Archers thread #200: Trouble in Ambridge! (All 200 threads could have had this title.) 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 love to be Brian's child or stepchild, 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 https://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.)

Over to you!

Not really. Adam, Kate and Alice are all Jenny’s biological children so he is their half brother. He doesn’t share a parent with Ruairi.

To me, as a person with long experience of post-secondary students, Brad screams, "SW want to signpost undiagnosed ND", with insufficient information to think anything further. If I encountered him as a student, the way he is presented, I might think, "I wonder if there's autism at play?", but I wouldn't feel at liberty to signpost him to any services, unless I thought he was struggling or expressed a desire for help. As for Keira, to me, it read as "alienated teen", rather than a specific neurodivergence. The categories aren't mutually exclusive, but "Keira acts out because everyone is paying George all the attention, even when George is a problem" seems more likely to me.

It was interesting that she mentioned George's criminal activities. I suspect the poor kid got quite a lot of stick at school as a result of what he did.

Ah - so the next likely crisis will be Pat and Tony not getting back from their flower show trip in time for Tony to officiate as Chief Livestock Liason at the Borsetshire Show. So someone else will have to step in at the last moment - and they’ll be brilliant.

Amber, maybe? Which would mean she doesn’t have the time to hang out with her parents on the day.

Not Amber. She doesn’t know much about cows.

George? Eddie or Ed?

Hear, hear.

@BitOutOfPractice , Adam is Debbie, Kate and Alice's half-brother.
Debbie is Adam, Kate and Alice's half-sister.
Kate and Alice are full sisters.
Ruairi is Kate and Alice's half-brother.
Adam, Debbie and Ruairi are step-siblings.

After thinking Emma Freud’s podcast had finally bedded in and become tolerable after a good episode with Kate, it was back to its tedious form this week with contributors (the actors who play Kiara and Ed) just saying endlessly how lovely the rest of the cast are and how wonderful it is to think they might be playing the same role for the rest of their lives. I had to turn it off as it was so vacuous. I know there is a lot of love for the actor who plays Ed on here but his memories of his 26 (!) years in Ambridge were not exactly earth-shattering.

Only interesting point worth noting is that the actress voicing Kiara is in fact 25.

So in about 60 years they will have the same problem as they now have, with older characters being played by even older actors, and not having the heart to kill them off in the program before the actor dies in real life.

Only interesting point worth noting is that the actress voicing Keira is in fact 25.
I'd assumed she would be. The 'young' characters tend to be played by actors several years older than the characters.
Ben Archer is 24, Ben Norris in 34, Angus Imrie who plays Josh is 31, Arthur Hughes (Ruairi) is 34, Molly Pipe (Mia) is 28, I think, and Taylor Uttley (Brad) 25.

Although the actor playing Henry is the same age as Henry .

*I tried to post a video of him being interviewed when he first got the role a few yeats ago when he was 12

I did think of him but he didn't fit the nearly 10 years older pattern.
The Kate actress is about 9 years younger than her character, Alice, Helen and Debbie about the same age as the characters.

It's usually easier to have older actors, because fewer restrictions on working time, no chaperones needed etc.

The podcast is worth a listen, if only for the what Ed might have been called bit

If you Google the actor's name, there's a Go Fund Me started by his mum to cover the cost of one of those "expeditions" to help the poor people of Costa Rica (where the per capita GDP is in the region of $31.5k) learn to do something he knows absolutely nothing about. A number of the donors are other cast members!

@Gonners , what a great opportunity for him! I don't blame her for fundraising and it will be a learning experience.
I've done a charity trek and it wasn't a holiday.

If you'd like to donate: Henry - Costa Rica 2027.

I did edit to say I’d realised that. A drink might have been taken when I posted 😬

You did and my post was more for everyone. Not a pop at you. You are BOOP.

I am indeed. In all my potentially tipsy glory. I met another archers fan irl today and it was just incredible how we bonded. All the others tire were just “what?!”

we need a secret handshake or the like.

I've always assumed this is why the youth of Ambridge are kept in cupboards until they're old enough to be voiced by adults.

Yes, probably.

The thing about Henry is that he regularly sounds middle-aged. He is certainly more sensible and mature than his mother or his uncle!

Not difficult that.

I know being pregnant isn't an illness but I can't believe Helen has Kirsty decorating. Well actually I can believe she's asked. Mind you it's a wonder she hasn't got Tony up a ladder as well.

And you can bet she won't be offering to help Kirsty decorate the baby's room.

It's ridiculous she's so surprised that Henry doesn't want to share a room with Jack, why would Helen even entertain buying such a small house with 2 growing children anyway, she could easily afford a bigger one? Can't imagine making a 15 year old share if I could afford not to.

Are the houses on the Green different sizes? Helen's must be a 2 bed yet Tracy's had Bert, Brad, Chelsea, herself and Jazzer, so 4 bedrooms.

I think it is a 3 bed, they are just being slow sorting Jack's room out.