The Archers spoilers thread #10: Can't wait for 7.02pm? Join us here!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Spoilers thread for The Archers. All Archers listeners are welcome here, whether you post on our main Archers thread or not. There's just one rule: please keep all spoiler-related discussion in this thread and do not spill the beans on the main Archers thread.

Last thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/5071889-the-archers-spoilers-thread-9-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here

Right! Round up of all spoilers I've found for the next few weeks.

5th January – 10th January 2025
05 Jan David receives some interesting information, and Jolene makes a rash decision.
06 Jan Brad has a confession to make, and there’s backtracking at the Bull.
07 Jan Harrison finds himself in a delicate situation, and Lily takes matters into her own hands.
08 Jan Leonard faces an emotional day, and there’s a surprise for Ben.
09 Jan Harrison reaches a crossroads, and there’s good news at Brookfield.
10 Jan Emotions run high for Fallon, and Henry is on a mission.

Writer: Shaun McKenna
Director: Peter Leslie Wild
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Jolene Archer…. Bufffy Davis
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Leonard Berry…. Paul Copley
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Justin Elliot…. Simon Williams
Brad Horrobin…. Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Khalil Malik…. Krish Bassi
Kirsty Miller…. Annabelle Dowler
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Inspector Norris…. Bharti Patel
Scarlett…. Beatrice White

Radio Times Ambridge Diary 5-10 January
Leonard is knocked sideways by some emotional news and all does not go well when he faces a difficult day with the Brookfield family standing by his side. Harrison has to fight to keep his emotions in check when he faces a challenging callout, but then receives a surprising offer from his superior. Lily takes matters into her own hands when Brad tells her he's struggling, Jolene makes a rash decision at The Bull, and Khalil's mouth runs away with him.

12th January – 17th January 2025
12.1 Justin faces a dilemma, and plans forge ahead for Ruth.
13.1 Joy isn’t herself at all, and Helen considers her options.
14.1 Rex is left confused, and Neil has questions.
15.1 The verdict is in for Kirsty, and Brian finds himself out of his comfort zone.
16.1 Emotions run high at Beechwood, and Adam offers the benefit of his experience.
17.1 Mick’s feelings are hurt, and Tom faces a tricky negotiation.

Writer: Liz John
Director: Jessica Bunch
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Miranda Elliott…. Lucy Fleming
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
Rex Fairbrother…. Nick Barber
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
Azra Malik…. Yasmin Wilde
Kirsty Miller…. Annabelle Dowler

19th January - 24th January 2025
19 Jan The Carters debate the next step, and plans come together for Joy.
20 Jan Vince hatches a plan, and alliances are tested for Stella.
21 Jan It’s a life-changing day for one resident, and a seed is planted for Emma.
22 Jan Freddie faces an uncertain future, and Pip’s evening takes a surprising turn.
23 Jan Josh attempts to stir the pot, and Elizabeth considers her options.
24 Jan Disaster strikes for Joy, and Ben fears he has overshared.

Writer: Katie Hims
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
Ben Archer…. Ben Norris
Josh Archer…. Angus Imrie
Pip Archer…. Daisy Badger
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Vince Casey…. Tony Turner
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Zainab Malik…. Priyasasha Kumari
Elizabeth Pargetter…. Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter…. Toby Laurence
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Stella Pryor…. Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Nelly…. Jill Baker <<<<< Professor, Dr, Mrs, Ms or Miss Bun the Baker's Wife/Daughter?

There's actually nothing else to update. The BBC has Contemporary drama in a rural setting for every episode Sunday 18th May to Friday 23rd May. This could be a sign that Peggy's funeral is that week. No cast list either. I will keep checking!

Would be happier at the moment if we had a spoiler saying 'Rochelle, Saskia and Carl are led off in chains and are never heard of again', but we are where we are.

Spoilers round up. Annoyingly, it's still Contemporary drama in a rural setting for every episode Sunday 18th May to Friday 23rd May. I would guess that that's the week of Peggy's funeral and they wanted her death to be a surprise. (It wasn't.) Now we've had the death the BBC has forgotten to go back and put the spoilers back in. Similar has happened before, IIRC. However, we do have next week and the week beginning 25th May, so here we go.

11th May 2025 - 16th May 2025
11 May Lynda makes a surprising discovery, and there’s drama on the cricket pitch.
12 May Lily struggles to control her feelings, and Usha extends a generous offer.
13 May David makes a controversial decision, and Rex faces a dilemma.
14 May A mystery deepens one for one family, and there’s a rare night out for some villagers.
15 May The Archers react to a shocking bombshell, and Lynda finds herself disappointed.
16 May Tom has serious concerns, and Rochelle finds herself at a crossroads.

Writer: Sarah Hehir
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Natasha Archer…. Mali Harries
Pip Archer…. Daisy Badger<<<< and not even Stella to compensate slightly
Tom Archer….. William Troughton
Tony Archer…. David Troughton
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Rex Fairbrother…. Nick Barber
Alan Franks…. John Telfer
Usha Franks…. Souad Faress
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye <<<<<<<<<<<inevitably. Every episode again?
Rochelle Horville…. Rosie Stancliffe <<<<<<<<<<<Not yet in prison, then.
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Lynda Snell….. Carole Boyd

Radio Times Ambridge Diary 11-16 May
During a tense cricket match Lynda makes a discovery that leaves Lily with a lot of explaining to do and a struggle not to jeopardise the team's future. Rex faces more than one dilemma as he and Rochelle find themselves at a crossroads. [Dump her, you fool!] The Bridge Farm Archers face a bombshell and a seemingly unsolvable mystery, David makes a radical decision [please let it be banishing Pip to Outer Mongolia] and Usha makes a generous offer.

Then we have the week of blanks, and not even a cast list to ponder.

25th May 2025 - 30th May 2025
25.5 Lilian considers her options, and Susan asks the audience.
26.5 Alice makes an apology, and Jolene has a point to prove.
27.5 Chris offers reassurance, and Clarrie has some explaining to do.
28.5 It’s a big night for Helen, while Ian attempts to be subtle.
29.5 The results are in at the shop, and Ian is not impressed.
30.5 Alice faces a nightmare situation, and Jazzer applies the pressure.

Writer: Liz John
Director: Marina Caldarone
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davies
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Ian Craig…. Stephen Kennedy
Justin Elliot…. Simon Williams
Clarrie Grundy…. Heather Bell
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye <<< again? no Rochelle, though - small mercies
Jim Lloyd…. John Rowe << hurrah!
Adam Macy…. Andrew Wincott
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Hannah Riley…. Helen Longworth
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Dane…. Stravros Demetraki <<< another new character! Why?
Imaani…. Theo Angel <<< As above.

A few long-absent characters in the cast list. About time.

I’m almost tempted to buy an Ancestry.com sub to try to figure out what Joy has over the editor and writers, but thankyou.

Gosh, so many long lost souls - thought disappeared for good but discovered alive. Possibly after extended periods in hiding after a cataclysmic period of Relentless Joy decimated the cast …

Thanks for bringing the good news of their survival, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g!

There is speculation that the “week with no synopses” will contain fall out from Peggy’s will!

Yes, in the course of my flagrant c&p from Mustardland I saw a suggestion that Peggy has left everything to Hilda! Frankly, after several years in The Laurels and the period when she was paying for Christine, plus what she sunk into the rewilding scheme, I'd be amazed if there's anything left.

Peggy went into The Laurels in December 2023.

No doubt the whole thing is going to be inconsistent with the past and legally absurd

That means she must have paid out around £80-90K. Given that she paid for Christine for a time as well as providing funding for the original rewilding project, that must have left a big hole in what was left.

Here's something I'd never thought I'd write:
I do hope that "Pip" and "Adam" are doing okay IRL. They have only been in the cast list once since late October (I've not gone back further-yet). Perhaps Ian (not appeared at all since the Xander starting school/PTA weeks) will drag them back into a more regular billing.

I'd be surprised if it has been costing less than £100k/year for Peggy to stay at The Laurels (though did she move into an assisted-living apartment, rather than the home itself?). Presumably the sale(?) of The Lodge would have freed up a few hundred thousand, so there ought to be some money left for cat food.

Here's something I'd never thought I'd write:I do hope that "Pip" and "Adam" are doing okay

Ruth, Will and Oliver are still missing.
Who'd have thought anyone would miss Ruth.

I never thought I’d say this but I would actually prefer a resurgence of Pip to Joy and Rochelle

A quick glance at IMDB suggests that Andrew Wincott is in demand for video game voiceovers. He has in the past done a good deal of work on Radio 4. I was amazed when the penny dropped that he was in Clare in the Community, as he sounded quite different from Adam.

Daisy Badger has had two children in the last two years, I have just discovered by googling, so is probably pretty busy. She also writes, apparently. She's been in TA for over ten years! How time flies when you're having fun.

Having had a cursory look at costs of residential care earlier this year when we thought my Mum might need it, I agree if The Laurels is a nursing home we might be looking at £100k for a year. Care homes are a bit cheaper. Peggy was in reasonably good health, wasn't she?

Very odd that nobody has mentioned Christine at all on air, unless I've missed it. Wouldn't the family be very concerned about how upset she will be, making an effort to visit her, ask her if there was anything she wanted from Peggy's room, etc etc? I hope the current team haven't forgotten that Christine exists.

Oh my - I bet they have forgotten her!

No sign of her during the funeral or aftermath? Even if the actress who plays her has left the show (?) Christine was fairly central to Peggy’s adult life. It would (again) be disrespectful to listeners for the SWs to ignore this.

Perfect chance to recast Pip!!

full nursing care home in a prime London position is £2kpw

I don’t think Peggy needed full nursing?

That's what I thought. My Mum would, if it came to that*, so I didn't look at care home costs, but a nursing home in Edinburgh would be unlikely to be less than £1500 per week. Eyewatering!

*Not looking likely for the foreseeable future, I'm pleased to say.

Bruisername
I don’t think Peggy needed full nursing?

It has been fairly clear that she didn't.

Yes that was a bit rhetorical.

do we even know what Peggy’s fortune was - often it’s not quite as much as people think anyway!!

They have carefully glossed over any actual sums of money, apart from the half-million to the rewilding.

wow - i didn’t realise it was that much

I don’t have high hopes for them remembering Christine, given that they more or less forgot Peggy’s 100th birthday.

Given that most of the cast proved that they were more than competent at managing to record from home during lockdown you would think that they could have Lillian and/or Alice chatting about consoling Christine.

I can forgive a few weeks of bad storylines, but the failure to remember that the Archers history is its lifeblood and sustenance really annoys me. Doubly so, not that they are scrabbling around inventing VE Day plots.

Christine was born in December 1931, so at least they haven't glossed over her hundredth birthday the way they did Peggy's.

Amazingly, someone at the BBC has noticed that the spoilers for next week were not there, and has added them, so here they are, for what it's worth. I was wrong in thinking they were hiding the funeral. Still no sign of it, unless it's 21st May, but that could be anything.

18/5 Tom’s suspicions are raised, and Henry plays his cards close to his chest.
19/5 Helen has a confession to make, and a new face causes consternation.
20/5 Natasha puts her foot in it, and it’s a big day for Zainab.
21/5 Lilian attempts a brave face, and David makes a potentially far-reaching mistake.
22/5 Ian has reservations, and Oliver makes a generous offer.
23/5 Kenton is left surprised, and there’s trouble at Grey Gables.

David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Natasha Archer…. Mali Harries
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Ian Craig…. Stephen Kennedy <<<< at last! No Adam, though.
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
Akram Malik…. Asif Khan
Zainab Malik…. Priyasasha Kumari
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane
Dane…. Stavros Demetraki
Naomi…. Aoife Moss

Also, the assiduous folk of Mustardland have already seen next week's Radio Times, so here it is:

Radio Times 17 - 23 May
At Beechwood House Natasha and Tom become suspicious about what Henry is up to, but when they tell Helen they are taken by surprise at her response. Then Natasha puts her foot in it, which leads to a tricky situation. Oliver prepares to welcome the new acting manager at Grey Gables, while Zainab gets nervous for her interview, and there’s a new experience for Lily.

I do like the sound of Natasha putting her foot in it. Zainab has an interview - where? New GG manager - Dane or Naomi? Probably Dane. Naomi is played by an actor with next to nothing on IMDB who's just won a Norman Beaton Fellowship to join the Radio Drama Company. That suggests to me she'll be quite young. Dane is played by a Brummie with a longish IMDB listing. So who's Naomi, I wonder?

Full round up at the weekend when we may have spoilers for three weeks ahead!

What is David’s far reaching mistake?