The Archers

Accusations fly in Ambridge and there's a shock for Brad.

Writer: Sarah Hehir Director: David Payne Editor: Jeremy Howe Brian Aldridge.... Charles Collingwood David Archer.... Timothy Bentinck Helen Archer.... Louiza Patikas Jolene Archer.... Buffy Davies Kenton Archer.... Richard Attlee Ruth Archer.... Felicity Finch Alice Carter.... Hollie Chapman Chris Carter.... Wilf Scolding Susan Carter.... Charlotte Martin Ruairi Donovan.... Arthur Hughes George Grundy ... Angus Stobie Jakob Hakansson.... Paul Venables Kate Madikane.... Perdita Avery Akram Malik.... Asif Khan Azra Malik.... Yasmin Wilde Reginald Turnock.... Trevor Fox

In the shop, Chris informs Susan he’s finally got through to Hazel. His flat won’t be ready any time soon – he’s ready to give up and look for something else. Suddenly David spots a familiar face on the Green. Chris confirms it’s Clive. Horrified Susan confronts Clive, suggesting he disappears as quickly as he arrived. Clive informs her he’s come to see George. Susan assures him George is fine and doesn’t need him hanging around. Clive counters he understands George better than anyone. He knows what it’s like to be a victim of the justice system, and to have a near death experience. He accuses Susan of treachery. Chris approaches to help his mum, but Clive won’t be moved, declaring his intention to visit Bert and pronouncing Susan selfish for leaving the care of their dad to Tracy. Ruth and David tackle the daunting topic of succession.They mull over possible scenarios. David admits to feeling a bit side-lined some days with Pip and Ruth responsible for the dairy herd. It’s not the mixed farm that Brookfield

George is helping Susan out in the shop. She offers him sausage and mash for tea, but he tells her he’ll be out tonight. When Alice comes in Susan discovers George’s plan to apologise to the Aldridges and take the consequences. She wonders if he’s strong enough. But George is sick of the bad vibes and wants things to change. Alice promises to look out for George. This is about reconciliation, not retribution. Susan thinks Alice is worth more than the rest of them put together. Brian reckons Susan’s displaying the blind faith of a grandparent in believing George’s intentions are good. Susan counters that it isn’t blind faith she has – it’s hope. George is trying to change. Has Brian never thought back to his own behaviour at twenty? And George knows what he did was wrong. She urges Brian to remember that at tonight’s meeting.Later George attempts his apology. He’s met with sarcastic hostility from Ruairi and wary scepticism from Brian, who concedes he respects George’s family and if the apology’s sincere he’ll

Jolene detects Kenton’s unsettled mood. He confesses to being wrongfooted by his encounter with George, admitting he accepted the proffered apology. Jolene’s astounded, but Kenton’s had enough of all the conflict. Jolene counters that appeasing George isn’t the answer. His bad behavour is a pattern and she’s surprised Kenton’s been so easily sucked in by his superficial charm. Later Kenton tries to explain that taking away the oxygen of anger will extinguish the flame, but Jolene’s not convinced. Brian too isn’t in a forgiving mood towards George. Seeing the tension between Jolene and Kenton, he thinks they need a holiday. They agree a break sounds tempting.Alice calls Kate to give her the news that that George wants to meet with the Aldridge family to formally apologise. Kate thinks he’s brave – it won’t work out well for him. Alice agrees, but reckons George should be given a chance. Kate wonders if their dad’s invited. Alice confirms for it to work everyone has to be in the room. Kate says if it’s what Ali

Azra and Akram debate the pros and cons of accepting Helen’s offer of work for Akram at Bridge Farm. Azra feels it’s a bit of a step down to reject lucrative plumbing work in favour of working with veg. Akram points out they have more than enough to live on with Azra’s salary, but assumes this is a no from her. Azra concedes that it’s Akram’s call. Later he explains Helen that his current work gives him more time for the children; if there was just himself to consider he’d definitely say yes. However they’re interrupted by Azra, who hopes she’s in time to make her husband happy: he should take the work. Having Akram contented amongst the plants rather than having his head under a sink means more than being able to accrue savings. Akram’s delighted; how can he say no? His wife never ceases to surprise him.Kenton observes to Alice that the whole village seems on edge since what happened to George. Alice thinks it must be awful for George knowing someone wants him dead. Later George calls at the Nest with a gift

Helen makes a surprising offer, and Azra offers the benefit of experience.

Eddie bumps into Brian, and puts right the fact that he’s never properly apologised to him for what George did to Alice. Brian’s appreciative. Eddie should be at a family lunch with George, but he can’t bring himself to go, despite it putting him in the doghouse with Will. Brian wonders if he can be of help, but Eddie says he’s just missing Joe, and feels too old for all this trouble. Brian sympathises, and tries to cheer Eddie up. Eddie brightens slightly, reporting he’s been saving up good quality hay to sell. Brian promises to ask Alice if she wants some – she has no issue with Eddie. Back at Grange Farm, Will’s disgusted at his dad’s absence, and leaves with George. Emma tells him later how upset Clarrie is. Will’s grateful Emma stayed with her. George hears that Markie’s gang has been charged with the attack. It’s a relief, but Emma still can’t relax. Clarrie tells Eddie that George was heartbroken at his no-show – doesn’t Eddie think he’s been punished enough? Eddie reckons that doesn’t equal forgivenes

Akram has time on his hands due to a cancelled job. When Tony mentions a predicament with a ripped polytunnel, hoping Helen can attend to the repair while Tom’s out on deliveries, Akram’s happy to offer his help. Later he’s enjoying the sensation of being back on a farm and working outside. But as he tapes up the tear he slips, making the rip in the plastic even bigger. He’s mortified, but Tony assures him that as long as he isn’t hurt, it’s fine. It was kind of Akram to help; they shouldn’t have let him attempt it in such poor weather. Tony observes ruefully that the tear looks unsalvageable, making Akram feel even worse.Jolene reports to Joy that the police have said their CCTV footage could have been wiped remotely, without anyone needing to access the premises, which makes her feel a bit better. The thought of intruders going through her home makes her skin crawl. She can’t be as confident as Tracy that they won’t come back again. Joy reckons she needs to replace that uneasy feeling with something positi

When Jolene comments to Eddie that the Bull will be keeping things low-key for Burns Night this year, he’s adamant they go as big as they like on it. There’s been enough misery already. Frazzled Jazzer isn’t receptive to Jolene’s request for his help with making it an event. He’s too tired. He’s sorry but the answer’s no. Later Jolene acknowledges Jazzer has a lot on. For his part Jazzer sympathises with Jolene’s worry over Markie’s gang and what they might do.Will’s got George a lot of new stuff for his homecoming. Emma questions whether indulging George like this is really the right thing to do. It’s this sort of thing that landed them in this position in the first place. Just because he nearly died doesn’t mean everything’s forgiven. Will disagrees. They nearly lost their son, and now he wants to forget everything that’s happened.Eddie refuses to go with Emma and Ed to welcome George home. He reckons he doesn’t know George any more. He’s glad he’s alright, but he’s crossed a line and Eddie can’t forgive hi

Henry’s a reluctant assistant at Bridge Farm as Helen and Tony work on plans to rejuvenate the garden areas. Henry continues to campaign for giving George work. Whilst Helen agrees no-one deserves to be assaulted, she reiterates there’s too much bad feeling for them to consider rehiring George. Henry goes to see Keira. When his mum calls him later, she discovers he’s at the hospital visiting George. Helen’s not happy. She asks if Henry is mates with George. Henry supposes he is. He feels sorry for George – the family are going through a hard time. Tony acknowledges this is true. Helen assures Henry she won’t cause any drama over the visit. She admits to Tony that at fifteen, she trusts Henry to make the right decisions. Tony declares her a good parent – Helen reckons she had a good role model.Amber worries that Will’s spending too much time at the hospital. She also checks in on Ed, who confirms he’s fine – it’s just a lot. Later, Ed spots Will’s anxiety and guesses the cause – it’s not his fault he wasn’t th

Tony’s after some help at Bridge Farm and wonders whether Brian might be interested. Alice explains her dad’s angina has been a concern recently. Brian overhears, declaring he feels mollycoddled and patronised by his children. Tony tentatively suggests Brian must have a lot on with his house move. Brian’s defensive, responding testily that Miranda’s house sale has fallen through. Later he apologises to Alice for his attitude. Alice understands. It would be her mum’s birthday this week so it’s a difficult time. She wonders if now is the right time to be thinking about moving house. Brian assures her it’s exactly the right time for a new chapter. Over a pint, Neil updates Tony on George, who’s having a brain scan. Tony’s more concerned about Neil – he knows how it feels to discover someone possibly mortally injured. Neil admits it’s shaken him. He reports Jazzer is also very out of sorts. Tony offers good advice, and they resolve they should meet for a drink more often.Jolene puzzles over the wiping of the Ne

The residents reel from the events of New Year, and Jolene makes a shocking discovery.

Eddie and Amber arrive outside the hospital, Amber blaming herself for what’s happened. Inside, Susan and Emma struggle to try and work out who would have attacked George. It could be members of Markie’s gang, but equally might be almost anyone in the village. Emma then tells Amber that George is alive, but has a fractured skull. Amber breaks down in Susan’s arms, full of remorse for how badly she’s treated Susan. She declares her love for George, terrified he may not pull through. Eddie reckons they’ve got to put the past behind them and pull together for George’s sake, re-emphasising this to Susan later, leading to a reconciliation of sorts. Emma talks to Ed on the phone about Keira, not sure why he didn’t get in touch earlier. Then Alice arrives at the hospital, explaining about her heart-to-heart with George outside The Bull. She’s convinced he then set off to find Emma, desperate to put things right with her. Emma wants to know if Alice saw anything suspicious, as she’s probably the last person to see Ge

As the New Year begins Emma and Will desperately search for Keira, unable to contact Ed or Eddie, while drawing a blank with Keira’s friends. Will reassures Emma, who believes that somehow it’s all her fault. Lilian finds Fallon treating a cut to her hand, downplaying any effect George’s appearance earlier might have had on her. Meanwhile, Neil and Tracy meet up on the Green, joined by Jazzer, then Will and Emma, the strain beginning to tell on all of them. Jazzer and Neil head off to check a bridle path, while Emma blames herself again, before Tracy suggests calling George, in case he knows something. On the bridle path Neil hears the sound of a phone, before spotting a body. Fallon joins Emma, Will and Tracy, suggesting they ring the police, before Will tries George and increasingly frazzled Emma despairs her phone has died. Elsewhere, Neil calls 999, reporting that George hasn’t got a pulse, while Jazzer reels in shock. Neil then wraps George in his coat, desperately looking for signs of life, while an amb

Emma and Ed are about to go The Bull for New Year’s Eve when they realise Keira’s not there. They find a note saying she can’t stay there any longer and wishing George was back in prison. Fearing the worst, Ed blames George for tearing the family apart. Lilian and Tracy have been distributing free bottles of wine they were given after winning the Best Local Pub award, before George bursts in through the door, drunkenly demanding to be served and then mocking Kenton’s fear of dogs. Alice tries to reason with George before Brian takes hold of him and George sends Brian stumbling backwards. Tracy takes George aside, threatening to get the likes of Harrison to throw him out. George then beats a retreat, sarcastically wishing them all a Happy New Year. Lilian is full of praise for Tracy, while Alice reflects knowingly on George’s drunken state, before they hear the news that Keira is missing. Alice goes outside and stops George from throwing a rock through the window, reminding him he promised to be a better pers

At the Rewilding, Alice is hoping for a photo as Rex points out the beavers handy work, before wondering how Alice really feels about Chris looking for a new partner. She admits it’s difficult, the idea of Chris moving on, then realises that’s what she needs to do and work out what she really wants, which might include having another child. Before going to work Jazzer tells Brad to take care of Amber. Amber didn’t sleep well, due to George texting constantly, and asks Brad what she should do. He offers to be with her as a friend, but Amber wants him to be more than that. They’re interrupted by George hammering at the door, then trying to force his way past Brad, before Amber calls to let him in. George then apologises to Amber for flipping out, claiming that’s not who he really is. The counselling will help sort him out. Amber calls him out on the disgusting things he said to his family. George reckons it was all true, but doesn’t care about them anymore. He wants a fresh start with Amber, somewhere else. Amb

Emma confers with Will over what Brad said about George and Ed, with Will admitting he’s thought sometimes that George might hit him too. Emma reckons they have to do something to stop it getting worse, but what? Then Eddie asks them what’s going on. George tells Amber he’s been referred for counselling over his temper. He later interrupts Amber making a video, pushing her to have sex, before Will calls him downstairs, where Emma and Eddie are waiting too. They insist George tell the truth about what’s been going on, which he does very reluctantly. Emma accuses George of emotionally blackmailing Ed, like he did with Emma so she wouldn’t tell people he was driving Alice’s car. George tells them about the counselling, but shouts at Eddie when he berates George for deliberately hurting his own family. Amber then snaps at George for not telling her the truth. George tries to justify his actions, claiming they’ve all felt like killing Ed, before doubling down with vicious comments about Emma and Nic, only stopping

George is helping Ed with some tree surgery at Grange Farm, but accidentally hits Ed in the face with a branch. Later, when Brad comes over to Little Grange, Emma notices blood on a door handle. When Emma and Brad see the cut to Ed’s eyebrow they wince at how deep it is. George explains what happened, before Brad remarks on the same thing happening the other day. George insists last time was different and he never meant to hit Ed. George and Ed cover that both incidents were accidents, but Brad isn’t convinced. Emma patches Ed up, before he heads back with George to finish the job. Brad confronts Emma with his suspicions about all the “accidents” happening to Ed – that’s three in a month. Is Ed getting sloppy - or is he letting George hit him? Brad thinks Ed might be protecting George by taking the blame off him, so he won’t get sent back to prison. Emma can’t believe Ed wouldn’t have told her if that was the case, but Brad’s worried George might do Ed some serious harm if it happens again. Chris takes Alice

George cycles up to Bridge Farm, asking Pat if they’ve got any work going. She puts him off, saying she’ll let him know if they need someone. Tony then joins Pat, ready to take some winter bedding over to Meadow Farm. On his way back George has a barbed exchange with Hannah, swapping insults over who has the sadder life, before Hannah gets upset and goes. Later at The Bull, Hannah talks through with Fallon what just happened. Hannah knows she shouldn’t have risen to George’s bait, but Fallon reckons it’s like George is on a mission to rile everyone. They agree someone should talk to George – but not Harrison. Fallon then knocks at George’s door, telling him forcefully he needs to leave them all alone, including Hannah. George tries brazening it out, but underneath it’s clear Fallon has rattled him. Pat and Tony find Esme in the yard at Meadow Farm, in the middle of clearing out a storage barn. She’s stunned when they tell her they’ve been collecting spare bales of winter bedding for her, from local farmers. W