🤐 The Archers spoilers thread #6: Can't wait for 7.02pm? Join us here!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Spoiler thread for The Archers. Please keep all spoiler-related discussion in this thread and do not spill the beans on the main Archers Thread (hence the zipped mouth on the emoji!). Last thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3853783--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-5-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-Join-us-here

Madcats …

Do you not care about my blood pressure?

Take heart; we have another week's worth of spoilers to ponder about.

BBC One-Liners
08 May Jill has a brainwave and Tracy suffers a crisis of confidence.
09 May Tracy faces another barrier and Jim makes his feelings clear.
10 May Jazzer hatches a plan and tensions mount at the cricket practice.
11 May Shula finds herself in an unexpected situation and Chelsea makes a surprising admission.
12 May Fallon puts her foot in it and Freddie may have bitten off more than he can chew.

Credits
Sun 8/5/22, Mon 9/5/22, Tue 10/5/22, Wed 11/5/22, Thu 12/5/22
Writer: Nick Warburton
Director: Jeremy Howe and Peter Leslie Wild
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Jill Archer: Patricia Greene
Pat Archer: Patricia Gallimore
Tony Archer: David Troughton
Lee Bryce: Ryan Early
Fern: Joanna Gay
Ed Grundy: Barry Farrimond
Chelsea Horrobin: Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin: Susie Riddell
Shula Hebden Lloyd: Judy Bennett
Alistair Lloyd: Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd: John Rowe
Jazzer McCreary: Ryan Kelly
Freddie Pargetter: Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter: Katie Redford
Stella Pryor: Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers: Joanna Van Kampen

Radio Times Ambridge Diary 8th - 12th May 2022
The Tea Room is the scene of a mistake that almost has dire consequences for Fallon. Luckily, Jill ends up having a brainwave that may well lead to a golden opportunity.
Experiencing far less luck is Tracy, whose situation is becoming ever more dire. It results in an uncharacteristic decision - but can her friends make her see sense before the web of deceit grows increasingly tangled?
At the Orangery, the battle is on for the job. But while Freddie believes he's found the ideal person, Lily is less optimistic. Meanwhile, there's a sad development at the vet's, Stella struggles to placate the parish council, and Chelsea makes a surprising admission.

Daily Mail Weekend Magazine Archers Update 8th - 12th May 2022
It's odd how months would pass without any mention being made of the Lower Loxley Orangery, yet this past month it's been shoe-horned into various Ambridge conversations. Could it be that Alice will be back on the hedge vodka and looking for an expanse of glass to heave a brick at? Or is it the fact that there's a job on offer at the Orangery Café and the village is awash with the newly redundant of Grey Gables?
While Freddie and Lily argue about the right candidate, there's more catering trouble over at the Tea Room, where a careless mistake has dire consequences.
Tracy, meanwhile, who's already struggling on a number of fronts, has yet further woes.

Thanks Asking
Have we had mention of Fern before?

She's not in any previous cast list, so probably not. She might have been spoken of in passing, I suppose, say as a friend of Beth's or one of the Kitchens team, but if she has I didn't notice her.

Thanks Asking. Maybe Fern is a candidate for the Orangery job

Sad development at the vet's? Kate the fish dedded?

A very unhappy greyhound tied up outside?

(Was that it?)

But with a happy ending hopefully.

To be honest I am glad last week is over; I don't think the writer is particularly attuned to The Archers. He's been writing for the programme since late in 2019, mostly half-weeks at a time when he couldn't do too much damage. Oh well. I expect he's terribly famous or something. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Warburton

BBC One-Liners
15 May Has Pip found a perfect solution? Chelsea gets bossy.
16 May Alice feels out of her depth, and Mia needs to clear the air.
17 May Jakob’s keen to keep things professional, and Freddie’s feeling defensive.
18 May Roy feels rather uncomfortable, and there’s trouble served at Lower Loxley.
19 May Brian is looking out for his family, and Will feels ready to learn.

Credits
Sun 15/5/22, Mon16/5/22, Tue 17/5/22, Wed 18/5/22, Thu 19/5/22
Writer: Daniel Thurman
Director: Peter Leslie Wild
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Brian Aldridge: Charles Collingwood
Pip Archer: Daisy Badger
Alice Carter: Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter: Wilf Scolding
Ian Craig: Stephen Kennedy
Mia Grundy: Molly Pipe
Will Grundy: Phillip Molloy
Chelsea Horrobin: Madeleine Leslay
Jakob Hakansson: Paul Venables
Freddie Pargetter: Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter: Katie Redford
Stella Pryor: Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers: Joanna Van Kampen
Roy Tucker: Ian Pepperell
Adil Shah: Ronny Jhutti
Accountant: Rupi Lal

Radio Times Ambridge Diary 15th - 19th May 2022
Young Mia is experiencing similar stresses to Coronation Street’s Summer, in that they’re both under exam pressure. Here in Ambridge, Will is looking forward to Mia being the first Grundy to go to university - but can she find the courage to open up about her fears?
Elsewhere, the Home Farm assets are being pored over, with Alice caught in the middle. As battle lines are drawn, Brian considers action that could lead to further conflict …
In other news, there’s speculation about the future of Lower Loxley, with Freddie placing a bet with his sister Lily. But will he come to rue his cockiness? And Chelsea Horrobin turns the tables on her new employer after seeking feedback on her performance.

Daily Mail Weekend Magazine Archers Update 15th - 19th May 2022
The burdens of one generation are dumped on to the shoulders of the next this week in Ambridge. Chelsea takes over from Tracy as she steps up at the veterans’ cricket team practice, where chaos, egos and ageing bones prevent things from going smoothly.
At Lower Loxley, the future of the stately pile is, once again, under scrutiny as Freddie, who’s feeling a tad too cocky these days, has a bet with his twin sister, Lily.
Meanwhile, under various Aldridge roofs, assets are pored over, alliances made and battle lines drawn while Alice, who has played no small part in the current crisis, struggles to keep things from spiralling out of control.

I'm glad someone has finally called in an accountant.  Maybe he will talk some actual sense about the Home Farm mess.

And I hate to break it to Will, but Mia hasn't got a single drop of Grundy blood:  she uses his surname, but that's the only connection.

Sigh. This new platform suck swamp through a straw.

What that last bit said before they fsked it up was wtte

"I'm glad someone has finally called in an accountant. Maybe he will talk some sense about the Home Farm mess-up.

"And I hate to break it to Will, but Mia hasn't got a single drop of Grundy blood: she uses his surname, but that's the only connection."

Thanks, Asking! Remind me again (for the umpteenth time, as I can't seem to retain it) - is Lewis still supposed to be alive? If so, where does he live and what does he do?

Thanks Asking.

Looks like Stella might be taking a shine to Jakob?

Every so often Lewis is mentioned, and we have not heard that he has died. I think that one of Elizabeth, Lily or Freddie really ought to mention it when he does, but we can't rely on the production team about such things.

God - I bet not a single SW taken on in the past decade has the slightest clue that Lewis exists!

It’s really pretty poor - it’s not as if the TA cast is all that vast.

If he were still around he would surely be a very present step-grandfather to Frilly. But he must surely have died of ‘old age’ by now?

Thanks, Asking. Poor show, isn't it.

Thanks Asking

"... but Mia hasn't got a single drop of Grundy blood: she uses his surname, but that's the only connection."

She's his stepdaughter

I think that probably the remaining scriptwriters who actually wrote him might dimly remember that Lewis exists.

This year's writers who were around when he was still speaking include Keri Davies, Caroline Harrington and Adrian Flynn. I wouldn't expect the newcomers (Liz John, Nick Warburton, Sarah Hehir, Katie Hims, Daniel Thurman, Sarah McDonald-Hughes) to have the necessary information. We know too that the production team in 2015 casually moved Jill into "Julia's rooms" at Lower Loxley Hall, which had been where Lewis was living until that point. Yet we also know he was living in them on 19th January, 2017, when Lily thought that the sound of a car in the drive meant he had returned and would discover her party. (It was actually Adam and Ian checking up on her.)

Yes; she has not a drop of Grundy blood.

This is MN Asking where DSC must be treated exactly like DC.

I once had a really annoying colleague who said that her DS would need a medical procedure because his big brother had it. I pointed out that it wan't necessarily so because they were half-brothers. She argued that they were full brothers and was furious that i was saying they weren't, despite them having different fathers.

Technically you are right re not a drop of Grundy blood, but Will treats Mere as his own DD. Ed also treats his DSS as his own

Which, when you look at it, is silly; Mia is not genetically a Grundy, so she can get to university all she likes and it won't be a Grundy doing it, just someone who uses that name when it suits her.

Jake and Mia decided to start to use his surname when he married their mother and she took it, but that didn't make it theirs in any real sense. We were not told that he'd applied for parental responsibility, either, and the editorial team were not shy about that in the matter of Rob and Henry.

It was absolutely clear that Andrew Whatever had the parental rights in respect of Jake and Mia, when it was decided that Will was too uppity for a Grundy and had to be reduced to delivering veg boxes instead of continuing in his profession, and the children he'd been supporting for years had to be taken away from him: there seemed to be nothing he could do to stop Andrew taking them over.

I don't think Will could have adopted them without Andrew's consent -- which back then the totally uninterested waster Andrew would certainly have given, because he didn't want them and seems to have avoided paying maintenance for them when he could, or even seeing them, but the editorial team didn't go that route as they did for Brian wanting to adopt Adam and Debbie.

She uses the name Grundy, so she is a Grundy, but bloodwise she isn't.
Debbie uses the name Aldridge but isn't by blood

Anyway, we could argue about it, but why bother.
--I'm still upset about Phroebe referring to herself as Phoebe Tucker when she got a place at Moxford

oops missed the --

Not that I have a great memory for Archers pre internet/small child ensuring that I was home to listen more, but can somebody direct me to a "simmering despair, verging on anger" place to rant?

Or am I just getting old?

You can rant on here, @Madcats

The Mia going to University thing isn't necessarily about genetics though it's about their clan, their tribe - their class. No longer being inferior and looked down on by the toffs.