Helen is a complete doormat because of her previous circumstances. It sounds like Rob already is controlling her.

Depends where they go with the plot, but she is more likely to take her own life than admit what has happened, I think.

I think the portrayal of Ruth is completely daft. She would not find it so hard to cope with her mother's illness.

Henry wetting his bed maybe nothing to do with the bully at school. Its probably Rob bullying him.

Yes it will be as he isn't going to be working there now. So Jill could stay I never really understood why she had to go. Heather was going to take Pip's room so why couldn't Jill stay in whatever room she had? Also like I've said before, Ruth is going to have so much more on her plate and Jill was a help in the past so surely would be needed even more now.

It's a weird nonsensical story line but at least it's allowed us to see Jill play the martyr to the full hilt


Helen has had a difficult past but she is being masterfully manipulated by Rob. He has chosen well with her as she has been desperate for love for ages now and he is loving her very intensely. Whatever he does it comes back to him doing it because he loves her her or is uncontrollably attracted to her I think a lot of it is essentially what she wants to hear but it is now in such a warped package but she can't see the truth because of all the manipulation and the sheer embarrassment of admitting the truth now. Also her family have been won round now so it will be even harder to face up to and tell the truth.

I have a feeling in the event of something happening to Helen, Tom will be the only person not to be taken in by Rob. I hope so.

Cripes, back to the farmyard tonight.

Not sure the calving was that convincing... it sounded more like a constipated Pip and Ed were having some kind of synchronized bowel incident.

I was surprised she got so needy too.




It was awful - that poor cow

I didn't think Pip was very polite to Ed - I know it was a fraught situation, but Ed managed to remember his manners.

The Archers is my guilty pleasure, I literally never discuss it with anyone as I don't know another person who listens to it.

Can someone kill Kenton? He's become such a monumental, self-pitying BORE.

Also, the Helen and Rob storyline needs to get its skates on. I thought we were getting somewhere when Helen was in tears, but that's been smoothed over and now he's trying to run the shop into the ground before it's even begun - presumably so Helen will stay at home forever.

Oh good, someone else who doesn't feel any pity for him


He'd probably like her barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.

Pat says Debbie looks pale and Debbie is not in the mood for wine - is this the beginning of a pregnancy story line? A story line that will mean she's not working in the shop so Rob will have to stand in for her?

I was wondering why Rob didn't go to the family supper thing - maybe he didn't want to talk about the shop plans, but I think it might have had something to do with Henry

Either Rob wants to keep Henry away from Tony just because he can and it will upset Tony, or he has been nasty to Henry on the sly, causing the bedwetting, and thinks the little one will say something to his grandparents

Doesn't look like Rob is going to get his way over the shop stock - he won't like that

It was nice to get back to the Sinister One after all that boring Brookfield stuff anyway. Bring on Charlie and Adam now please...

Ahhh it becomes clear. Rob is scaring Henry so that he comes across to Helen as maladjusted and non-sociable, and pointedly, in need of a sibling.

What is Rob doing/saying to him during these nights at home and down the country park?

Also, why does everyone in Ambridge say the 'Village Hall' and the 'Village shop'?
I was born and raised in a village and live in one now; villagers never say this. We just say 'the hall' or 'the shop'

Jeez, what an evil bar steward! Meanwhile he's managed to get everyone thinking the sun rises out of his backside every morning.

My understanding is that Jill has been sleeping in Pip's room since she moved back to Brookfield. Since Pip moved home from university she has been sleeping on a fold-up bed in the dining room. Now Pip is moving into Rickyard cottage, which is where Matthew was going to live. What I don't understand is why Jill can't share Rickyard with Pip. It's usually let as a holiday cottage and I'm sure it must have more than one bedroom.

And I don't understand how that has only just come into the equation i.e after Jill has moved out. Surely a cottage on the farm premises would have been the first consideration when discussing the relocation of Jill?

I also find it hard to believe that Brookfield only has four bedrooms.
David and Ruth's, Josh's, Ben's, and Pip's (now Heatherpet's)

Isn't it meant to be the substantial family home of the main Archer family?
Surely a holding like that would have housed a large family at one time, not to mention domestic and agricultural staff.

I think that the evil Hazel will rent Keeper's Cottage to someone else, or sell it, when all the flood repair work is done and the Grundys will be homeless again.

And what has happened to Kathy Perks and Jamie? There's been no sight or sound of them for months, have they quietly emigrated or something?

I hope so. The actress who plays Kathy Perks is awful. She delivers all her lines in a monotone.

Why doesn't Jill move into HER bungalow with Carole Tregorran?

That's what I'm expecting to happen to the Grundys too. I don't know why Clarrie isn't worrying yet.

Kathy is meant to be helping Roy run Gray Gables whilst Oliver and Caroline are in Italy so I'm hoping she might start speaking again soon.

Didn't Carole suggest that to her?

Who is now in the bedroom at Brookfield that a teenage Elizabeth finagled for herself when it was upgraded to have its own en suite to the annoyance of her siblings?

You'd think they'd have a massive chart of such things, or employ an aficionado to remember every tiny detail of the Archers canon over the last 65 years

Even better would be a floor plan of each house.

O for goodness sake Helen, grow a pair.

Clearly she has reservations about the adoption so went to Pat to get said reservations confirmed (probably so she could tell Rob her parents weren't keen for Henry to lose his Archer surname). No luck with Pat and then she had a funny turn.

She needs to start heeding her instincts.

The rose tints on her specs seems to have worn off

I haven't listened this week yet, but since the rough stuff a while back Helen hasn't seemed quite so blind where Rob's concerned. It's a shame though that her family now all seem to think he's the bee's knees A very short time ago Pat would have been delighted that Helen had a few doubts about Rob and would have encouraged her to talk about them. but now she's his number one fan.

I wonder if the slow burner is about to step up the pace a little. It'd be good to see just how far the sinister one would be prepared to go to keep control of Helen if she started to rebel a bit.