The Archers BBC Radio 4

Writer: Nick Warburton
Director: Julie Beckett
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Josh Archer…. Angus Imrie
Pip Archer…. Daisy Badger
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns…. James Cartwright
Alan Franks…. John Telfer
Ed Grundy….. Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O’Hanrahan
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Will Grundy…. Philip Malloy
Paul Mack…. Joshua Riley
Kirsty Miller…. Annabelle Dowler
Lily Pargetter…. Katie Redford
Stella Pryor…. Lucy Speed
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Oliver Sterling…. Michael Cochrane

Stella can’t get over yesterday’s cyber-attack – she should’ve been prepared, but Pip thinks Stella shouldn’t blame herself and anyway Stella may not have been responsible. When Stella starts catastrophising, Pip checks whether everything’s been saved on to the cloud and Stella confirms it has. So nothing’s been lost. Later they discover that it was Brian’s fault – he’d clicked on a link and let the virus in. Stella praises Pip for dealing with it all so calmly, when she’d fallen to pieces.
Lily and Josh check in with Paul about his relationship with Etienne. Paul’s very unhappy, particularly when Josh let’s slip that he thinks Etienne is dull and then Lily confirms it. They wonder if Paul might be better off without Etienne, especially as it sounds like he wants to cheat on Paul. Paul’s not sure if he wants to end the relationship yet, but he does want to take Lily and Josh out to thank them for being true mates.
The Grundys discuss what they should do about Bartleby – Meg needs to know whether they’re willing to sell him by the end of the day. But when they share what they think, they all have opposing views. Later they ask for Oliver’s help, and he suggests holding a secret ballot with family members who can text their votes to him. As there’s an even number of voters, Oliver will have the casting vote if there’s a draw. In the end Oliver declares that selling Bartleby has won by a single vote.

Stella asks for Pip’s opinion on a sustainability paper she’s writing for Borchester Land. Stella agrees when Pip suggests commissioning an ecological survey of all the BL land. But as Stella’s about to add that to her document, the computer starts to crash. Pip realises it’s a cyber-attack, telling Stella to shut it down immediately.
Kirsty catches up with Fallon to ask what she wants to do for her birthday next week. Fallon says truthfully she’d just like to spend it with Harrison. She’s missed being close with him. They’re interrupted by Alan who mentions that he’s on his way to see Harrison about the order of service. Fallon knows nothing about it and is upset when she realises it’s a service for the loss of unborn babies. Alan’s apologetic, realising Harrison didn’t tell Fallon, and makes a quick exit leaving upset Fallon to wonder how Harrison could do this to her.
Furious Fallon confronts Harrison about organising the service behind her back. He tries to explain that he and Alan were only looking at it as a possibility. He didn’t mention it because he wasn’t sure how Fallon would react. Fallon feels betrayed. Harrison has really tried but he can’t turn his feelings off. Harrison goes and Fallon tells Kirsty she’s changed her mind - she wants to go out and celebrate her birthday with Kirsty before next week.
Alan counsels Harrison, saying he needs to acknowledge his own grief. Perhaps instead of a service, Harrison and Alan could have a private time of prayer. But Harrison needs to tell Fallon this time.

Lily and Josh discuss Paul’s boyfriend Etienne, who’s asked for an open relationship. Paul’s really down about it. Josh thinks Paul would be better off without dull Etienne and they wonder what they can do to help. They decide that it’s best to keep their distance - Paul only has to ask if he needs any support.
Lilian visits Paul at the Vets to discuss Oliver’s horse Duke, who’s not showing any signs of improvement from his Strangles infection. Lilian notices Paul’s not himself and asks Josh what’s wrong. When Josh says it’s boyfriend trouble, Lilian points out that Paul’s lucky to have Lily and Josh as housemates to shore him up. Later Lily agrees with Josh that it would be better if they reached out to Paul.
George tells Emma that someone called Meg Mellor really took to Bartleby at the County Show on Sunday. He’s invited her over to see Bartleby in his home environment – there might be a commercial opportunity in it, like sponsorship for Bartleby or buying online advertising around George’s posts. She might even make a charitable donation which would help with vets fees. Emma’s surprised when she discovers Meg’s visiting today. When she arrives early, Emma learns that Meg wants to buy Bartleby. She runs a sanctuary for veteran horses, and she’d really like Bartleby to be a companion pony. Ed thinks they should tell Meg to sling her hook but is stopped in his tracks when he hears how much she’s willing to pay for Bartleby.

Lilian and Paul look over Oliver’s horse Duke, who’s struggling with Strangles. Lilian confides to Paul that she feels she hasn’t managed the situation at The Stables very well – she wouldn’t blame Oliver if he held her entirely responsible for this whole disaster. There’s no guarantee that Duke will survive this. Later when she visits Oliver, he’s understanding and apologises for being snappy last week. Lilian opens up saying she thinks she’s losing her grip by failing to control the spread of Strangles. Oliver knows exactly how she feels – he’s felt like that in the past with Grey Gables, but it turned out alright. With Roy away, Oliver feels that chaos could be one step away again. But we cope, he says! Lilian’s comforted and admits she thought Oliver would shout at her about Duke. She’s not a flimsy woman, but Oliver’s sympathy has made her feel tearful.
Lily and Josh sunbathe in the garden and chat about Paul’s messages from Denise who’s having a great time on holiday. Lily muses that now she’s finished her course for the summer and her placement at Grey Gables is coming to an end, it’s going to be the start of her hot girl summer. She’s going to a spin class at Grey Gables as part of her summer plans to get tanned, then toned. Paul turns up saying he’ll join her at the class as he needs a distraction. They have fun but afterwards Paul receives a text from boyfriend Etienne, wanting to open up their relationship. Paul worries that it might signal the end for him.

When Alan catches up with Harrison, he admits that although things are now good with Fallon, he can’t get away from a nagging feeling about the miscarriage. Alan advises talking to Fallon, but Harrison doesn’t want to rock the boat. When Alan suggests doing something practical, Harrison says he’s already applied for a baby loss certificate, to acknowledge it happened. Alan wonders whether he would also consider a Church of England service for the loss of unborn babies, but if so Harrison would need to share it with Fallon. Later Harrison tells Alan he’d like to do the service and Alan suggests calling round later in the week to talk to both Harrison and Fallon. Harrison’s not sure about putting Fallon in the picture, but he’ll definitely let Alan know if Fallon’s not going to be there.
Ed and Emma are at the Borsetshire County Show where Bartleby’s the star attraction in his VIP enclosure. George looks miserable though, but they agree that the recent hero worship may’ve affected him. Will arrives with the ‘Little Grange Tree Surgery’ flyers and business cards to distribute, and Ed gets a phone call. It’s a local tree surgeon needing emergency help to clear a tree from a road. Ed and Emma accept the job, leaving Will and George to do publicity work. Afterwards Ed and Emma are delighted - their business is up and running! Will’s less delighted at being left leafletting, but mentions a woman who was keen on Bartleby. But despite being a celebrity, Bartleby is costing them more that he’ll ever make.