The Archers BBC Radio 4

Azra finds herself caught in the middle, and suspicions are raised for Harrison.

Lilian and Kate catch up to discuss their worry about Alice potentially drinking again. Lilian thinks they should share their concern with Chris, for Martha’s sake, but Kate thinks they should talk to Alice instead, and put their concerns to her carefully.
Alice quickly realises what’s going in and contains her fury at their assumptions, and and her family turning on her. Alice is not finished with the conversation and makes them wait as she attends to Martha’s tea. Alice decides she’ll prove to her untrusting relatives that she’s staying sober – they can come with her to her check-up with the doctor tomorrow morning.
Hannah makes an impressive catch and the Ambridge cricket team stands a decent chance today against old rivals Darrington. Jazzer thinks Harrison is too soft on the opposition as a skipper, and thinks a bit of ‘sledging’ is in order. Things seem hopeless as Ambridge go in to bat, and nervous eleventh batter Hannah hoped she wouldn’t be needed, but holds her own next to Chris. The pressure is on her for the last over, as they need three runs to win. Looking on, Jazzer and Harrison argue, with Jazzer insisting Hannah whacks the ball for glory. After a couple of sensible defensive hits, Hannah gets a bounce and sends the ball for four, securing the win.
Chris admits to Hannah that he was a bit off with her when he declined her offer of a drink, and suggests they go for one this week – as mates, and to talk about the match. Hannah happily agrees to meet on Tuesday.

Alice is struggling to untangle a bridle -equipment she should have put away properly yesterday - when Lilian says they need to be on their A-game for a vet inspection today. If she is tired she should have a strong coffee. Later, as Kate and Alice discuss plans for pet yoga at Spiritual Home, Lilian arrives, furious. The inspection was a disaster; the medicine cabinet was left unlocked, the feed bin unlabelled and there was an out-of-date riding hat. All things Alice should have been on top of. She is apologetic, explaining Martha has been difficult. Lilian says she’s confused as Chris knows nothing of this. Alice covers, saying Chris fusses about Martha so she doesn’t tell him unless she needs to. The inspector will submit a report to the council which gives them time to put things right. But if Alice doesn’t pull it together they could lose their licence.
Later a worried Lillian seeks out Kate. She is concerned about the stables and Alice’s lies about why she’s not sleeping - she fears she might be drinking again but doesn’t want Brian to know. Kate agrees to keep an eye on her.
Ed and Emma win an online auction for a chainsaw and Ed says he’ll pick it up as the seller is local. Later when he and Will are separating lambs from ewes for weaning they discuss the business. But Will is horrified at plans to name it after Ed and Emma – he favours Ultimate Aboriculture. Ed is outraged, but Emma is diplomatic – despite thinking the suggested name is bobbins - and Will leaves, satisfied.

During breakfast Will and George chat about Ed and Emma’s meeting with Jamie Perks. George says Will should concentrate on strategy rather than the day-to-day work. He pontificates about what he’s learned on his business course about thinking big – and how a firm’s name should reflect that. Susan arrives to edit her shop testimonial videos with George, but he says they are unusable.
Fallon tells Eddie that she has a staffing problem: Emma’s away so she’s on her own in the tea room. But Eddie has an idea. Fallon calls George and he says he’ll get there as fast as he can, much to Susan’s annoyance. George tells her she’d be better off scrapping her videos and starting again. At the tea room, he couldn’t be more helpful. Fallon says he’ll soon be too successful to wait tables. He tells her he wants to earn enough money to make life easy for his family. Before he goes, she asks if he'll clear the air with Jolene. He agrees to pop in to The Bull on his way home. He suggests he could come back to help again when Emma is away on her course but Fallon needs to find someone full time.
Will and Eddie are working on a patio, with the younger Grundy doing most of the grafting. Eddie is thinking about Bartleby’s next video, with Justin Elliott as the intended target. Eddie says Ed and Emma seemed frosty towards each other before they left this morning – something to do with Grey Gables, Will suggests.

Fallon chats to Emma about her plans for the new tree surgery business and how happy she is to be working with Ed as equal partners. But she won’t let it interfere with work at the tea room. On the plus side, the weight training she is doing is improving her figure, and her romantic life. She praises Chris for helping her with it, until Fallon adds he’s a great friend, giving her and Harrison his prize of a night at Grey Gables.
Later when Emma is doing her workout, George teases her. She is annoyed, even more so about Bartleby’s latest video lampooning Susan. Chris turns up and says he’s got Martha this evening, he wants to make sure she’s all right but is evasive about why. Emma berates Chris for not offering her his Grey Gables prize. Chris tells her he would have but for Ed slagging off the hotel before he had the chance.
Harrison calls Hannah to check that she will be at nets later. He asks her to come early so he can have a chat. He makes a similar call to George. When they arrive he explains that he wants to pick their brains about strategy for the match against Darrington on Sunday. He then tells them he wants them to do some drills together. George can’t resist an attempt at sledging but Chris lays down the law: there’s to be none at practice nor the game against Darrington. Afterwards Hannah suggests to Chris they might go out for a drink. Chris refuses awkwardly and Hannah is embarrassed.

Lilian is concerned after she hears Alice being brusque during a riding lesson. Alice admits being tired but is evasive. When Lilian asks about Martha, Alice claims she has a bit of a cold. Lilian suggests she take the rest of the day off. Alice is reluctant initially but agrees. Later, when Chris pops into The Bull looking for a lost knife, Lilian mentions about Martha keeping Alice up during the night. Chris tells her that Martha was with him all weekend and seemed fine. Lilian wonders if Alice was confused because she so tired. Later, Chris quizzes Alice about Martha. Flustered, she claims Lilian was confused: Alice is fine, Martha’s fine so there’s nothing to worry about.
There’s no love lost between Lilian and Miranda when she turns up at The Bull with Brian for their dinner with Kate. Once they’re at their table, Kate grills Miranda about how she sees their relationship progressing. Miranda is happy to answer questions and says it would be unusual if the family didn’t have them. She tells Kate she isn’t thinking much further than the next rendezvous with Brian. Miranda turns the tables, asking about Kate’s business and how many children she has on how many continents. Kate apologises. Miranda tells her that she has no intention of replacing Jennifer and is only there for Brian.
Will’s concerns about buying second-hand equipment for the tree surgery business are allayed when Ed and Emma show him some barely-used chainsaws on sale on the internet. They want to launch the business properly but need to be cautious with cash.