority, I thought Eddie was brilliant and Joe not so bad, but was completely unmoved by Nic. And I usually cry at the drop of a hat.

Steamcloud - I don't think it does, but you can ignore the thread until you have listened to the episode but when it is in the heading it does become a 'spoiler'. I listen in NZ by podcast and never look at the thread until after listening, but as the thread was in the "Active' ones it was in full view.

Still listened though and shed a tear, but not the same when you know what is to happen.

I also thought Eddie was excellent.

Can I ask having missed a couple of episodes what the "unforgivable thing " was that Nic said to Emma and what the reprimand was that led to it ?

Re Mia and Jake - I thought there was mention a while back if them spending weekend with their Dad .

I still think Alice ran over Matt.

I didn't realise the "no spoiler" rule didn't apply once the episode has been aired

It doesn't, but occasional posters feel miffed. As I did, on the last thread when listening on iPlayer, minutes after the live broadcast, to find the BBC had plastered "Nic's death" all over the Archers site. On MN, no holds barred except the spoilers' thread rules.

//marks place//

I wonder if Sunday’s episode will be Sunday or we’ll have the weird time hit think of the morning after the night before. Will seem odd not to have the immediate aftermath but that’s what happens with a Friday night cliffhanger...

Why do people find it difficult to like or understand Will? (Genuine question)

Because he's a misogynistic wanker who was being very controlling with Nic. There are no excuses for that. He will lash out and blame everyone except himself now.

Thanks for the explanation Echt.

And yes, thank you FiveShelties same here! Hard to avoid when spoiler in title!

I didn’t realise the no spoilers tukebdidn’t apply once the episode had been aired

Huh? How would that work, what on earth would we talk about if we couldn’t discuss plot developments?

@PseudoBadger re the no spoilers comments - this thread has come up in active threads, so if you're just looking through chat you see it. So it's not even that people have deliberately gone to the specific topic and seen it, you just can't miss it.

My point being, 'fair game' or not, it would be considerate and appreciated if we could avoid spoilers in the actual thread title so those who haven't listened yet can choose whether to read the thread (and see any spoilers) or not read it until after they've listened.

Not meaning to sound lecture-y, I'm sure it wasn't deliberate, but just something to bear in mind for thread titles.

Jessie I didn't phrase it well early this morning, but it's a question of timing I think.

And what jelly just said!

I think Toby will successfully deliver the twin lambs but the mother will reject one and it will be given to Nic's children to rear.
I only realised Nic had three children last night, she and they seem to have had a pretty low profile in the 3 years I've been a born again listener.

But I’m struggling to see what this thread could have been called without alluding to Nics death. All the titles are topical.
I agree, especially as the thread needed opening within a few hours of Nic's death. Thankyou Pseudo and D3 for doing the openers.

No the writers were not subtle and it was pointed to, but it still spoils it to see it before you listen. The death could have been alluded to but the victim not named and I could have still been left hoping it was Pip.

Most times it would not matter at all as the thread is not in the 'active' ones - perhaps we needed a good death to re-awaken interest - the programme has been very dull recently.

Will was a troubled young person while Ed was a choirboy. Will owes his turnaround to George Barford, the old gamekeeper, who told Will he'd take will on as an apprentice but only if he completed his GCSEs.

Whoever asked what Nic said to Emma that was so awful, I've just listened again. She said "It's a shame for your kids but me and Will won't stop enjoying ourselves just because you and Ed can't climb out of the gutter."

And then she refused to accept Emma's very decent apology when actually it really wasn't in any way her fault that Fallon (who is Jolene's daughter FFS) 'stole' the Mr & Mrs idea when Nic had been very clear that The Bull weren't going to be doing it any longer.

I've never liked her and I've never liked Will. Funnily enough I was looking up to see if I could find when Will inherited (it was in 2007 which was after he'd met Nic - www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/entries/d1d4d577-d1c4-3929-984b-f94497f3f194 ) and found an old MN thread complaining about how awful he is!

Re 'spoilers' Nic being dead is all over the BBC website too - I don't see how you could avoid it until Sunday. It was pretty obvious when you listened yesterday what was going to happen to her.

Great thread title pseudo and nice to see you back :)

I have just listened again and I sure that nic used the word 'she' when she was confessing to joe. However I may be being subconsciously influenced by these threads. I will be quite irritated if nic ran over Matt, she has shown no sign of guilt or worry over the last week's, at least shula and Alice have been behaving oddly.

Genuinely upsetting episode. My theory is that Nic confessed that she saw Alice knocking Matt down after drinking too many. That would explain her reverse spiking her drink in that more recent episode.

(Just adding my vote, BTW, that I think it would be good to avoid spoilers in thread titles in the future, at least till after the omnibus).