👑 Archers thread #139: Who’s the Daddy? No ceremonial required to join us – discuss The Archers here!

[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 like the sound of Lilian’s Cinnamon Chicken, 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.)

I'm often struck by the time a thread ends how irrelevant the previous title has become to what's currently going on in The Archers. The Queen's death has only been mentioned very briefly in TA, of course, but I suppose that was to be expected in a time of budget constraints. In a few weeks when this thread fills up I wonder if we will still be thinking that, and about Chelsea and her pregnancy. That depends on what she decides to do, which at the time of writing is still up in the air.

As usual, I asked for title ideas and for various reasons then didn't use them. Sorry. Lillian Gish's was very witty - Will Chelsea stay mum about dad? Muddler made a more controversial one - Horrobins thread #139. As a new Great House of Ambridge emerges, come swear your allegiance here.

That's about all I can face saying about TA at the moment. I am expecting to have to travel north soon as my Dad is in hospital and I have to be with my Mum. (They're the same sort of age as Jill Archer, and up to now have been like her and Peggy, very active, managing very well with no help, but this may all be about to change ). So apologies if I'm more absent than present for a while. Will pop in when I can.

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/entries/695c1185-ad62-476a-b357-8a2da43b3c31 More detail on Julia. Has cast photos.

Lewis, Julia's widower, is thought to be still alive and living at LL, but he is never mentioned. One of many loose ends the team have dropped and forgotten about.

Will Jolene track down Janet, Kenton's ex? I wouldn't put it past her.

Have Ben and Josh already moved into the Stables?

Have Ben and Josh already moved into the Stables?

Oh you're right. Josh talks about not even having unpacked and Boring Beff presumably hasn't moved in yet.

It just struck me as very selfish and self- pitying. He's not the one who's pregnant

No and he therefore doesn't have control over what happens. Chelsea gets to decide whether he becomes a dad. He's excited about his new home, his relationship, his career and now he faces losing the girl he loves and his life being impacted because of one, ahem, drunken youthful indiscretion.

Exactly. At the moment things are far worse for Ben than for Chelsea. If she acts decisively she can move on without a backward glance and with no loss to her future. Ben faces the immediate likely prospect of losing Beth, whatever Chelsea decides. And his whole life might change without his being able to influence the decision.

So actually that’s a(nother) BOOP for the SWs - don’t think I’ve ever before been more concerned for the man than the woman in this sort of situation.

He slapped Debbie and was prosecuted, but got off with a non-custodial sentence. Cue much handwringing from Shula, because he had also been violent to her, and she hadn't told anybody.

Goodness, you'd think she might have learnt from that that maybe it isn't such a good idea to keep schtum about violent men, wouldn't you?

Can we be a little more sensitive towards domestic violence victims here?! There are lots of reasons someone might ‘keep schtum’ about domestic (or sexual) violence - not least shame and feeling like it was somehow your fault, you ‘deserved’ it. Domestic violence is the fault of the perpetrator alone, same for sexual violence.

Definitely still feel more sorry for Chelsea than Ben.

Sorry didn’t mean to be preachy. But much as I can’t stand Shula, it isn’t her fault if her violent partner goes on to be violent to someone else.

What a mess for Ben. He is is a lose-lose situation now. He'll have to tell Beth, and no doubt she will flip, regardless of the fact that it was after she had dumped him. He should have told her when they got back together, but he was just so pathetically grateful that she had taken him back that he would never have dared say anything.

I hope that Chelsea decides not to keep it. She is too young to be tied down by a baby, and I want to see her pursue her original ambitions.

You've misunderstood my point. We know that subsequently Shula witnessed Rob being violent with a hunt saboteur and kept quiet about it. Having beaten herself up once about the consequences of keeping quiet about violence, you would think she might have remembered when the issue arose again.

I do hope that now that Chelsea has the diversion of uncertainty about what the father will do out of the way, she finally sits down and makes a properly thought-through decision that is not based on her mum thinking she'll make a brilliant mum.

No but it absolutely was Shula's fault that knowing what violent men who get away with do that she then lied to the police about what she saw another violent man doing.

I don't think Nelson ever had a girlfriend, did he? Very much a confirmed bachelor in the pre-1968 sense, though having him openly gay would have been a bit much for 1980s Ambridge, although also I may be misremembering as I was only a child at the time.

Julia (Nigel's mummy) was close to Lewis, who, as has been mentioned, may still be doddering about the grounds of Lower Loxley - where there is currently an opening for his old job of gallery manager...

Do we think, because we haven't heard otherwise, that the group of people who know Chelsea is pregnant have, surprisingly, with the exception of Jazzer telling Alastair and Jim, not told anyone else?

Or if they did, their confidants (Neil, Fallon and Elizabeth) haven't passed it on?

I think the more people know the likelihood of a termination decreases. I can't see Josh keeping it secret.

@EBearhug do you remember Nelson getting friendly with Sophie, David's girlfriend with the breathy voice? It was all a bit creepy.

I feel sorry for Chelsea and Ben.

The options Chelsea has have not been fully explained to her (or checked she understands) so that needs to happen next.

@EBearhug of course, think you're right re Nelson.

The earlier "should have kept it in his trousers" applies equally to Chelsea of course.

What is the age gap: about two years? Ben seems older bc of the farm.

Ben is not lovely. At best he is a snivelling, entitled, immature idiot whose only saving grace is he loves his grandmother. Josh, however, once again, seems like a pretty rounded, decent chap - the Dopeys only success story…

Surely Chelsea can see there is absolutely no good reason to have this baby and end up shackled to silly Ben for the rest of her life. I totally understand it is a tough decision to make but Chelsea is a practical girl - would she really still be thinking about it?

Poor Chelsea & Tracey are caught in a bind.

Tracey could think C should have a termination, but can't really say so as it might imply that T made a mistake not terminating C.
C could want a termination but feel she can't say so as T was brave enough to continue with C so she'd be letting herself/T down by terminating.

And all the time the clock is ticking...

I thought Ben and Chelsea were sweet together! Wonderfully calm and empathetic conversation. (And we could see how empowered Chelsea was by being more certain of her own position - courtesy of Alistair.) I felt they brought out the best in each other whereas B&B are simply dull together.

Hard to guess what the SWs will do. We were right about the rave, but the defenestration of Russ was a thing of unexpectedly twisty beauty.

It’s possible Beth will allow all Ben’s limbs to remain attached to his body - I don’t know, but perhaps the young have their own codes of honour for ‘on a break’?

Alternatively - she becomes Mrs Josh Archer, either now or in a year or two, after a period of silence. It would be a much sparkier relationship and worthy of the Brookfield inheritance.

I thought Tracey was married when she had Chelsea. She had no reason to consider an abortion.

Vince will mince Ben at the abattoir

I don't know if Tracey and Whatsisname (we heard him briefly a couple of weeks ago when Chelsea was missing) were married, but they were certainly in a settled relationship, albeit a very unsatisfactory one, hence having not just Chelsea but also Brad together. Susan was the one with the unplanned pregnancy, i.e. Emma, but she and Neil were either engaged at the time or well on the way to being, so that was never really a big deal.

Julia MARRIED Lewis, and died suddenly straight after. He was promised to always have a home at LL, and managed the gallery silently for many years, until conveniently retiring when Russ needed the job.

... and then serve him to the Dopeys in a pie.

Tracey was in her late 20s and in a relationship when Chelsea was born. There's no comparison to their situations.