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.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like more of Gagriculture, 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-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.)

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!

Whilst they did not live in Birmingham, nor even all that near it in most cases (I did once list which SW iived where, and Rural Dorset is an address I remember), the SWs did not live in London. I made the list because people kept on claiming that the SW's didn't understand anything outside Islington (which when I was living in London wasn't particularly salubrious, but I understand has come up in the world since then) and I got fed up with that particular silliness. The list is out of date now, of course, with half a dozen new writers every couple of years injecting their own ideas about the characters, locations and everything else about Ambridge because they don't know what was there before they arrived.

The 🔮 says that Alistair and Jakob will leave LJ to set up their own practice. No doubt taking their vet nurses with them.

@OhLittleBoreOfWhabylon I don't think they will. Bc didn't Alastair used to own the practice and the. Sold it to LJ? Just like small dental practices it ain't worth the hassle and cost and fear of litigation to be a sole trader.
The silly storyline is just being used to build up dramatic tension between Denise and Alastair

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime you are a phenomenon! I am lost in admiration

Yes @faffadoodledo , but you surely don't expect the SW's to trouble themselves about such details?

Is it just me that finds most of the 6.30 comedy painful?

did Denise really have to interrupt the appointment for a phone message and a chinwag? she’s very unprofessional.

alistairs falling noise was curious

how many puppies do they get?

isn’t balayage difficult? Not that I have a clue

isn’t balayage difficult? Not that I have a clue AIBU is full of disappointed balayage recipients. But Chelsea is hairdresser extraordinaire - she can do anything. Even guinea pigs IIRC

Denise ought to be sacked for refusing direction! Why is she acting like a stroppy teenager suddenly?

I don’t understand why she is objecting to helping find the right food for a patient. Is she doubting that the dog needs it and therefore suggesting Alistair is a fraud?

if he was trying to sell a sparkly collar then sure

Depends what the comedy is, I love ISIHAC and Museum of Curiosity, Just a Minute, It’s a Fair Cop and The News Quiz (if it’s not being too right-on) are good too. But some of the programs make me wonder if the commissioning editors were on glue. What possible other explanation can there be for Fags Mags and Bags or Life on Egg?

alistairs falling noise was curious

It all got a bit Nigel didn’t it?

I think I’ve heard enough just a minute and don’t find it so much fun for a full half hour. I do like It’s a fair cop.

I like ISIHAC, Just a Minute, it's a Fair Cop and The Unbelievable Truth. The News Quiz isn’t as good as it used to be.

I miss things like old Harry’s game and that airplane one

@Bruisername Cabin Pressure?

Yes!

I strongly suspect that farmers are absolutely awful for paying bills. The farmers I have known have been equally awful about paying bills as they have been about sending invoices. Unless they marry somebody who likes doing accounts, all slips of paper end up in a pile and maybe once every 6-12 months or so get looked at and got around to - or perhaps paid sooner if a supplier threatens no more credit until it's paid. I know we're in the days of emails now but I can only imagine that in many ways that can be worse, easier to ignore them! Although perhaps suppliers keep card details on file and automatically debit, these days? I'd love to know.

Was Alastair selling Lilian special medical dog food (a bit like I used to get for DCat towards the end of her life)? If so, it's a perfectly normal thing for a vet to do.

I do like someone's (sort of) suggestion of reindeer antlers for cows at Christmas, though.

Denise’s behaviour is outrageous. How can anyone speak to their boss like that?

Ali-STARE is letting her walk all over him.

Elizabeth could simply ask her employees why they are leaving instead of sighing and speculating that Grey Gables is “tempting them with something”.

I love fags, bags and mags! A few 6:30 comedy gems, Cabin Pressure of course, I loved In and Out of the Kitchen, Ed Reardon's Week, The Bletchley one, Hut 33 and Bleak Expectations. Not a fan in general of the comedy panel shows.

I like Just a Minute but not I'm Sorry I haven't a clue. Loads of rubbish though.

On the Archers side, Denise is massively unprofessional can't bear/bare (sp) the ramping up of tension with Alastair.

I agree special diet food is absolutely a normal thing for a vet to sell.

Best Medicine with Kiri Pritchard-McClean has to be the worst, most cringeworthy 'comedy' I've ever heard.

Denise is being a ridiculous twat!

Isn't she just?! Rude and unpleasant. Ali-stare is going to having his work cut out managing Denise and her son.

Does the Practice have a receptionist as well as 2 nurses?

And no way would someone interrupt a consultation to tell the vet about another non emergency appointment.