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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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!

The 🔮 is also unimpressed with Harry's aura.

Um just wondering, do you think Ed has paid the car insurance, he seemed a bit cagey about it.
Lillian who I usually like was a nasty cow, Justin and her deserve each other and Tracy will get them back together,(dont know how they look down on her anyway).
Harry is a dodgy bloke but Alice wont see that for ages and Chris will warn her but she will just tell Chris to mind his own business but Chris will say it is his business because of Martha.

Yes, I’m afraid it‘a clear the writing is on the wall with Harry because Alice is so happy and he seems so perfect. Brian saying she was looking radiant inevitably means there’s a dark days ahead for Alice in the New Year…

We’re building up for a NYE clinch at the vets surgery, aren’t we? The SWs have clearly decided to make the A/D romance a major Christmas SL which is odd given both characters are so far removed from the First Family.

Harry has the least sexy voice I’ve heard in a long time!

So it sounds like Denise had the hots for Alistair as well, and that’s why she moved to a different practice. I’ve always liked her, though she’s irritating me now, possibly because Paul irritates me and you often hear them together. Generally I like her and Al as a potential couple, but really wish she’d ditched the husband first.

@Alwaysdieting that's what I was thinking he seemed quite keen to reassure Emmur that the car would be fine. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he didn't renew insurance to save money.

Alastair is massively inappropriate taking Denise's hands. How creepy. She should definitely work with Jakob instead. How messy conducting a workplace affair (likely) with your own son there. Is Denise's husband Paul's dad?

I just find the way she says AliSTARE very annoying.

it really sounds as though she is stressing it in a nasty way, making fun of it. It is really odd.

Yesterday's* episode she noticeably pronounced it exaggeratedly awfully. No idea why.

*no idea if it was yesterday's episode. Betwixmus blur

I don't suppose it's creepy if she into it. Massively inappropriate for a boss to do that to his employee, one who isn't even single, yes!

I want them to get together and I'm conflicted. I agree with the person who said they just wish Denise would have been single first.

Writing this has made me realise I have a crush on Alastair. 😳 I have also always felt sorry for him for the way his wife left him, and that he deserves happiness.*

• waits to be told how awful he is and that he doesn't deserve it because of a plot point 20 years ago 🤣

It's creepy probably because I am not a fan of people touching me so that's my projection. He is inappropriate though.

@TonightMatthewIamgoingtobecher I agree. Inappropriate and entirely unprofessional because he's her boss and inappropriate because she is, right now, married to someone else.

If Denise and John's marriage has no future they need to establish that for themselves first. I know life isn't like that, things like this happen probably all the time and this is a soap but I can't help feeling turned off by Alistair's (and for that matter Denise's) behaviour here. If he really likes her and respects her surely he needs to stand back and let Denise and John work out their issues first and decide whether or not they are resolvable. As I've already mentioned Alistair has been on the receiving end of this over the years and really should know better.

I'm hoping John' timely phone call was a wake-up call to them both.

Just re-read my last post and I do sound a bit preachy and moralising and my toes are curling a bit at my tone.😬But I like the character of Alistair and just feel a bit cross with him right now.

but we all know RL doesn't work like that. It is one of the few semi-realistic-ish plots they have going at the moment.

Denise is obviously conflicted, she likes Alastair (even though she makes a dogs dinner of saying his name) but she knows it's wrong to cheat on her DH (even if their marriage is dying a death) hence her reactions to lunch and so on. Alastair is obviously keen - and clearly not thinking about her marriage, why would he when she is flirting back. It is a big hot, quite realistic, mess.

But her pronunciation of his name is so cringeworthy i can hardly bear to listen.

Grimchmas
Writing this has made me realise I have a crush on Alastair. 😳 I have also always felt sorry for him for the way his wife left him, and that he deserves happiness.

Which wife?

FWIW Denise initially spoke on air in 2021. The following year, after she had arranged to move to a different surgery following Jakob's idiotic fortune telling, we got this in the unofficial synopses on 24th August 2022:

"Alistair is downcast; he tells Jakob that he wishes Denise had talked to him. As she comes in and Jakob leaves, he tells her he is in shock. She tells him about her mildly unhappy home life; John is retired and she was hoping they'd spend more time together, but he is always off on his bike. Alistair feels that since he has been totally useless at marriage he isn't the right person to give advice about it."

Or the BBC synopsis had it "Her husband’s doing his own thing and a new challenge might improve things for her. They agree marriage isn’t easy."

This was the day on which Alistair bought her a tomato to liven up her cheese sandwich.

So the hints about her setting her cap at Alistair/him fancying her had started back then.

Ed was offered a decent job a while back, possibly on Home Farm? IIRC, it was exactly what he wanted to do, but after much agonising he turned it down purely because it was working for someone else and he didn't want to do anything other than self-employment. This has always seemed implausible to me. I know people who are self-employed, either because that's standard for the industry they're in, or because they came up with a business idea that no one else had, or because they have caring responsibilities and can't work standard hours. I don't know anyone who is self-employed on principle, regardless of the fact that a job they would really enjoy and be well-suited to is available. Heaven forfend he should have been building up a pension pot, or have an employer who covered his professional insurance costs, or paid holiday leave ... the horror!

Yes, Brian offered him the job that Johnny had turned down so Ed could have it.

So he works for Home Farm as a contractor on a casual basis, I think. But that is how I think it ended up being arranged, and I can't actually find anything which is clear-cut evidence either way.

He was certainly working for them when Drunk Alice allowed it to be thought that he was responsible for having put the grain into the wrong container (rather than her having told him the wrong one) and got him summarily sacked, and I don't think she could have done that if he'd been working for them full-time.

Couldn’t they think of another rural type career for Ed?

Just catching up and listened to the episode. It was kind of insulting to longer term listeners for neither Ed nor Jazzer to say “oh yes, that’s what Jamie Perks did isn’t it? And he did well for himself before moving away.”.

I agree. I think they think we started listening last week 🤔

Bloody Alice! Its all about her!
I thought the pony was a lovely idea its not as though Alice lives in a tower block of flats with only a balcony, she works at a stable and has if I remember had her own horse there. Chris is a lovely dad and he deserves better than Alice, I for one hope they dont get back together. It seems that Alice caused all this trouble when she was drinking but she has forgotten all about that.

A pony might be a lovely idea if you have completely thought through and planned for all the practicalities. It was made clear that Chris had just assumed Alice could stable it - what did he plan to do if she couldn't? Presumably someone is going to have to pay for the stabling as there is no good reason why Shula should provide it without charge, there were no signs that Chris was offering that, let alone offering to pay for feed, vet care, insurance etc, or offering to come round every day to look after the Shetland.

I agree that Alistair and Denise is a clumsy awkward storyline. He seems completely oblivious to how insensitive he’s being.

I didn’t mind the Brookfield implausible oven storyline. Silly, but the camaraderie was lovely.

I can’t wait to find out how much of a wrong’un Harry is. Painkiller addiction/financial crimes…

Very sad to hear about the actor who played Roy. Awful for their family.

Whereas I have started to think that's what they did!

Another one in the episode I just listened to “When Alice announced she was going to marry Chris… “ said Brian to Kate.

Alice never announced she was going to marry Chris- they got married on impulse in Vegas and only told the family after the event.

I’m annoyed at Charles Collingwood letting that one through.

On the upside, I enjoyed the three-way banter between Brian and his daughters, very natural, and thank goodness Kate has said what we have all been thinking!

And when Alice announced that she had married Chris, Kate wasn't in the country but in RSA and so said nothing about it at all.