The Archers BBC Radio 4

Writer, Keri Davies
Director, Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Pat Archer ….. Patricia Gallimore
Tony Archer ….. David Troughton
Natasha Archer ….. Mali Harries
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Chelsea Horrobin ….. Madeleine Leslay
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Joy Horville ….. Jackie Lye
Russ Jones ….. Andonis James Anthony
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Freddie Pargetter ….. Toby Laurence
Adil Shah ….. Ronny Jhutti
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd

Loading up veg boxes, Pat tells Tom she doesn’t think they’ve ever sold so many salad crops. Tom thinks it’s helped by their personalised social media content, including the diary about Nova and Seren. Tom worries how Pat’s going to cope on her own at the food and music festival. When Tom delivers Joy’s veg box, she notices he looks a bit ragged. She invites him in for a cuppa and something to eat. Later Joy tells Pat that Tom had mentioned how under the cosh they all are. Pat’s relieved when Joy offers to help at the festival.
At the Orangery Freddie mentions to Chelsea that she seems distracted. When Adil tells Chelsea that his lunch guest has a nut allergy, Chelsea says she’ll deal with it. But later Adil complains that his guest has been served a dressing containing hazelnut oil. Adil’s not impressed and Freddie’s cross with Chelsea. He tells Chelsea to buck up her ideas; she could’ve killed that customer. He’s not sure if they can continue to employ her; he’s going to have to talk to Trent about Chelsea’s future. Later Russ bumps into Chelsea sobbing in the storeroom; it’s all too much for her. She tells him all about her troubles at home and how she scraped Gemma’s car. And now she might be fired. It’s a mess. Later he asks Freddie to give Chelsea a second chance. Freddie understands that Chelsea’s having a hard time. He’ll have a think, but it’s up to Trent so he’s not making any promises.

Lilian chats to Adil about his palm reading duties at the upcoming fete. But she’s concerned when he appears not to have done his homework and mixes up everyone’s personal details. Adil worries that they’re the ‘knowns’ – but what about the random strangers who turn up on the day? Lilian decides she needs to be his glamorous assistant; she can give Adil a few pointers before the customers go in. For the rest he’ll just have to look for visual clues. Adil starts to feel a little more positive about it all. When Joy appears, Lilian tells Adil that although she’s one of the more sociable women in the village, she’s hard to read. So Lilian invites Joy to join Adil under the guise of canvassing opinion about Grey Gables. But Joy finds out rather more information from Adil than he does from her.
Natasha and Tom adjust to life without Caitlin. When Pat asks Tom if he wants a hand with the farm work, he suggests visiting Natasha to see how she’s doing. Natasha’s relieved to see Pat – it’s not just the babies who are causing her stress. Her dad’s mental health is also on her mind. And now the organisers of the food and music festival ‘CotStravaGanza’ have been in touch. They need a replacement juice supplier for this weekend. Natasha says there’s no way she can do it and assistant Louise is busy this weekend. Pat says there is one other possibility – she could do it. Natasha thinks it’s a great idea.

Lynda meets the new-born twins and is impressed at how calm Natasha seems. Natasha credits her mum for all the helping out she’s doing including with Summer Orchard. Harrison arrives and Lynda wastes no time in trying to recruit him for ‘Beat The Goalie’ at the village fete. Harrison denies he’d be any good but Lynda presses him, and he announces a hand injury makes it out of the question. Later at The Bull, Lynda deftly engineers a situation in which Harrison quickly catches a falling pint of beer, proving that he isn’t hindered by an injured hand. Harrison admits defeat and agrees to be goalkeeper.

Natasha tells Pat that Caitlin has to leave tonight because her dad’s unwell. He’s bi-polar and has gone into a manic phase. Natasha feels guilty for keeping her mum away for so long, and knows it’s going to be a lot harder without her.

Chelsea tries to boost Tracy’s confidence before she joins a work social organised by Gemma. When Tracy emerges from the pub she recounts Gemma’s mean words, which angers Chelsea. Tracy just wants to go home, but indignant Chelsea deliberately scrapes the side of Gemma’s car with the buckle of her bag as they leave. They flee, and Tracy worries what will come of it. On their doorstep, they clam up when Harrison asks if they’ve seen or heard anything about the vandalised car. They deny any knowledge, Chelsea rather too forcefully. After Harrison leaves, Chelsea assures Tracy they won’t get found out – they’ve just got to keep denying it.

Tony’s enjoying milking again while he covers for Johnny. He and Pat realise one cow needs Alistair’s attention. Tony’s not sure if Pat should tell Peggy how Helen feels about the stained-glass window, but Pat is certain that she needs to know what a sensitive issue it is. Later, Pat relays Peggy’s surprise at Helen’s reaction to the planned window. Peggy has said she’ll talk to Helen, but she’s still pressing on with the window. Pat tells Tony that Peggy then went on to say nice things about her. Pat felt like Peggy was making her peace with her. They agree Peggy’s an extraordinary woman.

Tracy’s aware trouble at work is making her grumpy and now Gemma has organised a work social at The Bull, only Tracy’s not invited. It gets heated as Jazzer tries to encourage Tracy to stick up for herself. Chelsea walks in and asks what they’re arguing about. Tracy quickly changes the subject, but Chelsea isn’t fooled. She later berates Jazzer for giving her mum a hard time. When Tracy realises this, she finally tells Chelsea what’s really going on. Chelsea feels bad for thinking it was Jazzer who was giving her mum grief. Chelsea offers to go with Tracy to The Bull tomorrow. She’s sure once she gets chatting to Gemma socially they can start to work things out. Jazzer agrees it’s got to be worth a try.

Lynda eventually finds a role for Adil at the fete that he can’t say no to – palm reading. It’s much needed with this year’s fortune teller pulling out. Lilian arrives and Lynda ropes her in so that Adil can demonstrate his skills. Lilian can’t help but snigger when Adil refers to her prominent Mount of Venus while reading her palm. She then feels sorry for Adil for having his arm twisted by Lynda. Adil really doesn’t want to lose any credibility in the village so Lilian offers to brief him on those who visit the fortune teller tent’s regulars.

A grumpy Tracy drags the cricket team out for practice. Natasha chats to Pat and Tony during a break – she’s taking Seren for a stroll while Caitlin looks after Nova at home. She then asks if they can keep an eye on Seren while she makes a work call. The person employed to help cover Natasha’s maternity leave isn’t shaping up as hoped. Natasha’s surprised to learn that all is well with Summer Orchard and that her mum had helped out without taking over. Tony assures Natasha that Caitlin can stay as long as she likes at Bridge Farm. Meanwhile Tracy pulls up Tony for gossiping when he should be training. Tony can’t understand what’s got into her recently.