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!

An amalgamation? None of it mine, all acknowledgements to creators!

While the stink dies down over Jack’s inheritance of tuna pasta bake and proper custard, there’s mass wisteria at the Tea Room

Needs work …

Please can we take out
the stink dies down over Jack’s inheritance of tuna pasta bake and proper custard

I am actually finding this line "triggering" as they say these days

Plus it leads with a reference to Ron! Helen would be ashamed of us. That wretched man gets everywhere, even after he's dead. Please, not in a TA thread title.

<busily making notes>

Your word is my command, @SequentialAnalyst. I'll see what I can cobble together.

I like mass wisteria @OverArmour!

And I agree with @SequentialAnalyst. Let’s collectively ‘manifest’ (as the kids say) a thread on which Rob has a non central role.

Who are these customers?

Oh. Is it Natasha’s friend?

Oh dearie dearie me...

The Brad and Lily thing is stupid. And older women can be ‘assertive’ - f u Brad. Get over yourself. And telling your boss that you think the work experience woman is a sexual predator is great isn’t it. I know lighthearted blah blah but I don’t like it.

rest of episode was good

Natasha handled that well though!

[clicky heels]
I smiled a few times during that episode.
Maybe the feedback tablet thingy is worth a mention.

Brad is afraid of what Lily might claim about him (just as Ed was about what Alice might claim to Stella) if he turns her down, and very sensibly got his word in first so that if she did, he had already made the point rather than being on the defensive. And Lily did rather give the appearance of coming on to him with all that stuff about how ... fit ... he was, and comments on his sweet smile, and trying to get him in a car alone with her so she could try to ... persuade ... him to change his mind about leaving Lower Loxley. If I'd'a bin Brad I would have run a mile, as indeed he did, rain or no rain. Well, less than half a mile from GG to his house, but run rather than taking that lift.

And it being so much more local than The Orangery is another excellent reason for him to prefer to work at Grey Gables, now I come to think of it.

Who needs Rob when Miles is lurking in the wings? I look forward to more Titchener-fomented grief both for the Bridge Farm idiots and the perpetually ‘misfortunate’ Grundys. And if Hilda gives someone, anyone, blood poisoning, so much the better. (Yes, I know, Nic/sepsis, but that was aaages ago) Meanwhile, I count dead ram-lambs to get to sleep. Ed didn’t try all that hard, did he?

Hooray for a realistic representation of the relationship between local newspaper reporters and local businesses who buy advertising. We've had far too much nonsense about this in the past. She who pays the piper, calls the tune.

Don’t mention nics demise! Can’t bear it!

and please no more titcheners for at least a year!!

brad should have spoken to Lily instead or adil should have advised that.

He did speak to Lily and make his feelings pretty clear. "Thanks, I'd rather take my chance with the rain" is fairly straightforward.

How is he supposed to go about saying "If you make false claims against me accusing me of sexual harassment I will fire them right back at you", I wonder. Hmmm.

Not something very easy for a shy seventeen-year-old adolescent to get across to a very self-confident and egotistical woman of twenty-four, I wouldn't have thought. Maybe his best bet would be to get a witness to his disquiet in advance. Which he did during this episode, and has also been advised to do by telling his girlfriend about what he understandably perceived as advances, and unwanted ones.

Anyone else gasping at Adil's advice to Brad? If Brad takes it, I can't see the conversation with Mia going very well

I think Mia will believe him. She does seem to know him fairly well, and understand him too.

He only made it clear by saying he would prefer to walk on the basis she was hitting on him. But she wasn’t. It was a misguided attempt to charm him.

painting her as some femme fatale who will sexually harass him is a bit much

and where on earth does her wanting to make false accusations of sexual harassment come from?

hilarious misunderstanding is one thing but her being painted as a sexual predator who would try and take advantage of him by blackmailing him with false accusations is just too much

It's the kind of suggestion that someone must have made to all the cheating husbands that women on Mumsnet are worried about. They all seem to tell their wives something like that to avoid suspicion: " oh XYZ was there, she's always hanging around because I helped her out when she was having boyfriend troubles. People even joke around that she fancies me but it's just banter - she'll be there tonight by the way when I go out with a couple of the lads from work, just so you don't suspect anything darling, lol". ( There's definitely a lol.)

I wouldn’t have Brad down as someone who would assume someone fancies him, more likely the opposite. And Adil’s gone from cool professionalism to… I don’t know what.

Adil has no perceptible personality which is a pity, but for that reason I'm glad he's leaving - except he won't!

Excellently put @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

@OverArmour
@WombatCowgirl

Adil has hidden depths, which have already been hinted at. His cool professionalism is a brittle facade, which he can only keep up for so long, although if in the right state of mind he seems to be effective at doing his job. But when the pressure gets too much, his instinct is to run. He bottles it with his older sister, who knows him all too well. Yet, he is principled, and has worked hard to repair the damage he did by running away last time.

Well, that's my take on it, anyway. I like him, and I want him to stay and enjoy his allotment

What was Adil calling Azra? Or was he referring to one of her children? That whole episode was so utterly dire, it made me quite angry.