The Archers

It’s the day of the village fête and a stressed Dane is struggling to enlist help with last minute tasks. Kenton’s pulled out of refereeing duties for the tug of war, and the Grey Gables team is looking patchy. Lynda boasts the Ambridge side has a full house. She extolls the virtues of mindfulness; good management starts with a calm mind.

Susan’s bottle stall starts slowly, though Neil assures her it will pick up as the day goes on...

Ruth’s having a great time doing the harvest despite despite finding the tractor seat uncomfortable. There’s still a big chunk left to do so after a break she and Stella get back to it. Stella continues filming on ‘combine cam’ and the two of them happily give a running commentary. However Stella’s stopped short by a hare leaping out in front of them. She’s reminded of her dog Weaver for a second. Ruth confesses she finds it hard n...

Susan confesses to Oliver that his magazine has been found at Ambridge View; Martha was about to snip bits out of it. All magazines will be stored at Greenacres from now on. Oliver’s concerned that Susan’s not comfortable visiting Grange Farm. Susan admits it feels awkward after all the business over Ivy’s engagement ring. It’s still on Neil’s mind. She’s not sure they’ll ever get to know Amber now. She comments that Ambridge View...

Emma and Will meet Amber at a café near to where she works, Will maintaining it’ll help them get to know her if she’s in her own environment. He suggests to Emma that they pay for some elements of the wedding; they could cut costs on a car or maybe the flowers. But when Amber arrives she assures them she has everything they mention covered. Instead perhaps they can contribute towards the venue? Will says they’d be delighted, and su...

Kate gives Kirsty the news that that Chris won’t require Rookery Cottage back after all, so Jakob can stay put. Kirsty asserts that’s absolutely fine with her. She’ll keep looking for a tenant. Later Kate laments there’s no sign Brian will change his mind about the harvest. He and Justin are as bad as each other. Kirsty counters that Justin’s capable of changing his mind in the blink of an eye – just take the beaver scheme for exam...

Kate informs Stella that Brian’s gone away with Miranda for the week. Stella didn’t know this, but acknowledged it was unlikely she’d have changed his mind about the stand he was taking against the harvest anyway.

Jakob takes a dim view of having to view Willow Farm as a rental option, but goes along with it. He presents what at first appears to be a negative impression, with Kate attempting valiantly to turn all his downsides into ...

Kate’s ears prick up when she finds out Kirsty’s on the hunt for a lodger. She thinks she may know just the person. She suggests Chris Carter might need to take back Rookery Cottage while he’s out of the flat, leaving Jakob without a home. She volunteers him for a look round Willow Farm, while admitting to a crestfallen Kirsty that he can be annoyingly fussy.

Brian’s determined to stick to his plan of refusing to harvest the BL whe...

During a break in the Board meeting Brian and Annabelle rail against Justin’s duplicity and Martyn’s apparent capitulation, intimating they might even contemplate resignation. But when Justin later suggests his opponents should resign, Brian hits the roof. Martyn offers the compromise of a feasibility report, then closes the meeting. Later at The Bull, Martyn claims this as a result, brushing off Brian and Annabelle’s accusations t...

On a prison visit George tells Brad he’s worried about Chelsea upsetting Amber. Brad says Chelsea feels awful and wants to put it right, but Amber won’t let her. Brad then persuades George to try and get Amber to accept Chelsea’s apologies. When George asks about Mia he can’t believe she told Brad on his birthday that she’s seeing someone else. Brad is embarrassed by how upset it’s made him. George’s attempts to console Brad fall o...

David finds Stella taking time out from stewing over Justin’s plans for the Estate land. Stella admits she feels the whole mess is at least partly her fault. Despite David’s reassurance that things won’t turn out as badly as she thinks, Stella’s not convinced. Stella then confides how hard she finds being a parent to Rosie. David tells Stella she can always talk to him and Ruth whenever she finds things are getting on top of her, e...

Mia turns up at Little Grange and asks Ed to teach her the basics of filming with George’s drone for a University project she’s doing. They tread carefully around the subject of Amber, hoping she’ll be good for George, before discovering that Ed accidentally shot footage of someone setting fire to the Bull’s sign last Friday – and they can read the perpetrator’s number plate.

At the Shop Joy tells Jolene they’ve got to move all the...

There are boxes everywhere as Joy and Susan reflect on how well sales have been going at the Shop since they restocked. Then Terry, the builder, arrives to inspect a spongy corner in the Shop flat, before he gives them the bad news: there’s dry rot in the floor above. If it’s spread into the joists it’ll mean Chris and Martha having to move out. Later, he shows Susan photographs: the rot is everywhere. It will take weeks to cut out...

Despite his relaxed appearance Akram confesses to David that he’s worried about the Ambridge versus Grey Gables team event Lynda’s asked him to come up with for the fete. Kirsty commiserates, before they all agree a tug of war would fit the bill nicely. Later, Akram tells Kirsty that Lynda loves the idea, so he’s started asking round for potential team members. But then Dane messages with a photo of the Grey Gables team he’s put to...

Mia collects Amber at the crack of dawn to watch the sun rise from the top of Lakey Hill. Amber happily films it, before they spot George’s drone being used by Ed to get footage for the tree surgery website. Amber and Mia share a moment talking about Mia’s mum, Nic, before Mia mentions how sorry Chelsea is for bullying Amber and how much she’s changed. Amber isn’t prepared to forgive Chelsea yet and moves the subject on to Brad, su...

When Neil and Tracy arrive at Number 6 they are unimpressed by the mess. Neil goes to fetch Jazzer, while Susan is shocked to discover Martyn under a blanket. As Martyn goes to get dressed, happy memories of last night start coming back. At Berrow, hungover Jazzer tests Neil’s patience, but Martyn is in a forgiving mood, hinting heavily at what he and Marlene did last night. Meanwhile, having helped clear up, Susan chastises Tracy ...

Jolene arrives at Tracy’s party ready to make cocktails, only to see Tracy disappear in a taxi. Jazzer, who genuinely thought Tracy was joking about not coming to the party, doesn’t know how he’ll cope once her mates start turning up.

Pip and Toby, on a rare night out together, are amazed to see Martyn outside Tracy’s. Inside, Jazzer tells people Tracy’s popped upstairs, while Jolene keeps everyone lubricated. But when Jolene tells ...

Brad waits with Chelsea at the Tearoom to talk to Amber about wedding venues. But when Amber turns up she doesn’t come inside. Amber then explains to Brad outside that Chelsea bullied her at school. Bullying and how to deal with it is a huge part of Amber’s online content. When Mia walks up awkward Brad introduces her to Amber. Amber hugs Mia, before pointing out that Brad and Mia used to be an item. Brad excuses himself to go to a...

Despite Dane having organised an International Gala in Las Vegas Lynda remains to be convinced Dane has what it takes to help with the Summer Fete. Akram however is impressed that almost every item on Lynda’s To-Do list has been ticked off by Dane, who also offers to help book the elusive Hollerton Silver Band. Dane envisions the traditional English fete he has in mind, with Grey Gables’ sponsorship covering costs for rides like a ...

At The Bull Tracy and Jolene agree that George overstepped the mark asking for Ivy’s ring to give to Amber. Kenton wants to send Mick home from his unpaid duties as security guard, worried they’re overreacting to what happened with their cat Tortoise. But Tracy and Jolene reckon they should continue taking precautions. Kenton and Jolene look forward to providing cocktails for Tracy’s party on Wednesday, though Tracy insists she’s s...