The Archers

BBC Radio 4

3.9 (7.9K)
DRAMA
UPDATED DAILY

Contemporary drama in a rural setting.

19 HR AGO

23/04/2025

There’s a thaw between Joy and Rochelle as they make the baked cauliflower postponed from last night. Joy suggests tentatively that she has some money set aside to help Rochelle get her own place. Wrongfooted Rochelle’s unsure. Joy presses on. It would be somewhere to bring the kids and have friends – like the one she met in the café the other day. Rochelle won’t be drawn. Instead she accuses her mum of wanting to reinvent her from head to toe. Rochelle feels judged. Joy insists she’s just trying to improve Rochelle’s lot – she’s not always thinking the worst of her. She knows Rochelle likes Ambridge, and just wants to help her stay around. Rochelle insists that’s not going to happen any time soon. She knows Joy and Mick want their space, and besides she’ll soon be back with her own family. Helen’s taken delivery of Tom and Natasha’s new sofas. Henry agrees to polish the hall floor. However he overdoes it and Natasha and Tom slip and slide. They see the funny side but it’s not the welcome Helen wanted to give them. Natasha accepts Helen’s gift of a vase, before declaring the sofas are in the wrong place. Helen apologises but Natasha backtracks – she’s grateful Helen was around when they arrived. Later Natasha wonders to Tom if she was a bit rude. This was after all Helen’s domain, so it must be a bit strange for her. She wonders if it’s too late to get out of the living arrangements. Tom confirms it is. Onwards and upwards.

13 min
1 DAY AGO

22/04/2025

Joy calls in to see Helen at the Beechwood house and helps with finishing off the packing and cleaning. Joy declares she’ll miss Helen even though she and the boys will be around a while longer. Helen assures her they’ll still visit one another. She presents Joy with an attractive gift, which Joy loves. She invites Helen to dinner; Rochelle’s cooking. Helen mentions her sighting of Rochelle with a friend at the cafe yesterday, but her description doesn’t ring a bell with Joy. Under mounting pressure from Saskia, Rochelle tries again with Freddie to request some training in an area of work that would increase her access permissions. It’s another no from Freddie, but as consolation he offers for her to join him on the Academy tour on Thursday. Rochelle tells Saskia later that this is real progress; she’s getting closer and Freddie’s definitely clocked she really wants to shadow more of what goes on. Saskia’s pleased but wants Rochelle to talk her through the layout of the building tonight. You never know how soon the opportunity to act will arise – they need to be ready. She appreciates Rochelle’s tricky position staying at her mum’s, but she needs to stay focussed on what they’re doing and why. Rochelle assures Saskia she’s in. She informs crestfallen Joy she can’t make dinner after all – but they have the ingredients so they can do it themselves. Joy doesn’t fancy it. Helen’s understanding; they can go to the Bull. When Joy insists on making her something, Helen requests Joy’s excellent fishfinger sandwiches.

13 min
2 DAYS AGO

21/04/2025

Freddie’s keen to meet with Lily, but not so much when she wants to talk about how to keep spirits up on the cricket team. He wants to get out of his head, but can’t shake the concern of the camera being planted at work. Vince is too distracted to think about it and besides, he doesn’t seem to be taking it very seriously. Freddie’s stuck his neck out and asked the staff if they know anything but they’ve all played innocent – and he doesn’t want to appear as if he’s accusing them and risk the Academy visit next week. Every time he feels like he makes progress at work, something like this puts him back to square one. Lily reassures him. Vince clearly respects him. Freddie resolves to keep everything peeled. If something’s going on, he needs to know. Rochelle meets up with Saskia, who’s keen to ascertain that Rochelle hasn’t raised any suspicions with her mum as to why she’s staying with her. She makes it clear that once they’re done, Rochelle might need to burn her bridges. Rochelle assures her neither her mum nor the village have a hold on her. She’s committed to the cause. She really wants to get home – back to Saskia and the others. Saskia presses her for access to the abattoir – that’s Rochelle’s part of the task. Rochelle says it might take time. Helen spots them and says hello, which worries Rochelle. Saskia reckons Helen will forget all about it. Right now Rochelle needs to focus on getting them into the abattoir.

13 min
3 DAYS AGO

20/04/2025

Zainab and Chelsea are admiring the new-born kids. Zainab’s happy to follow instruction and not get too close, while Chelsea would love to be more hands on. Helen tells her she’s welcome to pop in any time and maybe help when the kids are older. Satisfied with this, Chelsea heads off to the morris dancing event. Zainab shares her plan to recreate her parents’ wedding photos, and asks Chelsea if she’d get Azra to model for her business as an excuse to get her dressed in her wedding outfit. Chelsea agrees to do some research. In return she wants Zainab to come to the morris dancing experience with her. Helen breaks the news to Pat that she’s moving in with Tom and Natasha for a while. She doesn’t want to get so comfortable at the farm that she never looks seriously for her own place. Kenton and Jolene are pleased with the turnout for the morris dancing. Jolene’s provided a flower decked hat for Jazzer to wear in his role as leader. He’s horrified – bells on his ankles are bad enough. He insists no self-respecting Scot would do this. Jolene reminds him he’s English. Later the day’s going well though Jazzer reckons he’s getting a few funny looks. Kenton assures him no-one’s said a word about his cultural roots, so Jazzer races off to change into a kilt. He comes back just in time to relieve exhausted Kenton, who observes the kilt’s certainly got everyone’s attention. Happy Jazzer returns to his work, and the music starts up once again.

13 min
5 DAYS AGO

18/04/2025

Kenton’s struggling to make the morris dancing steps stick despite Jazzer’s coaching. Jolene’s impatient. Kenton insists it’s just the final fine points he’s wrestling with. Jolene gives him one more hour. They have a pub to run and the bar’s busy. When he adds sticks to the routine she’s horrified; someone will get injured. Reluctantly Kenton agrees to keep it just to the dancing. Later Kenton concedes defeat – he’s never going to get it in time. Jazzer will just have to take over as instructor. Jazzer starts to refuse until Kenton offers to throw drinks in to the deal as well as food – only Jazzer can’t tell Jolene. Emma and Pat reveal to Tom that the storm tank plans Emma showed Martyn Gibson were fictitious, cleverly doctored by Brad. Emma adds that she inferred Feargal Sharkey was on their team and the news would go national. Amused Tom’s happy to help with today’s publicity stunt, two excavators and a banner positioned outside the offices of Borsetshire Water. They look impressive. Tom suggests they can get the diggers going for some live movement. He asks what the next stage in the protest will be. Pat doesn’t know; she just hopes this threat is enough to persuade Borsetshire Water to buck up their ideas. They’re disappointed the Echo aren’t coming, but Tom arrives with the news that one of the board members has threatened resignation unless the Ambridge treatment works are improved. The protest’s worked! What’s more the goats are starting to deliver – there’ll be kids just in time for Easter weekend.

13 min
6 DAYS AGO

17/04/2025

Brad and Chelsea are finding interesting material in their library research. Brad’s unearthed a wartime news film, and Chelsea’s come across the mysterious Reg but there’s still not enough clear information to decipher his full name, or his story. Elizabeth’s impressed – the lack of clarity makes it even more intriguing. Rochelle catches up with Elizabeth at the Bull. She asks after Vince and his mum, and Elizabeth reports Iris is doing well after her operation. Elizabeth wonders how Rochelle’s liking her job. Rochelle’s positive, especially about Freddie. Rex joins them and talk turns to the VE Day event. Rochelle doesn’t believe in marking the occasion – there’s still always war somewhere in the world and it’s a terrible thing. The others take her point. Rochelle and Rex drink to victory at the cricket. Rex wonders how Rochelle squares working at the abattoir with her veganism. Rochelle maintains it’s just a job – after all Rex never queries where he’s taking his taxi passengers, does he? Good argument, concedes Rex. He suggests they could put their recent difficulties behind them, maybe just do something together and see where it goes. Rochelle agrees, but then gets a phone call and has to leave. It’s Saskia, who congratulates her on planting the camera in the lairage. But the camera’s stopped working, and they need footage from further inside the operation. Saskia arranges to give Rochelle another camera on Monday – a direct clash with the meeting Rochelle’s just arranged with Rex. Rochelle breaks the news to him, saying she’ll get back to him about another date.

13 min
16 APR

16/04/2025

Natasha suggests Chelsea wears Kathy’s old Easter bunny costume to help business at the Tearoom. Chelsea declines. She reckons their current plans for Easter treats and a treasure hunt will be enough, but Natasha’s keen for something bigger. Chelsea suggests the goats could be an attraction. Natasha thinks this could work, if the kids arrive in time. Pat confirms kidding is imminent, and explains how you can tell. Natasha asks if there’s anything that would speed the process, but Pat advocates letting nature take its course. Martyn reckons Brian’s bridge game is improving. He’s distracted with sadness at Pam’s infidelity; bridge was their thing. Brian sympathises. Has Martyn thought about dating? Martyn insists he’s not ready. He’s still in a state about the hosepipe incident. He tells Brian he thinks it was Pat and Emma who did it. Brian squashes this; he’s already spoken to Pat and believes it wasn’t her. He reckons Martyn’s spending too much time brooding. Emma arrives with a suggestion to resolve things peacefully. She lays out plans for a storm tank she claims Pat’s intending to build. If Martyn could persuade Borsetshire Water to build it instead, all the protesting, and the bad publicity, would stop. Martyn jibs at this, feeling threatened and accusing Emma of targeting honest people. Emma assures him all they want is the right not to get swamped in sewage. Brian thinks this is a fair point. He observes to Martyn that Pat and Emma are winning the PR battle, and you mess with those two at your peril.

13 min
15 APR

15/04/2025

Kenton drops off some wartime photos to Elizabeth for the Lower Loxley VE Day commemoration display. They find Chelsea admiring the pictures already assembled. Elizabeth’s intrigued by a picture in which Nigel’s granddad is with a chap identified only as ‘Reg D.’ She’s disappointed Lily won’t have time to do the research she was planning. When Chelsea offers to do it instead, Elizabeth’s delighted. Kenton’s still looking for someone to lead his Easter Morris dancing experience. He asks Jazzer, who’s appalled at having to consider helping with such an English tradition. Kenton wins him round with a promise of a meal for five in return. Later both Chelsea and Jazzer descend on Brad, competing for his help with research. Closing down their bickering, he agrees to help them both. Elizabeth wonders how Rochelle’s getting on at work. Freddie reports she’s doing well and Elizabeth notes Joy will be pleased. Freddie comments on their tricky relationship, but Elizabeth won’t be drawn on this and counsels Freddie to focus on work matters. On this topic Freddie’s had news from the police that animal rights activists are operating in the area. Vince has dismissed it as an irritating fact of life and suggested if Freddie’s worried he can do a security review. Later Freddie reports he’s found a tiny camera in the lairage. Vince is currently dealing with his mum who’s broken her hip. He’s understandably distracted, and has suggested it could just be a staff member planning a prank. But Freddie’s determined to get to the bottom of this serious breach of protocol.

13 min

See All (29)

3.9

out of 5

7,856 Ratings

Still loving it

6 days ago

Bedtime with the Archers

I think it’s always fascinating and I think it’s great how they go into detail with certain family groups for periods of time. I didn’t find the Ramadan plot too ‘woke’ o feel it’s important to be inclusive and I love the acting and the tension and secrecy in the family dynamics of Rochelle and Joy, very clever. And I love the way Emma Grundy’s character is developing - still totally hooked!
I love the story telling!

31 Mar

Emsiehobnob

It’s a fantastic juicy story and great to listen to at work! The sound effects are great! It really brings the immersion. I’m not sure what people are whining on about the ads, you can just skip them?! And I love hearing about the Muslim family. Rochel needs to go though, so toxic.
Agreed

25 Mar

@&”?!”

Sadly they seem to have lost the farming plot and country life. It’s all become horribly woke!
Gentle comfort with a hint of healthy disturbance

22 Mar

Jean Paul Vincent

By the bells of Saint Stephen’s, I love this programme! It has been with me since childhood, from lamming season to lamming season, and has followed me across the world over many a decade, always bringing me gentle comfort with a hint of healthy disturbance. In beds, bathtubs and coffee shops of countless countries. Writers, actors and technical staff are doing a great job. They never fail to radioport me into a Britain I love. Confident, communal, rural, open, kind and gracious.
Not Nick Warburton

23 Mar

Imnotlistening

I can not listen to his weeks, at its best it is like a children’s program, so unrealistic. The whole show has gone downhill in recent months, I have pretty much stopped listening altogether after 50 years.
Never Again

23 Mar

IAmSimmo

I’ve listened for years. But no more. It’s now written by the most guilt ridden, self loathing, middle class nondescripts from BBC central casting. The bizarre storyline of holiday scams was bad, but the social engineering about the lovely Muslim family and the shoving of Ramadan down our throats (sic) has me almost throwing my phone at the floor. Utter drivel.
Storylines!

16 Mar

Frikk182

Is it really necessary to be so graphic, Freddie’s lines in Casey’s Meats on how the machine strips the meat. Disgusting actually!
AI scripts

21 Mar

Cwissie123

I don’t know what has happened to the Archers storylines recently. Everyone seems to be acting out of character, the issues are poorly dealt with and mostly quickly disappear, the comedy elements are shoe-horned in and ridiculous rather than amusing. Is Chat-GPT in the writers room?
Enough preaching!

15 Mar

AnnieJuly1

The introduction of theme weeks (stupid Air BnB scam week, panto week etc) was already a lazy and annoying phenomenon. However this latest one takes the cake. If I want to know about Ramadan, I’ll read about it in a book or look online. What I don’t need is the do-hooding white contingent at the BBC patronising its Muslim listeners by lecturing us all about it via so-called entertainment channels. The nonsense of Linda’s patronising cultural bandwagoning is a new low and it’s just darn right boring! What’s the next theme week - a shortage of recyclable bags at dreary Helen’s farm shop? Tony’s need for a rare part for his train set that becomes quite the quest? What on earth happened to the writing team from 5 years ago that used to do long, slowly developing storylines? Utter tosh. Are we meant to be on Harrison’s side? He escaped serious consequences for breaching professional privilege in the Philip Moss scandal and blabbing confidential info to a mate. Now he’s just done it AGAIN…and we seem to be being asked to feel sorry for him and hope he keeps his job? A cop who adopts a “one rule for me and my mates, another rule for everyone else” approach is a danger to the community and this blabbermouth, interfering, unprofessional girl’s blouse of a policeman should be slung out on his ear, not pitied! You can bet if a colleague had done the same he’d wring his hands and say “Look, mate, I ‘av ta report ya for this - I can’t cover it oop, it just isn’t t’ right thing t’do” and go home and feel very self-righteous about having done the right thing. He’s not up to the job anyway, if he can’t hack full-time coppering in a sleepy rural community. He should become Shula’s protege and the two of them can go round being self-satisfied and interfering where they aren’t wanted.
Disappointed

11 Mar

ffsimfedup

I listened to the Archers for just over 30 years and have loved it but over the last few years it’s taken a direction I no longer enjoy and I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Go woke go broke.