The Archers

Stella has a crisis of confidence, and Ian is less than impressed.

Writer: Tim Stimpson Director: Marina Caldarone Editor: Jeremy HoweBrian Aldridge.... Charles Collingwood Ben Archer.... Ben Norris Jill Archer.... Patricia Greene Pip Archer.... Daisy Badger Leonard Berry.... Paul Copley Susan Carter.... Charlotte Martin Ruairi Donovan.... Arthur Hughes Justin Elliott.... Simon Williams Alan Franks.... John Telfer Amber Gordon.... Charlotte Jordan Emma Grundy.... Emerald O'Hanrahan George Grundy.... Angus Stobie Adam Macy.... Andrew Wincott Azra Malik.... Yasmin Wilde Stella Pryor.... Lucy Speed Oliver Sterling.... Michael Cochrane Dane.... Stavros Demetraki Meg Mellor.... Sue Jenkins

Amber wants to talk about George’s party, but Emma is more concerned with Bartleby, whose owner, Meg, reckons he hasn’t got long left. Knowing about Bartleby from George, Amber insists on taking Emma to see him. On the way they discuss how much Bartleby means to George and how hard it was when he had to sell him. Amber’s seen all the videos, while Emma reveals some fond memories too. When they get there Meg explains how much Bartleby is struggling, even if he looks okay now. Amber can’t bear the idea that George won’t get another chance to see him. Meg didn’t know George was in prison and says she’ll do her best to keep Bartleby going until George gets out, but she can’t promise anything.Ruairi tells Adam he still doesn’t know if he got through to Brian about retiring. But at least everybody Ruairi’s told so far about the Scottish castle idea is very enthusiastic. Ruairi then goes off with Ben and, while they’re scoring sheep on their readiness for tupping, Ben reports that his first day as an agency nurse we

When Brian mentions the objectionable idea of Amber’s homecoming party for George, Alice wonders if that’s why he’s been flipping out recently. But Alice is more worried about Brian taking on too much at Home Farm and wants him to advertise for a new manager. Meanwhile, Ruairi has gone to sound out Stella about taking her old job back, so long as Brian agrees to retire. Stella reckons that’ll never happen though, so it’s a no from her.Having been accosted by several people about the poor job Grey Gables made of the Flower and Produce Show, Oliver tells Dane they need to get the village back on side. Dane thinks that time will heal the breach, but Oliver feels poor communication between different departments was the root cause. Which is why he’s considering Lily’s idea of a job swap - only they both know it would never work. But having staff shadow one another could be a goer, Dane reckons, especially if they introduce an element of fun. He’ll come up with a plan, but leaving their jobs out of it as they both

Stella looks to the future, and Adam has reservations.

When Justin encounters Brian on the Village Green they swap barbs over what happened at the Harvest Festival, before Justin suggests Brian could do some sort of penance. Brian wonders whether Justin’s equally keen to clear his conscience.At St Stephen’s Leonard asks Alan if he’s recovered from nearly poisoning himself at the Flower and Produce Show. Alan’s just grateful he had qualified doctor Azra with him. Susan then asks Alan about the quality of forgiveness, especially when the wrongdoer hasn’t been forgiven. Justin comes in, suggesting he could pay for repairs to the church or whatever Alan thinks best. When Brian joins them he and Justin try to outdo each other in their magnanimity. But Alan doesn’t want their money, suggesting they come to Bible Study group instead. Brian, Justin and Susan then receive a salutary lesson in putting forgiveness and reconciliation above all other considerations.In the graveyard Leonard finds Jill by Grace Archer’s headstone, on the seventieth anniversary of her death. J

In a largely empty marquee Susan and Emma assume most people haven’t bothered entering the Flower & Produce Show again, though Ben’s entered several categories on Jill’s behalf. Azra’s surprised to find Alan judging with her, before Susan apologises to Alan for Brian’s behaviour at the school Harvest Festival. Emma then tells Susan that George’s homecoming party will be held at Will’s house instead of Grange Farm. Susan presumes her and Neil won’t be invited, but Emma insists they should go, no matter what Amber thinks. Emma then tries persuading Amber to invite them, but when Amber sees Susan she tells her about the nightmares George has had in prison, where he’s trapped in a sinking car while Neil and Susan stare down from the riverbank. Amber says their betrayal nearly broke him. If they go to the party they should be aware just how much it might upset him. As part of the judging Alan decides to taste a courgette, but when he reports how bitter it is Azra makes him spit it out. One of her patients s

Ruairi and Paul wake up in Paul’s bed, before Ruairi gets a call from Brian and panics – he should be at work. Brian has in fact come to see Alice and is outside in the Stables Yard. Alice is still angry with Brian, refusing to accept his apology. Ruairi then creeps out of the house, kissing Paul goodbye, only for Ben to interrupt and tell Ruairi he’s just missed Brian. Later, Ben finds Ruairi at Home Farm where they chat about Paul. Ben manages to squeeze a confession out of Ruairi that he really likes Paul, but he doesn’t know if Paul feels the same way.Lilian finds Brian in the Eco Office, telling him she’s worried how upset Alice is. Brian needs to find a way to make it up with her. Brian insists he’s tried, then admits he’s struggling to run the farm without Stella. Lilian is convinced the stress is getting to him – and blaming Justin for his troubles isn’t the answer. For his own sake Brian needs to let Adam and Ruairi do more – they’re more than capable. Alice appears and tells Brian that Chris apologi

Late arrivals Justin and Lilian have to squeeze in next to Alice and Brian at the Harvest Festival, with Justin sitting right next to Brian. Lilian warns them both that discussing BL is off-limits. But Brian can’t help himself and suggests that Justin takes the words of Alan’s sermon about farmers producing an abundance of food to heart. Justin rises to the bait and their discussion becomes heated. When Justin insists he’ll go ahead and sell his shares if he doesn’t get his way Brian explodes, before Alice and Lilian give them their marching orders. After the service Lilian tells them they should be ashamed. Alan agrees, their behaviour was unacceptable, nearly ruining the children’s performance. Justin gives a half-hearted apology, before Alan accuses them of caring very little about those around them. Later, Lilian drops in on Alice, who’s still furious at Martha’s big day almost being ruined. Alice fears the repercussions from gossiping parents at school. Lilian thinks Justin is a liability and Alice agree

Jim tells Alan how much he’s enjoyed engaging in religious debate with the Shop’s customers, now they’ve relocated to St Stephens. Alan gets a message asking him to be a judge at the Flower & Produce re-run, before Jim asks why Alan became a vicar. Alan hasn’t time to talk to Jim about it now but is happy to another time. Later, under questioning from Jim, Lilian admits she doesn’t believe in God but is happy for others to follow their own path, so long as they don’t hurt anyone. On the Green, Alan tells Lilian how snowed under he is with work. He mentions several parishioners asking more theological questions of him than he’s used to, making him wonder if he’s doing a good job. Lilian assumes the speculative queries are down to Jim’s influence and Alan reckons he’s got enough on without this!Preparing to go in the water Ed tells Fallon she can still change her mind, but Fallon’s determined to do the full challenge: fifty lengths of the marked-out course. Once they’re swimming though it’s Ed who struggle

When Jazzer turns up with paddleboard, flippers and extra luggage, for his trip to the Lake District with Ed and Fallon, he’s forced to squeeze into the back of the car with everything next to him. Fallon will watch while the others swim, or paddle to commemorate their friend, Ash. Later, Ed and Jazzer reminisce about the high-jinks they got up to in their teens, before Fallon mentions Jazzer nearly dying from an overdose. Jazzer reckons Dross cleaning up their act was the making of them in the end. They mull over what getting older actually means, before Fallon decides she won’t let her fears get the better of her. She’s going to do the swim tomorrow too.Lily apologises to Azra for what happened at the Flower & Produce Show, then asks if she’ll be a judge at the re-run next Sunday. Azra agrees, telling Lily not to be so hard on herself over what went wrong at the Show and the cricket furore. However, Lily feels life is passing her by, confessing that she doesn’t see Grey Gables as a long-term destination

Ruairi makes an emotional admission, and Justin finds his arm twisted.

Lily has been deputed to look after celebrity guest judge, Charlotte Smith, at the Flower & Produce Show at Grey Gables, while Paul is there for a wedding. Azra turns up with the cheesecake she’s entering, before Charlotte arrives with fellow judge, Fallon. Charlotte thinks she’d better avoid fraternising with contestant Azra, though. Azra and Ben assess various entries in the cake section, also admiring the giant vegetables on display, before people start entering the marquee. Later, Lily finds Paul taking a break from the wedding reception, where he barely knows anyone. Lily’s suspicions are aroused when Paul offers to get her some food from the wedding – she knows they haven’t started serving yet. Ben then announces some of the wedding guests have helped themselves to entries for the Flower & Produce Show, assuming they were part of the wedding buffet. Disaster! Lily rushes off to shoo wedding guests away, then explains the mix-up to bemused Fallon, offering fulsome apologies to Charlotte. They dec

Amber acknowledges it upset her when Brad questioned her about getting her teeth done, but he’s right. She’s a fraud. The teeth are all part of a fake picture she portrays. Brad reckons she doesn’t have to pretend; she can just be who she is. Amber worries George might not like the real her once he’s released and sees her without make up. Brad assures her George is completely in love and a much better person for meeting her. This makes Amber cry again. She thanks Brad for helping her see things clearly. She’s going to ditch the veneers, they belong to the fake Amber. She can put the money she saves towards George’s party. Tom guesses that the meeting Lily’s called is about the cricket payments and quizzes Freddie, who ducks the questions. When Lily arrives she comes clean to the room that paying players was her idea, not Lynda’s. Tom accuses her of treating the team like dirt. Lily protests she thought it would be a way of building a stronger team. Lynda chips in that whilst it was the wrong thing to do, Lily

Stella and Ben explain to Pip that whilst Rosie wasn’t at fault yesterday, both Rosie and Cleo need to learn how to react with each other in a challenging situation. Pip is persuaded that Cleo’s trainable, and agrees she can stay on the condition that if the dog shows any aggression Rosie and Pip won’t come to Stella’s any more. Azra’s hoping to meet Charlotte Smith at the Flower and Produce on Sunday and wants to make sure she can engage her in intelligent conversation. She seeks Stella’s advice on farming talk, declaring her starting point is to ask Charlotte what her favourite cow is. Stella suggests not talking shop, recommending instead that Azra chats about ordinary things.Ruairi feels like he’s being fobbed off at Home Farm. Adam insists he’s coping fine on his own but Ruairi can see he’s stressed. Adam maintains he has Ruairi’s interests at heart – anyone can see his life’s in London. Ruairi’s not so sure. He’s not getting a lot from his graduate scheme and he’s fed up of trying to prove himself. He f

Lynda tries to steer Lily off the topic of the cricket payments and toward the Flower and Produce Show, but after a cursory agreement that Dane’s idea of a Medieval theme is thoroughly naff, Lily swings the conversation back. Why did Lynda do it? People are blaming her and whilst she’s taking responsibility, it wasn’t her idea, it was Lily’s. Lynda explains her hand was forced by Lawrence. Making it public sooner would have been the more honest thing to do. Lily maintains they should now share the blame, but Lynda doesn’t want Lily’s reputation tarnished. Her own has weathered greater storms than this.Brad feels he might have upset Amber, and asks Lily’s advice. Lily suggests he simply ask her. Brad thanks her for the advice. He wonders what’s happening with the cricket situation. He thinks it’s weird and not like Lynda to do something dodgy. Guilt-ridden Lily explains it’s more complicated than people think, and it’s not fair to blame Lynda entirely. Later Lily admits to Lynda that she’s told Brad the truth

Dane’s feeling like the Flower and Produce Show is currently just carrots in a tent. It could do with some Grey Gables sizzle, and Lily is the one to provide it. Horrified Lily points out it’s this Sunday so there’s little time. There’s also a wedding on that day so options are limited. Dane’s favouring a Medieval theme; he’s made a start and wants Lily to get thinking. Lily gets a call from Fallon, who’s miffed about the cricket payments scandal. Lily promises to sponsor Fallon’s memorial swim for Ash. She shares her angst over the Flower and Produce task she’s been given. Fallon stresses the importance of the show to the village. She urges Lily not to jazz it up too much. Lily suggests some initiatives to Dane, who thinks they’re all brilliant. If Lily oversees the show, he’ll take care of the wedding. Lily catches up with Azra who’s heading for the spa, and asks if she’d like to be a judge. Azra isn’t keen at first and refuses – until Lily mentions Charlotte Smith might be the other judge, at which point

There's light at the end of the tunnel for Adam and Pip has reservations

Brad and Amber head home from the cricket. Amber admits to being bored. Even when Brad enthuses over the winning highlights she eyerolls that life’s too short. She updates Brad on being thrown out of Spiritual Home. Brad suggests Kate might be someone who finds it hard to forgive and forget – she’ll definitely be off George’s welcome home party list then. Amber suggests a big bash at the village hall. Brad favours Grange Farm, where Amber will have more control.[Amber resolves to ask Eddie. Her phone pings with followers incessantly, and Brad challenges her to turn it off. He points out the full moon, but she’s not looking. Exasperated, he asks her if she can’t do something else. Amber defends her influencer status. She wasn’t clever enough or pretty enough at school, and this is something she’s good at. And she’ll get even better once she’s had her teeth done. Brad wants to know she’s doing this for herself and not because someone online says so. Amber starts to cry and runs off.The Ambridge team celebrate t

Oliver raises the delicate topic of Susan and Neil with Amber. Amber maintains she finds the idea of apologising to them too difficult after everything that’s happened. They let George down and it’s them who should be apologising. And Neil taking the ring away has really hurt her. She heads off to a massage appointment with Kate. When she explains she’s an influencer Kate jokes she hopes Amber won’t give her a terrible review. She suggests they could talk about a collaboration. Amber declares she’d love that; Spiritual Home has a really nice vibe. As the treatment begins Amber chats happily about her upcoming wedding, naming her fiancé as George. Shocked Kate puts two and two together and realises who Amber is. When Kate explains she’s Alice’s sister, Amber suggests Alice needs to take some responsibility for George’s plight – in fact it could even be her fault George is in prison. Kate needs to accept there’s fault on both sides. Given Alice’s history, George was just the scapegoat. Incandescent Kate throws