The Archers

Feelings stir for Paul, and the Harvest Festival ends in chaos.

Jim tells Alan how much he’s enjoyed engaging in religious debate with the Shop’s customers, now they’ve relocated to St Stephens. Alan gets a message asking him to be a judge at the Flower & Produce re-run, before Jim asks why Alan became a vicar. Alan hasn’t time to talk to Jim about it now but is happy to another time. Later, under questioning from Jim, Lilian admits she doesn’t believe in God but is happy for others to follow their own path, so long as they don’t hurt anyone. On the Green, Alan tells Lilian how snowed under he is with work. He mentions several parishioners asking more theological questions of him than he’s used to, making him wonder if he’s doing a good job. Lilian assumes the speculative queries are down to Jim’s influence and Alan reckons he’s got enough on without this!Preparing to go in the water Ed tells Fallon she can still change her mind, but Fallon’s determined to do the full challenge: fifty lengths of the marked-out course. Once they’re swimming though it’s Ed who struggles to keep up, after pushing himself too hard to begin with. When he has to stop Fallon whistles for assistance, before continuing on alone. After Fallon finishes Ed apologises for not being there for her, though she insists he was. Fallon then admits it was difficult at times, with so many difficult feelings filling her head. But she kept going and thinks Ash would be really pleased they all turned up for him – even Jazzer with his paddleboard and flippers!

When Jazzer turns up with paddleboard, flippers and extra luggage, for his trip to the Lake District with Ed and Fallon, he’s forced to squeeze into the back of the car with everything next to him. Fallon will watch while the others swim, or paddle to commemorate their friend, Ash. Later, Ed and Jazzer reminisce about the high-jinks they got up to in their teens, before Fallon mentions Jazzer nearly dying from an overdose. Jazzer reckons Dross cleaning up their act was the making of them in the end. They mull over what getting older actually means, before Fallon decides she won’t let her fears get the better of her. She’s going to do the swim tomorrow too.Lily apologises to Azra for what happened at the Flower & Produce Show, then asks if she’ll be a judge at the re-run next Sunday. Azra agrees, telling Lily not to be so hard on herself over what went wrong at the Show and the cricket furore. However, Lily feels life is passing her by, confessing that she doesn’t see Grey Gables as a long-term destination. She likes the people there, but communication between different departments is a big problem. Azra thinks it’s similar in hospitals, suggesting that if people could do a job-swap it would help them understand everybody’s roles, however it’s too impractical. Lily thinks a job-swap could work at Grey Gables though and will suggest it to Dane. But in the meantime, Azra suggests, Lily needs to think about what more she actually wants from her life.

Justin’s confident he can override any dissent when the results of the feasibility study are discussed at this afternoon’s BL Board meeting, while Lilian joins Alice in looking forward to Martha’s first school Harvest Festival service on Thursday. Before the meeting Brian assures Justin the fight isn’t over, no matter what the feasibility study says. Martyn tries to smooth things over but mentions a rumour that Justin could be looking to buy land elsewhere. Justin admits he’s considering his options, including selling his BL shares, if necessary. Later, Brian and Martyn discuss Justin’s shock announcement, agreeing it would be disastrous if he sold up. Neither of them could afford to buy the shares and fear the potential consequences of an outsider buying into BL. Later, Justin admits to Lilian he hadn’t planned on dropping his bombshell today. Lilian tells him he’ll be going to Martha’s Harvest Festival. Ruairi has gone to The Nest for tea with Alice and Martha. He might have come back to Ambridge to help Brian, but he’s delighted to catch up with them too. They chat about Martha settling in well at school, to Alice’s great relief. They agree Alice is coping well with her alcohol addiction, but Ruairi wants to continue calling her every week. He’s less worried about her now than when she stayed with him in London though, remembering how he once found her unconscious. Alice is mortified by his recollection and Ruairi apologises for upsetting her. But Alice knows she wouldn’t be where she is now without her family’s support and hugs Ruairi.

Lily has been deputed to look after celebrity guest judge, Charlotte Smith, at the Flower & Produce Show at Grey Gables, while Paul is there for a wedding. Azra turns up with the cheesecake she’s entering, before Charlotte arrives with fellow judge, Fallon. Charlotte thinks she’d better avoid fraternising with contestant Azra, though. Azra and Ben assess various entries in the cake section, also admiring the giant vegetables on display, before people start entering the marquee. Later, Lily finds Paul taking a break from the wedding reception, where he barely knows anyone. Lily’s suspicions are aroused when Paul offers to get her some food from the wedding – she knows they haven’t started serving yet. Ben then announces some of the wedding guests have helped themselves to entries for the Flower & Produce Show, assuming they were part of the wedding buffet. Disaster! Lily rushes off to shoo wedding guests away, then explains the mix-up to bemused Fallon, offering fulsome apologies to Charlotte. They decide to judge those entries that haven’t been eaten or purloined, but it’s too late for Azra’s cheesecake. Charlotte consoles Azra that her cheesecake should be considered the unofficial winner as it’s the only entry that’s been consumed entirely. Plans are made to rearrange the Show for next week, but Charlotte can’t make it and Azra doesn’t think she’ll bother entering again. Stressed out Lily tells Ben and Paul about the rescheduling compromise. After owning up to the cricketing subterfuge Lily fears this fiasco might be the final nail in her coffin as far as locals are concerned.

Amber acknowledges it upset her when Brad questioned her about getting her teeth done, but he’s right. She’s a fraud. The teeth are all part of a fake picture she portrays. Brad reckons she doesn’t have to pretend; she can just be who she is. Amber worries George might not like the real her once he’s released and sees her without make up. Brad assures her George is completely in love and a much better person for meeting her. This makes Amber cry again. She thanks Brad for helping her see things clearly. She’s going to ditch the veneers, they belong to the fake Amber. She can put the money she saves towards George’s party. Tom guesses that the meeting Lily’s called is about the cricket payments and quizzes Freddie, who ducks the questions. When Lily arrives she comes clean to the room that paying players was her idea, not Lynda’s. Tom accuses her of treating the team like dirt. Lily protests she thought it would be a way of building a stronger team. Lynda chips in that whilst it was the wrong thing to do, Lily’s trying to apologise and put right that wrong. Tom maintains the team’s divided and has been lied to. Freddie promises Lynda he’ll keep an eye on Lily. Lily tells them she’s resigned as director of cricket. Later Lily admits to Freddie that all her mistakes are making her feel aimless. Freddie tries to point out the positives, just as Lily gets a message from Tom – the team are never playing for Ambridge again.

Stella and Ben explain to Pip that whilst Rosie wasn’t at fault yesterday, both Rosie and Cleo need to learn how to react with each other in a challenging situation. Pip is persuaded that Cleo’s trainable, and agrees she can stay on the condition that if the dog shows any aggression Rosie and Pip won’t come to Stella’s any more. Azra’s hoping to meet Charlotte Smith at the Flower and Produce on Sunday and wants to make sure she can engage her in intelligent conversation. She seeks Stella’s advice on farming talk, declaring her starting point is to ask Charlotte what her favourite cow is. Stella suggests not talking shop, recommending instead that Azra chats about ordinary things.Ruairi feels like he’s being fobbed off at Home Farm. Adam insists he’s coping fine on his own but Ruairi can see he’s stressed. Adam maintains he has Ruairi’s interests at heart – anyone can see his life’s in London. Ruairi’s not so sure. He’s not getting a lot from his graduate scheme and he’s fed up of trying to prove himself. He feels useless. Adam reminds him how caring he is and suggests he gives himself a reset to work out what he really wants. They agree that after Brian’s recent mistakes it’s time he considered retirement. Ruairi offers to talk to him. If Brian won’t go, they’ll need a farm manager unless they can persuade Stella back. They need some of these plans to work, otherwise the next storm might see Home Farm blown away.

Lynda tries to steer Lily off the topic of the cricket payments and toward the Flower and Produce Show, but after a cursory agreement that Dane’s idea of a Medieval theme is thoroughly naff, Lily swings the conversation back. Why did Lynda do it? People are blaming her and whilst she’s taking responsibility, it wasn’t her idea, it was Lily’s. Lynda explains her hand was forced by Lawrence. Making it public sooner would have been the more honest thing to do. Lily maintains they should now share the blame, but Lynda doesn’t want Lily’s reputation tarnished. Her own has weathered greater storms than this.Brad feels he might have upset Amber, and asks Lily’s advice. Lily suggests he simply ask her. Brad thanks her for the advice. He wonders what’s happening with the cricket situation. He thinks it’s weird and not like Lynda to do something dodgy. Guilt-ridden Lily explains it’s more complicated than people think, and it’s not fair to blame Lynda entirely. Later Lily admits to Lynda that she’s told Brad the truth of the matter, and also sent a message around the team asking them to meet on Friday.Stella’s brought Cleo the dog home. Ben observes she’s settling well. Stella’s concerned about Rosie, who doesn’t always do as she’s told, but realises she has to be given a chance. All goes well until Cleo gets hold of Rosie’s favourite giraffe toy. Pip admits it wasn’t Cleo’s fault, but it’s made Rosie more nervous of the dog. She and Stella need to chat about what happens next.

Dane’s feeling like the Flower and Produce Show is currently just carrots in a tent. It could do with some Grey Gables sizzle, and Lily is the one to provide it. Horrified Lily points out it’s this Sunday so there’s little time. There’s also a wedding on that day so options are limited. Dane’s favouring a Medieval theme; he’s made a start and wants Lily to get thinking. Lily gets a call from Fallon, who’s miffed about the cricket payments scandal. Lily promises to sponsor Fallon’s memorial swim for Ash. She shares her angst over the Flower and Produce task she’s been given. Fallon stresses the importance of the show to the village. She urges Lily not to jazz it up too much. Lily suggests some initiatives to Dane, who thinks they’re all brilliant. If Lily oversees the show, he’ll take care of the wedding. Lily catches up with Azra who’s heading for the spa, and asks if she’d like to be a judge. Azra isn’t keen at first and refuses – until Lily mentions Charlotte Smith might be the other judge, at which point Azra’s right on board. She’s a big fan. However she’s disappointed to find Dane has appointed Fallon as second judge to be with Charlotte. Lily apologises for letting Azra down, and Azra tries to be big about it. She’s pleased for Fallon; it’ll be a tonic for her after the disappointment of the cricket. Azra knows Fallon feels Lynda’s betrayed Harrison’s legacy as former team captain. That really is letting people down. Doesn’t Lily agree?

Stella has news: she’s submitted the application form for the job David told her about, and rehoming adoption advisor has found her a match with a dog. They’re happy with Stella’s potential new job circumstances so it looks like it’s all systems go. She’s made an appointment at the rehoming centre; Rosie can go with them. Pip’s not sure – what if the dog’s not suitable and Rosie falls in love with it? However Stella thinks Rosie’s a valuable member of the interview panel. After meeting the dog Stella and Pip agree they like her. And with Rosie clearly loving her too it seems like job done. But Pip still has reservations. This was just one short visit; the dog is still an unknown quantity. Stella sees the sense in being cautious, but is confident Cleopatra can be trained. They’ll see how it goes; nothing needs to be decided yet.Stressed Adam’s rushing to get Xander ready for school and snaps at Ben, who’s arrived to offer to give Xander a lift. Apologetic Adam gratefully accepts. Ben thinks Adam needs to find time to switch off. Adam takes him at his word and later goes for a walk. He feels guilty that Home Farm paperwork’s piling up. The farm’s in a bad way financially. Ben sympathises. To their surprise Ruairi arrives from London, with an offer of help. Adam insists Kate’s exaggerated the difficulties, but Ben reckons Adam should think again. Adam admits reluctantly that there’s truth in what Kate’s told Ruairi, and he’d be grateful for his help.

Brad and Amber head home from the cricket. Amber admits to being bored. Even when Brad enthuses over the winning highlights she eyerolls that life’s too short. She updates Brad on being thrown out of Spiritual Home. Brad suggests Kate might be someone who finds it hard to forgive and forget – she’ll definitely be off George’s welcome home party list then. Amber suggests a big bash at the village hall. Brad favours Grange Farm, where Amber will have more control.[Amber resolves to ask Eddie. Her phone pings with followers incessantly, and Brad challenges her to turn it off. He points out the full moon, but she’s not looking. Exasperated, he asks her if she can’t do something else. Amber defends her influencer status. She wasn’t clever enough or pretty enough at school, and this is something she’s good at. And she’ll get even better once she’s had her teeth done. Brad wants to know she’s doing this for herself and not because someone online says so. Amber starts to cry and runs off.The Ambridge team celebrate their win despite certain relegation. The mood’s darkened by the arrival of Lawrence. Lynda insists she’s standing by Zainab and the complaint, meeting Lawrence’s menacing threats with an announcement to the pub crowd. She encourages Lawrence to bring up the subject of team payments. Lynda admits they have paid players, and apologises. Lily’s horrified Lynda’s taking the blame, but Freddie reckons they should quietly leave. Tom and Adam reckon this is divisive, setting friend against friend. They need to take action.

Oliver raises the delicate topic of Susan and Neil with Amber. Amber maintains she finds the idea of apologising to them too difficult after everything that’s happened. They let George down and it’s them who should be apologising. And Neil taking the ring away has really hurt her. She heads off to a massage appointment with Kate. When she explains she’s an influencer Kate jokes she hopes Amber won’t give her a terrible review. She suggests they could talk about a collaboration. Amber declares she’d love that; Spiritual Home has a really nice vibe. As the treatment begins Amber chats happily about her upcoming wedding, naming her fiancé as George. Shocked Kate puts two and two together and realises who Amber is. When Kate explains she’s Alice’s sister, Amber suggests Alice needs to take some responsibility for George’s plight – in fact it could even be her fault George is in prison. Kate needs to accept there’s fault on both sides. Given Alice’s history, George was just the scapegoat. Incandescent Kate throws Amber out.Zainab starts to update Lynda on the drink incident yesterday, becoming distressed in the process. Lynda calms her, before Oliver interrupts to speak to Zainab. He explains they’ve had a complaint from a guest who witnessed what happened at the Tearoom. Zainab fears the worst, but Oliver’s on her side – Lawrence is a piece of work and deserved what she did. Later Lynda tells Zainab she showed admirable restraint. She intends to speak to Lawrence and resolve this ridiculous situation once and for all.

As Stella rolls up her sleeves for another day at Brookfield, David mentions a job he’s seen advertised that might be a good fit for her. Stella admits she saw it but dismissed it as too much of an executive role. She’s more farm than strategy. David argues she has all the experience and ideas they need – she should apply. She has nothing to lose. Stella agrees to give it some thought. Later grateful Pip thanks her dad for talking Stella round – she’s filling in the application right now. Pip loves how her parents have accepted Stella into the family and are open to her ideas.Against her better judgement Chelsea’s returned to the golf club with keen Zainab. She’s worried that Lynda’s sent the email about Lawrence – what if they see him? Zainab reassures her; there’s nothing they can do about it anyway. Martyn arrives and sense something’s wrong, so they explain about the blackmail threat. He offers to meet them later to discuss it further. Chelsea unwittingly divulges to Martyn that Justin’s buying more land. Over lunch Martyn admits to finding Lawrence’s behaviour bizarre. Right on cue Lawrence appears. He protests that Chelsea and Zainab are turning Ambridge against him, and Martyn’s accusation of harassment just proves how he’s also been taken in by them. After unacceptable insult towards Zainab, Martyn demands Lawrence apologises, but Lawrence compounds the situation and Zainab throws her drink over him in response. She instantly regrets it but Chelsea and Martyn think she was brave. Zainab just feels she’s made it all worse.

Bored Stella gets stuck into the Brookfield milking with Pip. Later she suggests an overseeding scheme for the pasture. David’s non-committal, telling Ruth later that he didn’t want to shoot Stella down at the time because Pip was clearly hanging on her every word adoringly – but some of her suggestions weren’t appropriate for Brookfield. Ruth agrees they don’t really need any extra voices when it comes to the farm. David reckons Stella’s bound to get a job soon; she needs to earn a living. He admits it would annoy him if she was hanging around Brookfield all the time.Chelsea’s alarmed to hear from Lilian that Lynda’s being blackmailed by Lawrence. She doesn’t want Lynda to send the email to the Golf Association now, and she’s never going back to the golf club. Lilian points out that’s just what Lawrence wants, but Chelsea’s fine with that if it means he’ll leave Lynda alone. Lilian’s distracted by a message from Justin saying he wants to buy more land.Amber tells Chelsea she thinks Emma over-reacted about George’s help with locating Markie. George can take care of himself – it’s one of the things she loves about him. Chelsea invites Amber to her birthday celebration next week, but when Amber hears some old school friends will be there, she declines. Instead she takes Chelsea for a drink at the Bull. Chelsea questions Amber’s decision to have her teeth done, but Amber defends it. She wants to do it for herself, and her brand. If she’s fine with it, Chelsea should be too.

Lilian confides to Lynda that the current tension between Justin and Brian is making her feel uncomfortable and embarrassed; sometimes Justin seems to forget that she and Brian are related by marriage. Lynda in turn has an awkward situation of her own. Lawrence’s threat to expose her over the cricket payments is troubling her. She doesn’t want to give in to blackmail, but she’s hesitant to report his behaviour to the Golf Association. She preferred it when she had the moral high ground. Lilian counters she still has this, over a racist misogynist like Lawrence. Brian makes the radical suggestion to Adam of selling the no till seed drill; they don’t have the contracts to justify owning it. Adam thinks this is shortsighted panic thinking. Later as Kate clears some of her things in readiness for moving out, she and Brian admit they’ll miss one another. Kate observes that Brian looks stressed. He confesses he’s unable to see an obvious solution to the farm’s current economic situation. He can’t fault Adam, who’s being fantastic and patient with him – it’s Justin who’s to blame. Kate tells Adam she wishes she could help. He and Brian clearly need more support. Adam notes that farming isn’t really Kate’s thing, and there’s no-one else to ask, so they haven’t got much choice.

Brian suggests they skip servicing the maize harvester this year to save money. Adam sees it as a false economy – if it breaks down it will be costly to repair. Brian maintains he currently has the final say in Home Farm business. Adam concedes the point. Later he tells Tom he’s made a decision; rather than keep messing Bridge Farm around he’d like to hand in his notice. Tom understands – Adam’s been biding his time and now he has another shot at the running of Home Farm he should take it. Adam protests he’s loved working at Bridge Farm, but they agree it’s time for him to move on. Brian’s on the cusp of advertising for another farm manager when Adam updates him with the news. He loves Home Farm; it’s where his heart is. Brian thinks this is brilliant.Lawrence compliments Tom on his game yesterday. He asks how much he gets paid for playing. Tom assures him he doesn’t get paid and neither does anyone else. It would be against the ethos of the team. As Chelsea serves Lawrence his lunch, he insists he’s tried to apologise to her and Zainab for his recent comments. He hints that if the complaint to the golf association goes ahead he might be forced to take action. Rattled Chelsea reports this to Lynda, who tells her not to worry. Lawrence presses Rex on a decision about payment, and Rex declines. Lawrence announces to Lynda that he knows her secret, and if she reports his comments he’ll tell the whole Ambridge team.

Tom breaks the news to Lynda that Henry can’t play cricket today. He’s struggling with the fact that the Borchester Fourths player he accidentally injured last week has two broken fingers. Adam too is unavailable. Lynda appeals to Adam – they currently don’t have a full team. But Adam’s busy at Home Farm and can’t be moved. With Chris out for six Lynda’s in despair, until she spots Adam, who’s relented and turns up to play after all. Lynda’s cheered; she loves this team. Tom promises if Adam can score fifty he’ll get him released to work at Home Farm again tomorrow. However despite a decent fight, Ambridge still lose. Rex has Lawrence in his taxi, who introduces himself before engaging Rex in cricket conversation. Rex admits he misses playing. Lawrence offers to pay him to play for Roserran-in-the-Vale. This is something they could offer that Ambridge doesn’t, isn’t it? Rex declines to comment. Later Lawrence taunts Lynda, alluding to the interesting conversation he’s had with Rex. He asks unnerved Lynda why she didn’t just offer Rex a fee to keep him. Lynda brushes him off and turns her attention back to the match at hand. Undeterred, Lawrence commiserates with her over Ambridge’s loss. Lynda asserts the team are in it for the love of the game. When he questions her coldness, she calls him out for his recent treatment of Chelsea. He dismisses it all as snowflakery. Even when Lynda declares she’s contacting Borsetshire Golf Association Lawrence insists he just doesn’t understand. And that, retorts Lynda, is the problem.

Fallon seeks Emma out at the Tearoom to let her know that Markie and his accomplice have been arrested. When Emma asks whether the police said it was because of George, Fallon admits that they’d had a tip off about Markie’s location. But Fallon reckons Emma can stop worrying now they’ve been arrested. Incredulous Emma points out that Markie and his accomplice are in prison and that’s where George is too. And there’s nothing anyone can do to help the situation. Fallon apologises and shares that Kenton was moved by his phone conversation with George. It sounds like George has done some growing up.Pat’s surprised that it’s mid-afternoon and Adam hasn’t been called back to help out at Home Farm yet. When Adam wonders why nothing seems to be happening with the Peggy holiday plan, Pat reckons it’s because no-one can agree about where to go. Adam’s phone rings and Pat knows it’s Brian even when Adam denies it. Pat warns Adam that he’d better not head over to Home Farm – she’s really fed up with the situation. Later Pat tells Adam that Tom saw Stella in the pub last night. She mentioned Brian’s letter and found it bizarre when she’s already made it clear to Brian that she never wants to go back to work at Home Farm. When Adam lets slip that Brian’s at the Tearoom now angry Pat storms over there to ask what he’s playing at. Adam now works for Bridge Farm – so Brian needs to let him get on with his job.

Lynda and Robert are in Ambridge Hall garden where they share how much they hate being at odds with one another; they’re each other’s favourite person. Chelsea turns up to do Lynda’s hair and tells her all about the run in she and Zainab had with Lawrence at the Golf Club last week. Lynda points out he was really awful with Khalil a few months ago and describes him as a misogynist and a racist. Robert offers to go and talk to Lawrence to help Chelsea and Zainab, but Lynda has another idea. She’s going to get in touch with the Borsetshire Golf Association. The police have checked in with Kenton and advised him to continue being vigilant while they’re still looking for the perpetrators. They have so much evidence now that he and Jolene probably won’t need to testify, if and when it goes to court.Later, angry Emma turns up at The Bull. Amber’s told her about George’s offer to help catch the person who’s been harassing Kenton and Jolene. She can’t believe it’s true and that they’re throwing George to the wolves. Kenton tries to calm her down saying that the offer came from George who’s trying to make amends. It could be a good thing for George. Jolene appears wondering what all the noise is about. She admits they didn’t really think about running it by Emma first, they just wanted Markie to be caught. But Emma counters that they’ve put George up against a man who intimidated them. How will George be safe now?

Adam helps Brian out at the Home Farm office. He tells Brian that he’s just been in touch with some people about potential contracts for autumn drilling, so they might hear something positive back soon. When Adam says he needs to head back to Bridge Farm, Brian lists all the things that need doing that Stella was across and Adam feels compelled to stay a little longer. They’re interrupted by Pat ringing wondering where Adam is. He’s supposed to be in the Dairy with Susan. Pat gives Adam ten minutes to get there. Later Brian admits to Adam that he’s written Stella a heartfelt letter of apology. She should receive it by post tomorrow.Jolene wonders whether George offering to help track down Markie is a trap. What if George is being blackmailed? But Kenton reckons they should trust George and anyway it’s too good an offer to miss. When George rings he wants to ask Kenton something first – does Fallon still hate him, because he feels haunted by the whole thing. Kenton thinks Fallon doesn’t hate him, but obviously George isn’t her favourite person. George then explains how one of the inmate’s dads hates Markie and would love to see him and any accomplices banged up. Kenton shares what he remembers, and George promises to do what he can. Afterwards Jolene wonders if George might be at risk by getting involved. But Kenton thinks the main things is if George succeeds in helping to track down Markie and his accomplice.