🌟 ⭐ Archers thread #138: Two new stars on the Ambridge firmament, but will Peggy’s retirement leave a black hole? 🕳️ Join us here for a window on The Archers.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed. We don't all agree on all points and most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you think commissioning a stained glass window for two of your great-grandchildren and nothing for all the others is a sensible thing to do, or other unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please. We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/4197199--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-6-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-Join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have - BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Thanks to @LillianGish and @MuddlerInLaw for title ideas, which I have played around with a bit. I'm sad to have heard the last of Peggy. An era starts to draw to a close.

What a relief to be out of the Steph Casey phase, which I hope was an unfortunate blip, not to be repeated. [Triumph of hope over experience there ... ]

@BoreofWhabylon has asked the 🔮 about Adil and it predicts that he is actually the Mysterious New Owner of Grey Gables but won't be revealed as such until he has won Kirsty's heart (or some similar Mills & Boon level tosh - apols to the 🔮 but it does seem to have a mushy side). I still cling to the idea that the mysterious silent and invisible Gills who now own Home Farm may have some role at GG, but why not name them?

No mention of the heatwave in Ambridge, but budget constraints probably severely limit their scope for topical inserts these days. IRL I believe this has been a tricky time for farmers. Perhaps the SWs will catch up with this over the winter and start putting in some farming chat about diversification away from oats to olives, or similar. We already have at least one vineyard in the Ambridge area, at LL. (I understand there was another, in the heart of the village, decades ago, but the SWs have now forgotten all about it, sadly.)

Over to you!

!!!!!!!!


I've had nothing whatsoever to do with that boy!

This is what 🔮 says - they want us to think that and Russ will think it too.

But is he?

(Agree that a no-fuss termination would be the best outcome for Chelsea)

Just got what you're on about !

I meant Bethly Bore 'n' Ben

Realistically the only reason Russ has managed to keep his savings intact is because he's cocklodging at LL. So he really isn't being as generous with his contribution to buying a flat as he would no doubt like to suggest.

yes!!!!
why is he getting away with it?

Well according to Lily he appears actually to have made something of the LL gallery, including persuading an established acclaimed artist to exhibit there.

Rural destination art galleries are a thing.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/travel/2019/dec/17/10-best-uk-rural-art-galleries-england-wales-scotland

If Russ isn't the father that would mean that in the space of 2 months Chelsea has had sex with 2 different men.

That comment isn't intended as any slight on Chelsea if she has but Chelsea has featured heavily in recent story lines with not the slightest suggestion she has had any sexual activity at all. I don't think she's ever even expressed an interest in any man or boy.

Or do you mean Russ hears about the pregnancy and thinks he might be the father because he can't remember anything about the rave?

Why do you think she’s had sex with two men?

Didn’t she say ‘I always use condoms’ to Tracey?

Just listened to last night. I'm feeling like a calm parent! Dd got pregnant 2 months ago. 18 and due to go to uni. Very very new boyfriend. We've had a very rocky ride but there was no shouting or blaming. What's the point? She decided she couldn't go through with a termination. I had one in my 20s and honestly it was a blessed relief. But my instinct was for me to love and reassure her that we'd just have to make the best of it. In the end it came away - so early thankfully. Possibly never implanted.

I was a bit surprised at Traceys reaction there. I think it will be a termination SL. So so many women have one and hardly anyone talks about it. So relieved I had mine. The 'father'was not a bad man , but alcoholic and definitely not for me. He died a few years ago.

@TherapistInATabard sorry I meant two men recently who could be the father.

I think Tracey's reaction was just a culmination of lots of weeks of stress followed by the disappointment she feels for (rather than in) Chelsea and probably a lost night's sleep. Plus a self-imposed pressure to not say the wrong thing - almost always guarantees you do! I think she and Jazzer are doing okay so far given that Chelsea is refusing to talk (and presumably that will continue long enough for us to understand out who the father is). By Jazzer doing the right thing I mean he's staying well out of it apart from as a listening ear for Tracey.

I thought the same @TheSummerySilveryPussycat - bit of a mistake there from the SWs, it's not as if full moons aren't predictable

She did.

Tracey is not unreasonable to worry about Chelsea's future although I've known a few very young mothers who manage to go to college and continue on their chosen path. I don't know why she thinks the financial aspect will be completely down to her as Chelsea will be eligible to claim her own state benefits - although nobody in Ambridge ever does.

Didn’t Shula buy Alistair out of the house? I recall there were some tough conversations over money. Essentially he should have walked away with enough to fund a penthouse in Borchester. But he was somewhat stymied by the fortune his erstwhile practice partner Anisha had persuaded him to spend on upgrading the vet premises just before she was unexpectedly written out left. And then he felt forced to sell his business to Lovell James and didn’t get as much as he’d anticipated.

But he certainly wasn’t destitute and could have left Ambridge. His decision to move in with his dad was entirely script rather than character driven. The creative team are so determined to leave no character living alone that we end up with the oddest domestic combinations. (Although - Joy!)

Bore's speculation that it isn't Russ, although he might think it was.

I'm not sure if she meant Chelsea did have sex with Russ but he's not the father or if nothing happened at the rave but Russ might think it did as he can't remember anything about that night.

The latter, surely, Lass?

But if the latter, how and when will Russ find out she is pregnant?

If she opts for an abortion then likely no-one will know apart from Tracey and Jazzer, and if she doesn't, he wouldn't know until she starts to show.

Chelsea has featured heavily in recent story lines with not the slightest suggestion she has had any sexual activity at all. I don't think she's ever even expressed an interest in any man or boy - this is my feeling. The juxtaposition with Russ last night seemed to be hinting strongly at him - along, in retrospect, with earlier veiled hints - at the rave and in their various scenes together before and since as well as in what we know already about his predilection for young girls. If it is someone else then I think we really will be scratching about for evidence, to the extent that it will feel like a bit of a cop out. In a way, this feels like the whole point of Russ as a character - we've (or certainly I've) been waiting for some effect or consequence ever since he was introduced and seduced Lily. It's been a long wait, but I've never believed Lily would end up with him despite all their cosy domesticity and her old-before-her-time transformation. I also like the idea of him being brought down by his fatal flaw and by something Lily knew about him from the start. In fact I'll be very disappointed if the father of Chelsea's baby turns out not to be Russ.

And lily will have to come to terms with that she was a victim of grooming really. Very complex for her. And Chelsea will lose her job? Do we think?

It will depend whether anyone finds out it is Russ. If Tracey or Jazzer find out then it must come crashing down. Chelsea will confide in Brad first. Siblings that cannot stand each other have an odd knack of confiding in the most difficult of times.

Indeed … Despite no indication of romantic intentions the SWs have gone out of their way to highlight repeated interaction between them - as I think someone said here yesterday. English tuition, hair cutting, the caution - Scumbag is clearly drawn to Chelsea. And my feeling is that his “I love young people!” declaration (🤮) boils down to loving the rescue of emotionally vulnerable girls. (He certainly didn’t love Freddie much when he blackmailed him.) Lily must be much less satisfactory now she’s stronger and happier - all he’s doing is clinging on, she doesn’t need him.

I agree it would be a bit ridiculous for the father to be revealed as someone else. But who knows?

Chelsea said last night she "always uses condoms but this time she forgot"- so who has she always been using them with?

And when was "this time"?

I think we are meant to assume that she's had casual boyfriends that have not been worthy of a mention on air.

She's not the only Archers character who has a sex life we don't hear much about until it's part of the plot. Josh for example has a bit of a rep as a player despite never (to my memory) having a girlfriend. Ruairi has also discussed having sex with both men and women when at the time we only knew him to have a boyfriend/male FWB.

We know she has a lot of going out outfits (which she offered to lend Denise) and some friends (but not the supportive kind of friends since she can't speak to them about the pregnancy) and she liked the rave - so I'm presuming like a lot of teenagers she goes out to clubs and parties and occasionally has sex with someone she meets there.

Someone earlier on the thread said she might not want an abortion as she'd think if Tracey had aborted her in similar circs etc - but Tracey was presumably pushing thirty and in a settled or at least longish-term relationship when she had her two kids with whoever he is.