Archers thread #159: Sad news as 2023 draws to a close - RIP Ian Pepperell (Roy Tucker). Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

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

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We start this thread with the very sad news that Ian Pepperell, who played Roy Tucker from 1995 without a break, has died at the age of 53. There's a lovely tribute to him in this article from Jeremy Howe, the current Editor. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/dec/23/the-archers-actor-ian-pepperell-dies-aged-53-roy-archer-eastenders

Graham Blockey, who played Robert Snell, died just over a year ago, also far too young (66). https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/much-loved-surrey-gp-archers-25524449 As yet, Robert survives in Ambridge.

I do hope they don't re-cast Robert, but it might work for Roy, I suppose, after a suitable interval. They've re-cast Tony, Tom, Kate, Pip, Clarrie and Emma, mostly successfully. I still wish Tom and Pip hadn't been re-cast. New Tom is a good actor but so was Old Tom.

Meanwhile, several very elderly members of the cast survive, and long may that continue, although not necessarily on air. I think most of us would say that the time has come for Jill to become a silent character, following the precedent of Peggy and Christine.

So! Christmas next week - will it be the best Christmas ever at either Brookfield or The Stables, or both? Then it's 2024. What does the New Year hold for The Archers? Over to you!

I actually love Denise’s voice, not at all sure what would attract her to Alistair though. Her husband his getting older, set in his ways, not terribly exciting. Alistair is getting older, bit lonely, lives with his dad, not terribly exciting…

Maybe A has a wonderful jawline or something

Indeed.

I suppose it depends how common abusive relationships are

although I do think with Alice she is doomed to a life of SL revolving around her alcoholism.

I completely agree, she never used to be annoying. Paul brings out the worst in her 😀

Her husband is spending all his days out on his bike, she’s not seeing anything of him. Alistair on the other hand is available all the time

Just listened to the film and it’s “answered” one of our questions “and the Rickyard oven is too small”. Still a lot of other ovens could be used.

Someone remind me of the dramatic purpose? Who spent Christmas dinner together who would otherwise have been in separate houses?

Perfectly happy for Denise to get together with Alistair, gambling issues aside (and they really do seem to be entirely forgotten now), I always imagine him to be quite eligible. Getting together with someone you work closely with/office affair seems entirely plausible to me. Denise clearly needed to leave the practice for a bit so Paul could get his feet under the table - what didn't ring true was her moving into his 'student' house (I can't imagine anyone doing this) so it's now all starting to feel unnecessarily contrived. Training as a tree surgeon is something I could imagine Ed doing as another string to his bow in his portfolio of casual work with his tractor and Texel sideline. Going into business as a double act with Emma - sinking £20,000 they don't have into an untested business feels ludicrous. If they need him to have some kind of chainsaw-related accident for plot purposes, that could happen while chopping up the tree that fell on Emma's car (seemingly only for the purposes of bring tree surgery to the forefront). What do we already know about Harry (and why has no-one ever heard of him before)? Is he going to turn out to have a wife and family tucked away somewhere? Personally I'd rather get back to the land, the farms and the dynasties (including LL in this). Adam is currently estranged from Home Farm, Tom/Tasha seem to be getting a free run at Bridge Farm - what's happened to Johnny? And what about Brookfield - Pip seems to be in pole position for a takeover there (possibly with Stella at her side), but where does that leave Josh (Ben is more obviously pursuing other interests). It feels like a lot of peripheral tinkering at the moment while the matriarchs of the older generation (Peggy, Jenny, Jill) who used to provide the scaffolding are dying out - and not really being replaced - at the same time as the literal scaffolding of the village - Home Farm, GG - are slowly being erased.

Sorry - that was a bit of a ramble

Johnny is a sailor now - only to return when needed for plot purposes

Ed needs to have the accident after they’ve taken the £20k debt to really wring it

if Harry does turn out to be abusive they can’t possible go down the same route as Helen/rob. I think it will just be her descending into alcoholism and how her loving family help her out again while getting rid of harry. No violence hopefully

Has Harry drunk alcohol around Alice, do we know? I’m wondering if he is the one who actually had a problem with alcohol, not his purported late best friend

Just saw someone on Twitter saying Denise says Alastair the way the Grange Hill girl said Ro-land and it really made me chuckle.

I think that since having been made privy to her problem, he has not drunk alcohol in her presence. Previously he didn't, on the one occasion they were together, because she said she wasn't drinking at the moment and he immediately people-pleased by claiming that he wasn't either.

Goodness, that makes Nigel the second person David has killed. You'd think people would be more wary around him.

Given that Lovell James is a big practice, I was surprised they didn't have some sort of on-call arrangement for their staff. It seems a bit hit-or-miss just hoping that if an emergency happened requiring a nurse, one of the individual practice nurses might have kept off the booze on Christmas Day.

Does anyone know what sort of sum Ed's Texel herd might fetch if he sold some or all? I wonder if that is the route they will take to fund the tree surgery business?

I really want Ed'n'Em to run a successful business, if only to break the tedious cycle of Grundy failed enterprises. Though I guess the SWs' thinking may be that George is ready to step into their shoes in that respect.

I wonder if the SWs would make a new year's resolution to tie up some lose ends in the storyline. I for one would like to know what was the point of Adam's half sister. And what the window situation is in the church (with what was the broken stained glass window replaced?). And how Helen is eating. And what happened to Natasha's debt/ shopping addiction. And where Hannah is living. And why we haven't heard anything more about her mother with dementia (this may have been resolved and I missed it).

Hannah is living with stella

Blimey yes Adam's half sister! What on earth was all that?!

I’d like to see Ed and Emma succeed and for fortunes to be reversed in some ways for some of the characters. Also agree with @LillianGish that the script writers have dissolved the fabric of the village, for some half baked storylines, and have forgotten to put it back together.

An excellent idea!

Haha, yes I was going to say the same. I didn't know about the Jethro Larkin/David incident. Has he got a thing with death caused by objects/people dropping from heights?

Health and safety warning: Don't go near any cliff edges or climb ladders when David's about! 😳

Grimpo
Does anyone know what sort of sum Ed's Texel herd might fetch if he sold some or all?

If he sold them all and got a good price for each one, he'd probably get about £20,000.

But he would need a further £6,000 to cover the grants of £3,000 each which would not actually be available to him and Em because the people giving them have run out of money and are not making any grants at present.

(There was only one course which did not require applicants to have both English and Maths GCSE, which neither Ed nor Emma does.)

Oh yes, I forgot about that suggestion. Did it actually go ahead? I thought it was an offer which needed firming up.

Adam's half-sister was Erin IIRC.

I kind of don’t really care if the fictional people can’t go on the real course due to funding issues. Hopefully in the archers universe version of the course they have a few quid still tucked away