Returning to The Archers after years away and have various questions!

[FourSeasonsTotalLandscaping]

I used to be a regular listener but I haven’t listened for YEARS. The ongoing threads are brilliant but I can’t possibly catch up with everything. Would anyone mind answering my random questions? Here are few for starters:

• I know the actor who played Roy Tucker sadly passed away a few years ago - what happened to the character?
• Where has Harrison Burns been? “Up North” I believe, but why? Did he have some kind of breakdown after the infamous accident involving Fallon and George?
• Who is Miranda? Is she in a relationship with Brian? Are they moving back in to the farmhouse that Jenny Darling and Brine had to sell when he had all those environmental fines to pay?
• Who the hell is Joy? Is she the new Lynda Snell? Wither Lynda?
• Who is Vince - is he now Mr Elizabeth?

I am sure I will have many more questions and moments of bafflement but these are the few that have come to mind whilst listening to the last few episodes.

Happy to have a go at filling in any more! Disclaimer: I don't always get everything spot on ...

Thank you!! X

Truth and Lies was police interviews following George’s attack, which I hadn’t yet heard about.
Maybe I was a whole omnibus behind though.

Thank you @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g and @KnittedFerret for filling in the gaps. It might be time for me to throw myself back in to the inanities of The Archers as I do quite miss it.

I’m mostly a lurker but just wanted to say Zainab now works at Grey Gables. She might still deliver takeaways on her scooter as well?

I think it is probably 10 years since I stopped listening and have also been toying with a return. JennyDarling died???? WTF

Yes. Angela Piper wanted to retire, apparently. Shula is still alive but more or less silent. We live in dread of Charles Collingwood (Brian) feeling any urge to leave.

Reading this thread, im struggling to remember when I stopped listening. I thought it was more than 5 years but I just remembered listening to the covid soliloquy episodes. I have pondered getting back into it but then it feels like I've too much to catch up on, maybe not after all.

I know Natasha, Joy & Mick, Leonard, Rex, Vince, Alice drinking. Not T&N having twins, not Rob's return, not Jenny dying, not George as an adult/in prison. In fact most of the younger ones were mid-late teens i think.

If any of you “returners” have access to BBC Sounds, Womens’ Hour on 1 January did a fairly good job of celebrating the female characters in the Archers. They even let Libby Purves back on the programme.

Yes but they weren't 'real'. They weren't part of the actual story. They were a figment of someone's imagination, an Inspector Calls parallel insert or just a way of showing non-regulars the background. Listening to them or not makes no difference they aren't spoilers.

Edit: just realised you didn't know George had been attacked. You were way behind. The rest of what I said still stands though.

The Omnibus edition in which George was attached was available on the 4th Jan.
Truth and Lies was broadcast on New Years Day, though I think they were broadcasting bits of it either throughout that day or over the course of a couple of days ie. I'd just be listening to the radio and a snippet would come on.

I wasn't really way behind and I'm sure I'm not the only avid Omnibus listener.
It's obviously not a big deal.

This past week was very much spoiled by all the extra Archers stuff. I found myself listening to some of the Truth and Lies episode live when I hadn't heard the New Years Eve episode.
The extra mini-episodes didn't contain any spoilers though. It was just backstory really.
@CaptainMyCaptain , I think the pp meant that the extra TA bits ruined her radio listening, not that they contained spoilers.

Since the T&L episode was all about George's attack and I hadn't yet listened to the omnibus edition in which the attack happened, it did indeed spoil the omnibus edition somewhat.

@BringBackCatsEyes , it was fairly obvious from the listings that it might be related to the NYE episode.
The Archers was a bit unavoidable on NYD if like me you tend to have Radio 4 on all day.

If you feel strongly, complain to the BBC, either at Complaints | Contact the BBC or BBC Radio 4 - Feedback - Contact us.

I really don't feel strongly - it's a soap opera.
I used 'spoil' as in spoiler, not that my day or even radio listening was spoilt, just that I already knew what was going to happen when I listened to the omnibus.

I can't remember the last time I looked at a radio listing!

I look at the listings a lot so that I can avoid programmes that I dislike and programmes that I want to listen to but at a time of my choosing.

I gave up around the time of Freddie going to prison, so have enjoyed the catch up. How on earth has Oliver ended up at Grange Farm?

I choose my listening differently.
If I'm not enjoying what's on live then I'll search BBC sounds for something I want to listen to, or go to my current audio book.
I should try looking at the listings more actually, I must be missing or forgetting about things I'd like to listen to.

When recently widowed Oliver came back to Ambridge, he moved into Grey Gables and let the Grundys stay in Home Farm (what was he thinking).

About 5 or 6 years ago Blake (one of Philp Moss’s ‘horses’ doing some work at the hotel) caused the Grey Gables kitchen explode whilst he was making himself a bacon sarnie, almost wiping out Lynda and a big chunk of the hotel.

Oliver was somewhat traumatised by the whole thing and Clarrie offered him some Grundy TLC back at his house. Presumably he now pays the utility bills.

Oops sub Grange for Home farms

Thank you @Madcats I supose that makes sense in Ambridge.

OK

Thanks for all the background. I more or less accidentally listened to the 2pm episode today in which not a lot happened, around George. Is Amber George’s GF or what?

I was a regular for about ten years, and then the covid time put me off…

what happened with Lily’s boyfriend? The creeper art collector guy who she dropped out of uni for?

Oh yeah! I'd forgotten him.