The Archers spoilers thread #11: Can't wait for 7.02pm? Join us here!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Spoilers thread for The Archers on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. 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.

We usually add the BBC teasers and cast lists for forthcoming episodes as they become available, plus the Radio Times and Daily Mail previews when possible. Feel free to add anything else you come across, e.g. cast news, scriptwriter tweets!

Why poor chap? I think he looks nice. Ed Grundy has far more hair than the actor and is clean shaven.
I think Jazzer looks a bit rough and is nothing like the actor. The actor is great.

Yes, Ed Grundy looks completely different to Barry Farrimond in my imagination.

Same! I think this is the first time ever that someone has looked the same way I picture the character.

Maybe she hooked up with her cousin probably worse than shagging two brothers?

In my mind, Lilian is 5’0, slim with shapely calves and a very ample chest. She struggles with stilettos these days, so wears kitten heels.

See, I've always thought of her as quite curvy, hair always swept up in a chignon and immaculate (if slightly heavy) makeup.

Not entirely dissimilar to Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in Open All Hours but significantly posher!

No! Not at all. Definitely not Nurse Gladys and definitely not 5'.

I always imagined JennyDarling as a 'Susan Penhaligon's sister', and Lilian a bit like a less slender Joanna Van Gyseghem (I ❤ed Ralph Bates) or a brassier Helen Mirren.

@Agapornis You can marry your cousin. I was more than a bit alarmed at a suggestion on the main thread yesterday about Brad and Chelsea.
I'm holding out for a Chelsea Pargetter. It would merit an even better line than 'Good grief Brine, I'm related to a Horrobin'.

That was the best line ever, from the best episode ever. Apart from it being a 'practice marriage' 😂

Brian tried to shut Jennifer up by telling her that she could think of Alice's marriage to Christopher as a "starter marriage" if it upset her so much. He liked Christopher and had a high opinion of him; Jennifer only saw Christopher's relations on his mother's side.

It was priceless!

That was one of Brian's finest amusing moments, especially as he so clearly liked Christopher.

(Bored and avoiding doing something important).

Next week:
25 Jan Neil receives news from Amcestry.com and contacts half-siblings, and cabers are tossed at Burns Night. None of them hit Harrison, sadly.
26 Jan Akram does something boring, and there's an implication at the Rewilding.
27 Jan Ruth finds David and Esme in flagrante, and the stakes are high for Susan who is preparing for a visit from her HSIL.
28 Jan Problems escalate for Kirsty, and the shop runs out of custard creams
29 Jan It's judgement day for Justin the Beaver, and Rex has suspicions.
30 Jan It's an average day for Ben, and Esme does a pregnancy test.

😂👍👏

Ferret that's brilliant!

I didn't notice the RT para, but I only went back a couple of thread pages to check.

Neil and Susan are keen to make reparations and issue a surprising invitation. In return they hear some big news from their guests. The great unveiling of Peggy's memorial artwork hits complications, there's a medical emergency at the shop, a new face at the dairy causes tension, and suspicions continue over the New Year's Eve attack.

Is it too much to hope that Joy and Mick are invited round to the Carters and announce that they've bought a new motorhome to travel the world for the foreseeable. Presumably Akram is the "new face at the dairy"?

In other news, Leeds Uni has been giving the writing team some agricultural advice (so maybe there will be a bit of farming stuff coming up in 2026): https://biologicalsciences.leeds.ac.uk/biological-sciences/news/article/564/sound-advice-researchers-advise-radio-4-s-the-archers-on-future-of-farming

Interesting article, @Madcats.

Ambridge farmers seem more parochial than I remember them in the 20th century - I cannot remember the last time a single one of them gave a thought to farming beyond Europe. I’m waiting impatiently for global impacts on ‘climate resilient farming’ to enter village conversation.

Ruth went to NZ to 'find herself' and IIRC brought back some ideas on farming.

there's a medical emergency at the shop - Amber finding out she's not pregnant. Maybe she'll collapse and it will be discovered that she is never going to get pregnant because she's not biologically female or human. Maybe she's a hologram and can be zapped.
I live in hope.

(I did get round to doing the something important, had a panic, then found out I'd already done it weeks ago.)

But that was a million years ago, @KnittedFerret.

found out I’d already done it weeks ago …

You’re living my dream life!

Whatever happened to the mob-grazing that Adam was promoting a decade ago? Does Home Farm still have any cattle? (It’s where you keep the herd together in a small space and move them regularly to a new stretch to avoid them trampling a whole field).

If so, I would expect to hear a lot of bragging about how they haven’t had to buy much £££ feed this winter).

havent home farm still got some deer

@Madcats , Home Farm got rid of he cattle after Brine was injured by a mad cow.
@edna, I believe so.

@TottersBlatantlyTowardsTheBaileys , if only. A week today is 31 January. Tax Year End.
My instructions were something like:
For 24/25 you have A outstanding. A is due 31/1/26
For 24/25 you owe B. B is due 31/1/26
For 25/26 you owe E. This is due 31/1/26.
By 31/1/26, you need to pay C.
By 31/7/26, you need to pay D.

I had already paid: B+A, but had left the instruction as 'not complete' because D is still unpaid.
Despite E=A+B+D and C=A+B, the wording made it look like I owed 2E, with E+C still due.
It wasn't.
Accountants aren't always right. Neither am I but I like to think I can write clearly and unambiguously.

I like Joy and don't mind Mucky, but not Amber.

Home Farm has not had cattle of its own since Brian Aldridge started farming there in 1975, as far as I know; it was always a sheep and arable farm, and diversified into deer this century.

The mad cow which injured Brian was at Grange Farm and belonged to Joe Grundy. Brian saw it about to injure Joe and pushed him out of the way, getting clobbered himself as a result.

Adam's mob grazing idea was in 2015:
Lowfield, Wednesday 7th October, 2015
Adam is enjoying being in charge but he has made so many changes, something is bound to go wrong; he is thinking of trying mob grazing - Charlie's idea - share farming with someone with cattle. It would be crazy to buy his own cattle, wouldn't it? Next time Pip has a crisis, remember she isn't the only one with a lot to prove.

However, the one advocating it all over the programme was Pip, not Adam, and it was her cows at Home Farm in the end, for one year. She bought them with borrowed money. Then she chickened out altogether after she managed to infect cattle all over the village by not bothering to mend a fence so that Brookfield's infected cattle bought in without being checked for disease by Ruth got loose.

Spoilers to date.

25th January 2026 - 30th January 2026
25 Jan Neil issues an invitation, and spirits are raised at Burns Night.
26 Jan Akram offers a suggestion, and there's a complication at the Rewilding.
27 Jan Ruth has concerns about a neighbour, and the stakes are high for Susan.
28 Jan Problems escalate for Kirsty, and there's an emergency at the shop.
29 Jan It's judgement day for Justin, and Rex has suspicions.
30 Jan It's a big day for Ben, and Esme faces a dilemma.

Writer: Liz John
Director: Peter Leslie Wild
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Ben Archer.... Ben Norris
David Archer.... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer.... Felicity Finch
Lilian Bellamy.... Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter.... Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter.... Charlotte Martin
Justin Elliott.... Simon Williams
Mick Fadmoor.... Martin Barrass
Rex Fairbrother.... Nick Barber
Amber Gordon.... Olivia Bernstone
George Grundy ... Angus Stobie
Joy Horville.... Jackie Lye
Akram Malik.... Asif Khan
Azra Malik.... Yasmin Wilde
Jazzer McCreary.... Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller.... Annabelle Dowler
Esme Mulligan.... Ellie Pawsey

Radio Times 24th - 30th January
Neil and Susan are keen to make reparations and issue a surprising invitation. In return they hear some big news from their guests. The great unveiling of Peggy’s memorial artwork hits complications, there’s a medical emergency at the shop, a new face at the dairy causes tension, and suspicions continue over the New Year’s Eve attack.

Total TV Guide 24-30 January
Hoping to mend relationships, Neil and Susan extend hospitality in an unexpected way, but their efforts are thrown off kilter when their guests deliver explosive news ... Susan’s dilemma isn’t helped when matters curdle at the dairy as a new face makes their presence felt - will she find a ‘whey’ to smooth things over? It’s a big day over at the rewilding as Kirsty’s team prepare to unveil Peggy’s memorial artwork. The press descend together with le tout Ambridge, but it’s ‘Hold the front page!’ when Justin spots a spanner in the works. Elsewhere in Ambridge, Ben’s mental health battles put his university career under threat a few years back, but as he prepares for his graduation, he’s back on track.

1st February 2026 - 6th February 2026
01/02 Suspicions are aroused for Pip, while David is left disappointed.
02/02 Amber faces a complication, and Josh has his nose put out of joint.
03/02 Will there be good news for Stella? And there's a changing of the guard at the dairy.
04/02 George makes his feelings clear, and the future is considered at Brookfield.
05/02 Emotions run high for the Gordon family, and Kenton finds himself caught in the middle.
06/02 Contemporary drama in a rural setting

(Still no cast list for this week)

8th February 2026 - 13th February 2026
08 Feb There’s big news at Brookfield, and Ruth’s got Stella all confused.
09 Feb Fallon has a brainwave, and is George ducking out?
10 Feb Chelsea’s full of excitement, and Emma’s left wondering.
11 Feb Jazzer’s got the bit between his teeth, and Lilian has a rude shock.
12 Feb Accusations are flying, and George is hiding something from Will.
13 Feb David’s happy with his lot, and Brian has some words of advice.

Writer: Tim Stimpson
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge … Charles Collingwood
Ben Archer … Ben Norris
David Archer … Timothy Bentinck
Josh Archer … Angus Imrie
Pip Archer … Daisy Badger
Ruth Archer … Felicity Finch
Lilian Bellamy … Sunny Ormonde
Alice Carter … Hollie Chapman
Ruairi Donovan … Arthur Hughes
Amber Gordon … Olivia Bernstone
Emma Grundy … Emerald O'Hanrahan
George Grundy … Angus Stobie
Will Grundy … Philip Molloy
Chelsea Horrobin … Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin … Susie Riddell
Jazzer McCreary … Ryan Kelly
Stella Pryor … Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers … Joanna Van Kampen

Thanks, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g .

The trouble is that Amber and Esme have no hinterland, and we've only known them for a few weeks. I didn't enjoy this week's podcast because the Amber character doesn't ring true for me.
We don't really know Joy either despite her being everywhere.