The Archers BBC Radio 4

There’s a race against time in Ambridge, and one resident faces a nightmare situation.

Brian’s words cut deep, and someone makes a terrible mistake with earth-shattering consequences.

Writer: Caroline Jester
Director: Rosemary Watts and Pip Swallow
Brian Aldridge…. Charles Collingwood
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy
Miranda Elliott…. Lucy Fleming
Jakob Hakansson…. Paul Venables
Chelsea Horrobin…. Madeleine Leslay
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd…. John Rowe
Kate Madikane…. Perdita Avery
Dr Azra Malik…. Yasmin Wilde
Denise Metcalf…. Clare Perkins
Lynda Snell…. Carole Boyd
Robert Snell…. Michael Bertenshaw
Mick…. Martin Barrass

Eddie is in good mood. He has borrowed the fortune telling booth from the Ambridge fete. He is giving it a coat of paint and tells Will he is working on the next stage of The Bartleby Experience. He plans to charge people for a special message from Bartleby. Will is concerned how George will react. Later George turns up and tells Eddie he wants the sign he has put up removed. When Eddie tells him about the booth, George says they are wrecking a social media sensation. He storms off, shouting that the sign and the booth must go. Later, as George threatens to take a hammer to the booth, Eddie tells him visitors paid £30 a time for messages from Bartleby. Will plays peacemaker, insisting that Eddie must split the cash and that George must use his share of the windfall to do something good - like taking his mother out for a meal.
Alice bumps into Jakob at the shop while he’s buying ingredients for a meal Kate is cooking this evening for Miranda and Brian. He’s not looking forward to it and persuades Alice to come along. That evening, Alice promises not to interrogate Miranda like Kate did. Brian jokes there could be knock at the door at any moment, and another member of the Aldridge clan turn on the doorstep. The meal is a success and they press gang Miranda into their pub quiz team for tomorrow night at The Bull.

Denise is teasing Alistair about his dancing and as they work they get distracted talking about what might have happened in the church hall if they hadn’t been disturbed by Joy and Azra. Far from being uncomfortable, Denise thinks they should just choose a better time and place. They chat about Bartleby – Jakob is considering having a word with the Grundys because all the extra attention can’t be doing Bartleby any good. Alistair asks Denise if she has plans for this evening – he has Greenacres to himself. Denise is keen, she just needs an excuse to tell John. Later after a takeaway meal, and tucking into a second bottle of Jim’s fine wine, Alistair suggests they move somewhere more comfortable. But Denise doesn’t think Jim’s house has the right vibe and proposes they book a hotel room where they can really relax. Alistair misunderstands, saying they should call a taxi because he’s had too much to drink. But Denise explains she means they should make a booking at the weekend - John is away on Sunday night.
Jakob is checking on a horse at the stables when Alice suggests that maybe he doesn’t need to check on her sobriety every day. Jakob says he’s not happy keeping her lapse from Kate but Alice tells him to stop worrying and she lies about having checked in with her detox buddy, Lisa. Alice offers to make Jakob a cup of coffee and, when he asks what Lisa thinks about her having a drink, she gets uncomfortable and has to spin ever more elaborate tales.

Alistair is clipping Monty’s claws as he and Robert agree what an asset Denise is to the vet’s practice. They chat about Sunday’s cricket win over Darrington and Linda’s worry that she might not get enough volunteers to prepare the teas for the T20 match during May Bank Holiday weekend. Jim arrives with Alistair’s forgotten packed lunch. They agree to meet for a drink later at The Bull. Robert remarks how happy Alistair seems these days and says he might adopt a similar approach to working with Lynda. Instead of getting annoyed, he’s going to focus on him and Lynda being a team. Later at The Bull, Jim offers to help Robert with his ancient mystery puzzle and they agree to make a night of it. Alistair joins them and, while Robert is at the bar, Jim says he will be spending the night at Ambridge Hall and Alistair should take the opportunity to spend some time alone with Denise.
George is not happy about Eddie’s sign advertising Bartleby The Talking Horse. Eddie thinks they’re on to a financial winner if they charge people to visit and take pictures with the pony. Linda arrives for a chat - with Bartleby (the cause celebre) – prompting an indignant protest from George that Bartleby talks about people, not to them. They risk damaging his brand. Eddie sharply points to George that were it not for his idea there would be no brand. George sulkily posts Bartleby and Linda’s gossipy video about a dancing vet but soon changes his tune when it starts racking up thousands of views.