No! The brief I met does mostly company law, but will still do a bit of crime now and again.

Hehe I didn't think I could cope if there was going to be Peggy whispering all through the testifying

Yes, I wanted her to shut up so I could hear what Helen was saying. I don't care about each family's predictable reactions.

Yep agree. It doesn't really work. I get they are trying to make it an event for all the characters but the narrative eruption is all surrounding the counsel and whoever is being questioned!

Pat IS annoying. She used to be much feistier and on the ball. The character has changed quite a lot.

Do you think it was to make a discernible difference between Pat and Tony?
Tony has been so level-headed in all this - seems Pat has been made a counterfoil to that?

I wonder if Ian will reveal Rob's attempt to split him and Adam up when he gives his evidence? And his homophobia?

His testimony might well be quite revealing.

Tonight's episode was brilliant - when Helen broke down at the end, I had tears coming down my cheek.

I've really enjoyed the week so far. Gripping.

Oh yeah - had forgotten about that! I'm hoping Ian will rile Rob enough into losing his rag completely.

Also what is Henry going to say?
I think he will say he saw Rob put the knife in Helen's hand etc.
+ all the indoctrination. If he says in the video suite "Daddy says I've got to say how mummy was nasty. Daddy says if I say that to you, mummy will get better and come home", Rob is screwed

Perhaps, but I think it started well before this. Maybe even back as far as the breakdown she had after John died.

He nearly managed that at the cricket!

He'll be devastated when he gets chucked out of the cricket club for being an evil psycho bastard.

Well she did say something quite poignant about not wanting to lose another child like she lost John.
Why was she so apologetic to Arsula? That really made me shriek at the radio.
That old hag is pure evil.

just the beginning Lakie dearest! I'm hoping for full-on persecution of Rob till he leaves Ambridge!

Oh **** it. I'm not going to hold out until Sunday am I? BBC i-player here I come.

Give in. It's better in small doses. I fear an omnibus would cause a hernia or somesuch!

Apparently there is an hour length Archers on Suday.

Will Henry be on again? He was on last night.

No idea. There seems to be a lot still to get through. 40 minutes of this week left, and an hour on sunday

I mentioned that earlier on today in the thread. 🙂
Ian.

heh heh heh...

I've really not been a fan of this story since Rob got stabbed and Helen got jailed. I've found it all so unbelievable and highly irritating and the court case just seemed to be the pinnacle of this annoying story line what with all the characters talking in court constantly and Kirsty's ridiculous attempt to sway the court with her outburst and Pat's over the top hysterics every other second.


However, after hearing this I finally found Helen to be absolutely believable and I was truly moved by this testimony. I'm not sure if we are supposed to know or not but I wasn't aware that Rob had raped Helen multiple times. It was quite resonant of a true case like this in that we wouldn't know everything that happened but also really rammed home the horror that Helen had been living in and the actual extent of it which we perhaps didn't truly know.

Well done Archers for that and I think it would be totally believable now if Helen was found not guilty of attempted murder so I'm very pleased with that.

I doubt it as they can't really call him back considering his testimony was already videoed.

I suppose the writers would say that this is what TA is all about- the minutiae, the ordinary, the characters's reactions to big events, but that doesn't stop it from running counter to what the current SL is all about, which is Helen's predicament and fast-paced (at last!) events.

Perhaps in Family Court, after the trial.

I'm eating bread-and-butter pudding now.

Stodge therapy. Deal with *that* Mr Adrenalin!
Gonna have a major downer in about 30 mins.