The Archers

Freddie is in the loading bay at Casey Meats talking to Vince on the phone. Yet another customer called yesterday complaining their delivery is short. Freddie thinks a driver is taking the missing meat. Vince sets Freddie to trying to spot a pattern. He mentions that one of the drivers has a criminal record. But Freddie says he’s served his time. Freddie asks Jason how easy it would be for something to go astray from an order. Jason points out that most customers don’t have time to check through deliveries when they arrive. Later Vince and Freddie look at a spreadsheet of incomplete deliveries. There’s no pattern that links to a single worker. They’ll have to follow drivers on the late shift. Vince still thinks ex-con Antonio is the prime suspect. But Freddie points out that he himself has been in jail. Later, Freddie leaves a voicemail for Vince saying he’s going to follow Jason tonight.

Lilian and Oliver meet on the way to the shop. Inside Vince is buying champagne. He’s taking Elizabeth away for a long weekend but he forgot to pre-order the fizz. Lilian gets a call from Jakob – the tests results for Cinnamon are back. She rushes to the surgery. It’s bad news – Cinnamon has strangles. Jakob recommends a full lockdown. And with the horse’s paperwork missing the stables looks incompetent at best. Horses will have to be quarantined when it’s show season, the cross country course will shut and lessons will have to be cancelled. Lilian needs time to think. But later she tells Jakob a lockdown is the only way.

It’s Lynda’s birthday and Robert serves pancakes with raspberries and Bridge Farm yoghurt in the garden. Ben stops by with a birthday card from all at Brookfield. Lynda wastes no time in press-ganging him into giving a presentation on wartime nursing for their D-Day event. At the Tearoom Chelsea presents Lynda with a whole marmalade cake baked by Fallon.

Meanwhile, Fallon is at The Bull dropping off some loaves for collection by the brewery for its bread beer. She tells Jolene Lilian had planned to help at the pub but something has come up at the stables. Jolene is looking for pictures of Auntie Connie, who served in in Egypt, when she comes across photos and artwork from Fallon’s schooldays. She finds a picture of Connie with a note from her American sweetheart, and a poem. Fallon confides that Harrison sent her a poem but things are difficult and he is still sleeping on the sofa. They find a diary entry written by Connie but Jolene’s not sure Fallon should read it.

When Fallon returns to the Tearoom she tells Lynda she is on board for the D-Day event. She agrees to make Woolton Pie, a hearty but frugal vegetable-filled dish. But as she tells Lynda and Robert about Auntie Connie’s diary entry she is overcome and has to step outside. The situation feels impossible, she tells Lynda. But she loves Harrison – misses him.

That evening at the Bull, the participants in the D-Day event gather to finalise their plans. During their chat they take the opportunity to toast Lynda’s birthday.

Lynda and Robert are in the attic sorting through some of the Edwardian furniture her mother left them. She wants to bring some down from there, but there’s barely enough room with all the things they’re already using. She spots a chest of Robert’s father’s military memorabilia, including the medal he tried to give to Freddie. There should be an event in Ambridge to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, says Linda. And she has an idea. Over tea on the lawn she suggests that they have a living history museum evening at Ambridge Hall. Robert will start with an account of the D Day landings. Then visitors can watch demonstrations of different aspects of the war. Chelsea could do wartime hairstyles and fashions, and Tony or Pat talk about wartime foods. Fallon could do Blitz baking! At the Tearoom with Robert, Lynda broaches the subject. Chelsea is keen and Fallon recalls a great aunt who served in Egypt during the war.

Lilian asks Jakob to take a look at a horse called Cinnamon, a new arrival at the Stables, who is a bit under the weather. But Lilian can’t find his stables contract, which Alice would have filled in. It has details of his health and vaccinations. When they go to see Cinnamon – who following protocol for new arrivals is still in the quarantine field - they notice he's not in a good way: lethargic and not wanting to lift his head. Jakob is going to send off some samples for tests. It doesn’t look good, but they’ll have to wait for the results to come back.

Lilian and Oliver chat as he takes an early bank holiday ride before another busy day. Oliver asks after Alice who is still staying with Ruairi in London. Lilian wishes she could have done more before everything got so out of hand. She feels guilty about encouraging Alice’s relationship with Harry. And she fears things might be awkward at The Bull after the crash. Later, Lillian awkwardly broaches the subject of Alice and Fallon with Jolene, who has no problem with her being supportive towards her niece – family is family. Lilian apologises and all is well between them. She insists on helping Jolene with queueing customers.

Vince asks after Fallon and orders a pint of Shires. Jolene offers him a taste of bread beer. He makes Jolene laugh when he asks for a shot of butter as a chaser. He takes a call from Freddie who tells him another customer is missing meat from their order. Jolene overhears, telling Vince that Wayne was also missing some steak from a recent delivery. Freddie gets Casey Meats driver Jason to give him a lift to the customer who complained. Jason’s working the bank holiday for the overtime cash: his twin daughters want to go skiing. He asks if Freddie can put a bit more overtime his way. Later in the canteen, they chat. Freddie has to change the subject when he almost lets slip that his family owns Lower Loxley. He’s summoned by Vince who tells him that there is no mistake in the online distribution system and they need to get to the bottom of the problem quickly.

Harrison greets Fallon as he returns from church and they chat awkwardly, with Harrison apologising for leaving his bedding where he slept, on the sofa. Fallon's finishing up mowing the grass and Harrison's off to training ahead of the T20 cricket. Before he goes, he mentions Philip Larkin’s poem – The Mower. He offers to read her the last line but she suggests he send it to her instead.

At the Tearoom Chelsea isn’t looking forward to playing but Pat gives her a pep talk and some fielding practice, using a cheese scone. Fallon arrives and confesses that Harrison, likewise, isn’t enthusiastic: he’s a bit embarrassed about his bad grace and sledging in the match against Leyton Cross. Tracy takes Harrison to task as he hammers in the stumps. He agrees that he should email the other captain to apologise, and say sorry to Pat. But when he tries to talk to Tracy about the team vice-captaincy she gives him short shrift. He tells her George doesn’t want the job and she agrees to think about it. During the match she’s on fire, bowling a hattrick of wickets to help her team trounce the men. Harrison takes the opportunity to seek out Pat and offer a heartfelt apology. Fallon turns up with leftover cake Natasha has sent for the teams to enjoy. She agrees to stay for one drink as 'Tracy’s Tigers' lift the Mark Hebden trophy and Tracy announces her new role as vice-captain. Fallon tells Harrison she read Larkin’s poem and took hope from the ending: ‘we should be kind while there is still time.’

Guests gather at Helen’s house ready for Joy’s surprise birthday party, where Kirsty confesses to Elizabeth that George has taken over looking after Rex’s pigs while he’s away. Joy’s overwhelmed when she arrives – she couldn’t have better friends. Mick has another surprise for her – he’s landed a job on the Grey Gables security team. When Joy hears they’d tried to invite Rochelle and her children to the party, she snaps at Mick telling him he had no right to steal her address book and knock on people’s doors. Mick wonders why he hasn’t met Rochelle before, especially since the accident. Joy’s enraged when Mick adds that Rochelle’s supposed to care for Joy. and upset mick heads off. Joy tells awkward Elizabeth that Rochelle’s been a fabulous daughter to her. How dare Mick think otherwise.

Harrison tells Fallon that they need to talk. Harrison can’t believe that the miscarriage isn’t affecting Fallon, Harrison can’t think of anything else. He hopes Alice goes to prison for what she’s done. When Fallon reminds Harrison that he knows Fallon doesn’t’ want children, Harrison explains he thought he could live with it, but that was before Fallon got pregnant. He needs to grieve that baby. He wonders if the accident hadn’t happened, they would just have got on with the pregnancy. Fallon is very clear that this wouldn’t have been the case – she doesn’t want children. They are both on the edge of tears as Harrison heads upstairs saying he doesn’t think he can take this. Fallon can’t either.

Freddie and Elizabeth are on their way to a meal with Vince at a Filipino restaurant. Freddie will pay for the meal, if in return Elizabeth nods and agrees with him. She’ll understand why once they’re inside. They bump into Mick who tells them he hasn’t heard back from Rochelle about Joy’s surprise birthday party. He might go and knock on her door. Later Mick rings to say that when he went to Rochelle’s address, the person answering the door didn’t know who she was.

Vince smells a rat at the meal when Freddie and Elizabeth over-enthuse about the food. Freddie comes clean explaining the chef there is willing to train the abattoir catering manager, so that they could offer Filipino food to boost staff morale. Later Vince says he's done a deal with the restaurant manager; Vince will supply cheaper meat in return for training. Freddie’s delighted.

Harrison catches up with Tom to discuss T20 tactics but talk turns to Fallon’s miscarriage and Tom sympathises, remembering how gutted he felt after Kirsty lost Wren. The hardest thing was not knowing how he was supposed to feel. When Tom mentions visiting the Remembrance Garden where Wren’s ashes were scattered, Harrison wishes there was some way to commemorate his and Fallon’s loss. He opens up about being on different pages with Fallon about it. Harrison had accepted that Fallon never wanted children, but now he’s not so sure. Tom thinks there’s a chance Fallon will change her mind once she’s processed it all. But Harrison and Fallon need to have an honest talk with each other.

Lily finalises the catering with Fallon for tonight’s barn dance, advising extra delivery time because of the Heydon Bridge diversion. Joy tells Fallon she’d been looking forward to the barn dance, but because of her sling she can’t go. Later at Joy’s they both agree they’re lucky to have made it through the crash. Fallon opens up about Harrison; she feels like she’s treading on eggshells. He’s obsessed about her miscarriage, but they can’t talk about it because they’re on such different pages. Ben turns up, offering to drive Joy to the barn dance, mentioning a special job Lily’s found for her. Later at the barn dance everyone’s delighted when Joy calls out the dance instructions.

When Inspector Norris checks how Harrison’s doing, he asks if Alice’s blood tests are back, but Norris can’t talk about it. Seeing that Harrison isn’t himself, Norris invites him into her office for a chat. Harrison asks how sentencing would be affected by the crash being the cause of Fallon’s miscarriage. Norris sympathetically explains that it doesn’t count in law. Harrison becomes distraught and Norris sends him home. When Fallon gets back from the barn dance, Harrison tells her the reasons for being told to leave work. He’s going to write an impact statement for consideration in sentencing Alice. Harrison’s surprised when Fallon says that if it’s going to make things worse for Alice, then she won’t be doing one. Distraught Harrison can’t believe there’ll be no consequences for losing their baby. Fallon thinks he should do what he thinks is right, but so will she.

Neil checks in on George because Emma mentioned he seemed a bit down and wasn’t keen on being the vice-captain of the cricket team. George admits Harrison’s made things awkward with Tracy and he was behaving weirdly at the cricket match on Sunday, particularly when he was rude to Pat. Neil tells George he’s really proud of him for his part in the crash rescue and offers to be there for his Borchester Echo interview. But George says it’s fine - he’s cancelled the interview as he wasn’t in the mood.

Lily waits with Kirsty for George to help inject one of Rex's boars with anti-inflammatories. Lily mentions that Mick hasn’t got hold of Rochelle yet for Joy’s surprise birthday party. Kirsty’s confused when Lily talks about Rochelle’s local address – Kirsty’s sure she lives up north. With George’s help, Kirsty successfully injects the boar. George offers to help any time but cringes when Kirsty tells him he’s already a hero around Ambridge and now he’s saving Rex and Kirsty.

Neil bumps into Harrison at St Stephens. Harrison promises to sort it when Neil explains that George doesn’t want to be vice-captain. Neil adds that he heard that Harrison was disrespectful to Pat on Sunday and checks if he’s alright. Harrison shares his feelings about Fallon’s miscarriage and Alice’s part in it. Neil thinks Alice's behaviour isn’t deliberate; she self-sabotages and with alcoholics a relapse is sadly all too common. Neil’s faith and forgiving Alice has bought him enormous relief. Harrison’s understanding but it’s all a bit much at the moment. Neil says he’s there if Harrison needs him.

Lily notices a distressed cow stuck in a ditch on her way back from visiting Ruth and calls Ben. Whilst waiting for David to arrive with hoisting equipment, they ring Alistair. They discuss the chaos on the roads caused by the crash on Heydon Bridge. Alistair’s going to have to reach them via the ford. As Alistair starts to wade through it, he feels panicky but succeeds in crossing it. The cow’s successfully rescued and treated, but Ben notices that Alistair’s white as a sheet. Alistair admits he had a minor panic attack in the ford because of the river rescue. Ben’s supportive and offers to drive him back to his car.

When Freddie praises George about his part in the crash rescue, George is dismissive. Freddie remembers how he felt after the Grey Gables explosion and rescuing Lynda - Robert tried to give him his dad’s war medal. George shares he had the same sort of experience with Kenton with the engraved pint glass. They both agree that they didn’t do anything special – most people would have done the same. George wonders whether if he’d been quicker rescuing Fallon, she’d still be pregnant, but Freddie counters that the crash may not be the reason for Fallon’s miscarriage. Anyway, if anyone’s to blame, it’s Alice who may end up in prison. She wouldn’t survive very well there, as Freddie knows from his brutal experience in Young Offenders. George states that he wouldn’t cope in prison either. Freddie surmises that as Alice did the crime, she should do the time.

Fallon and Harrison both agree that it’s great that Fallon’s back at Woodbine Cottage after her stay at The Bull. Harrison’s relieved Alice has gone to London – at least he won’t bump into her.

Ambridge is playing Layton Cross at cricket and Kirsty pops by to wish the team luck on her way to an appointment with Rex’s pigs – she’s looking after them while Rex is away. George and Pat are mildly concerned when Kirsty reckons it’ll be a breeze. They chat about Mick inviting Joy’s daughter Rochelle to her surprise birthday tea on Friday – that’s if Mick can get hold of Rochelle. Later Kirsty rings Jazzer for some advice about Rex’s pigs, but when she asks about a limping boar, Jazzer says she needs to treat him herself and Kirsty wonders what on earth she’s doing!

Everyone’s surprised when Harrison turns up to play cricket. Pat’s not impressed when he rides rough-shod over Tracy’s batting order, reminding them that he is the captain and then starts sledging the opposing team. George mentions that Harrison’s asked him to be vice-captain, but he agrees when Pat says that Tracy would’ve been the obvious choice. Ambridge win the match and Harrison’s celebratory but Pat asks for a quick word. She didn’t think Harrison’s attitude towards Layton Cross was appropriate and thinks Harrison shouldn’t have overlooked Tracy for vice-captain. Harrison retorts that before getting into the bigger decisions, perhaps Pat should look at her bowling. She needs to earn her spot on the team.

Chelsea thinks George is living his best life – what with the free family meal at The Bull tonight as well as Oliver’s magnum of champagne. When George says he hopes things will die down soon, Chelsea doubts it and shows George Fallon ’s post telling the world he’s superman. George spots a comment from the Borchester Echo wanting to do a feature on him, but isn’t sure he feels comfortable doing it.

Alice gets cold feet as she packs to leave for London with Ruairi tomorrow. She doesn’t want to leave Martha, but she doesn’t want Martha to see her in this state. Alice checks if she can still drink when she’s in London and Ruairi agrees, but with some rules including only drinking in Ruairi’s company. In the meantime they decide to get some fresh air and walk Martha’s Shetland pony, Champion.

Chris admits to Tracy that he’s struggling to cope with not only his job and Martha, but also with wondering whether Alice has had a drink or not. When Tracy calls Alice a piece of work, Chris reminds her that alcoholism is an illness. Later Tracy bumps into Ruairi and Alice on their walk, telling Alice that Chris, Martha and everyone else would be better off if she didn’t come back from London.

Later while Alice is reading Martha’s bedtime story, Chris explains to Ruairi that he’d hoped that Alice would go back to rehab – it would be one good thing to come from the accident. When it’s time for Alice to go, Chris says he’ll miss her, and Alice says she’ll miss Martha – and Chris too.

Alistair catches up with Mick to explain why he’s been dragged into Alistair’s alibi about treating a sheep on the night of the crash. Mick explains that he saw Alistair and Denise on the river and put two and two together about their relationship. They saved Mick and Joy’s lives, the least they owe Alistair is a bit of discretion. Alistair asks Mick for help in pinpointing a fictional location for the sheep. It’s a bit of a logistical nightmare and Mick wonders if it might be easier for Alistair to tell Paul the truth. But Alistair says it’s not his truth to tell.

Kenton visits George to present him with an engraved pint glass which will be kept at The Bull for him. Kenton and Jolene think George was really brave to help rescue everyone from the car crash in the river Am. When George bats the praise away, Kenton says he’s also there because he wants George to meet up with Fallon – he thinks it will do her some good. George reluctantly agrees and later Fallon tells George he shouldn’t underestimate what he did, he literally saved Fallon’s life. But afterwards, Fallon comments to Kenton how down George seemed – it’s a lot for a nineteen-year-old to take on. Fallon admits she can’t face being in the house with Harrison yet and asks to stay a bit longer at The Bull. Harrison texts suggesting that they write a nice post about George and Fallon thinks it’s a good idea to be together but focussing on someone else. Anything else is strictly off limits.

Fallon and Jolene chat about Fallon’s forthcoming scan. Fallon admits she’s finding it hard to be in the same room as Harrison, since he told Alice about the miscarriage. She’s never seen Harrison so angry and the crash may not have caused the miscarriage. Just because Harrison was thrilled to discover that Fallon was pregnant, he presumed Fallon felt the same. But Harrison knew she’d never wanted to be a mum. Jolene reminds Fallon that she and Harrison love each other - they must try not to shut each other out.

Things are fractious between Harrison and Fallon on the way back from the scan. Harrison expects Fallon to be as upset as him about the crash and the miscarriage. Fallon explains that although she hates what Alice did, she realises that Alice needs help. Fallon decides to stay over at The Bull to give her and Harrison some space, but they confirm that they love each other. Later Fallon explains to Jolene that Harrison’s behaving like he’s lost a child, but she doesn’t feel like that. She’s sad and bruised, but not grieving.

Adam tells Alice that staying at Honeysuckle Cottage is making things worse; he’s asked Brian to pick her up. But Alice wants to go back to her own house. Ruairi turns up and suggests that he stays at Alice’s. He won’t stop her drinking and will join her if she does. Adam’s incredulous, but Ruairi explains it’s a way of supervising Alice, until she’s ready to get help. Ruairi’s going to suggest Alice stays in London with him. Adam concedes a change of scene may do Alice good.

Paul fills Alistair in on how poorly Denise is doing. When Paul mentions that Denise’s main aim is to get well enough to sit downstairs to watch TV with John, Alistair blurts out that it sounds ‘cosy’. Paul attempts to chase up the paperwork up for the callout that Alistair and Denise supposedly attended on the night of the crash. When Paul’s insistent, Jakob notices Alistair’s unease and makes an excuse to call Paul away. But Later, Jakob tells Alistair that he needs to sort it all out – he’s finding the whole situation infuriating.

Jakob catches up with Adam, commenting that Brian and Kate are still barely speaking to each other. Jakob wishes he’d handled it differently when he discovered Alice’s drinking. Adam’s supportive; Jakob did what he thought was best at the time. Adam’s not sure whether Alice wants to stop drinking, although she’s agreed not to drink at Honeysuckle. But when Adam pops home, he can tell Alice has had a drink. When Adam suggests that Alice rings her detox buddy Lisa, she reluctantly agrees. But later Alice tells Lisa that she’s only ringing because Adam told her to. She doesn’t want to get back on track, because it’s too late for her. She was so drunk that she smashed into a car full of friends that plunged into the Am, and she doesn’t remember any of it. She tells Lisa she no longer wants her to be her buddy. Afterwards when Adam asks how it went Alice says she’s an alcoholic and no-one can change that – she’s done.

Pip and Kirsty check up on Rex’s boat while he’s away and notice a bit of damage, maybe caused by debris from the crash. Pip’s going to fix it to make up for not being able to look after Rex’s pigs next week. Kirsty offers to give Pip a hand and they chat about Roy, who seems to be spending a massive amount of time video calling Lexi, even though he insists they’re just good friends.

At The Tearoom, Chelsea notices that Fallon looks under the weather. Fallon admits she didn’t sleep well. Kirsty turns up and takes Fallon to one side to let her know she’s there for Fallon after the accident and miscarriage, but Fallon says all she wants to do right now is work and sleep. Kirsty advises her not to overdo it; Fallon’s been through a lot physically and emotionally. When Kirsty brings up Wren, Fallon says that her experience is different, because Kirsty really wanted a baby, but Fallon didn’t. However, Harrison’s heartbroken and now everyone knows about the miscarriage which is the last thing Fallon wanted. She can barely look Harrison in the face. Kirsty suggests catching up later, but Fallon’s keen to get on. Chelsea’s understanding – she knows what it’s like when everyone knows your business.

Alice can’t face going to work at The Stables - she thinks everyone hates her and doesn’t blame them. She got so drunk she doesn’t even remember driving. Worried Adam suggests that Alice stays at Honeysuckle Cottage but stipulates that it’s Xander’s home and Alice mustn’t drink there.

Chelsea, Freddie and Paul prepare the food for today’s cricket match against Farndale. They’re short on players, so Paul and Chelsea have been roped in and Tracy’s trying to convince George to take part. They wonder if team captain Harrison will turn up after Fallon’s miscarriage last week and later Tracy confirms that Harrison’s not coming. George agrees to think about playing when Tracy points out that Tilly Button will be there. George is fed up with everyone wanting to talk to him about his ‘heroic’ river rescue but Tracy counters that’s because everyone, including her, is proud of George. But Tracy thinks Alice should be locked up for drunk driving and causing the accident. Paul agrees - because of Alice, six people could have drowned in the Am, including his mum, Denise. She’s still sick from her part in the River Am rescue.

At the last minute everyone’s delighted when George turns up at the cricket ground, calling him a hero, but George is having none of it. Paul comments that Denise and Alistair feel the same as George and won’t hear a word of praise. George has a storming game but in the end Ambridge lose the match. In The Bull afterwards Tracy praises the team, and they raise their glasses! But George is subdued and when he learns about Fallon’s miscarriage, he feels sick and heads to the toilet. Chelsea wonders what’s wrong and asks if it’s because of what happened to Fallon. When George worries their baby died because of him, Chelsea puts him straight saying it absolutely wasn’t his fault.

Kate and Jakob bring Brian and Alice some shopping, but Brian isn’t pleased to see Jakob. Brian argues with Kate, accusing her of trying to tell him what’s good for Alice. Kate counters, furiously, that his spoiling Alice is why they are in this situation. She adds that Brian’s ill-judged words about Jennifer are what drove Alice to drink that day. Then Jakob points out Alice left while they were rowing. Wearily, Kate asks if she heard, and Jakob says it’s unlikely she didn’t. Kate says it’s time to stop treating Alice with kid gloves. All three leave to try and find her.

Fallon offers Harrison a cuppa as he sorts out his toolbox. The miscarriage is happening. She declines his offer of painkillers or hot water bottle and definitely doesn’t want anyone to know about the pregnancy. He wants to talk about it, but she doesn’t. She promises they will talk but not right now. He wants to go for a walk to clear his head. Alice turns up and Fallon invites her in. She forcefully tells Alice that she is shaken but still alive and she wants something from her – Alice has to get back to being a mum to Martha and a friend. She has to get back on her feet – if she does that she is forgiven. Harrison returns and erupts with fury, turning on Fallon for refusing to talk to him but having time to chat to her friend. He throws Alice out – shouting at her in the street that Fallon was pregnant and now she’s not: ‘Are you Sorry for that?’

Alistair, Mick and Jazzer are having a pint when Paul joins them. He says Denise has a bug she picked up from the river Am. When Mick takes Paul to the bar, Jazzer points out it wasn’t a coincidence that Alistair and Denise were together that night. He commiserates when Alistair says they didn’t make it to the hotel. Mick confides he’s experiencing flashbacks and that George seems overwhelmed too. Paul queries the ‘late call out’ Denise said they were on when they spotted the crash. Mick comes to the rescue with a story about an injured sheep. Alistair, grateful for the intervention, embroiders it. But Paul won’t let it go, despite assurances that it’ll be dealt with at HQ. When Paul goes to get another round, Mick promises Alistair mum’s the word.

Chris and Alice are watching Martha in the playground. Adam gave Alice a lift with several bags so she could avoid being seen at Chris’s place – the rumour mill has already started. Alice insists Martha must stay with him for the foreseeable future: she can’t deal with her drinking and looking after Martha. Later Chris suggests they all go and get dinner together, but Alice just wants to leave, without even saying goodbye to her daughter. She’s resigned herself to ending up in prison after emptying the vodka, and even fruit cider, bottles found in her car. Three people ended up in the Am and Fallon nearly died. Later, Chris tells Jazzer the situation doesn’t fit with the Alice he knows - but it’s like she’s already given up.

Will is sticking sequins to Poppy’s party T-shirt as George teases him about his handiwork. Will tells him rice has failed to revive his waterlogged phone. He complains about the messages backed up on his voicemail - panic-stricken, George remembers that Will has the message he left when he found Alice. Mick arrives with thank-you goodies and, as Will goes to answer the door, George tries frantically to access Will’s voicemail. Tense after failing do so and embarrassed by their praise, George rushes off to his room. Mick says Alice deserves what’s coming to her. George returns, still out of sorts, apologising and saying the situation is a bit full on. He persuades Will to leave his phone when he has to dash out. With a sigh of relief, George deletes the voicemail he left.

The atmosphere is awkward between Fallon and Harrison and she becomes frosty when he mentions ‘her condition’. They are interrupted by Alan who is collecting items for charity. Fallon is eager to send Harrison over with donations. Later, at the church, Harrison spots a tiny babygrow and can’t resist telling Alan that Fallon is pregnant. He has been given a double miracle – she survived the crash and he’s going to be a dad. At the hospital, however, he is devastated when the scan shows the foetus has no heartbeat: Fallon will miscarry naturally once her coil is removed. She asks if the accident is responsible. The doctor says it’s difficult to say for sure. But Harrison is adamant it cost them their baby.

Brian, Adam and Kate are at the police station – they want to get Alice through this with the least possible trauma. She was arrested as soon as the doctor said she was well enough. Brian is kicking himself about his harsh words to Alice. But Kate thinks people have every right to be furious with her. For now Alice is free to go, while her blood alcohol is being tested.

During the drive home she wants to go to the hospital to find out how the others are. Kate is derisive – if the shoe were on the other foot, they wouldn’t want ‘the offender’ visiting. Alice struggles to remember what happened – she recalls George but little else. When they get home Alice tells Brian it’s not the first time she has parked up and got drunk but she’s never driven drunk before. After putting her to bed, Brian tells Kate and Adam they have to do something – he doesn’t know how Alice will get out of this mess.

Fallon is impatient to leave the hospital with Harrison. Mick arrives, unscathed apart from a sprained wrist although Joy has a broken collar bone. They’ve all had a lucky escape - they all agree George is one brave kid. The doctor arrives and gives Fallon the all clear to leave, but first wants a word with Fallon and Harrison in private. He tells them one of the hospital’s routine tests has come back positive – Fallon is pregnant. She’s shocked - she has a coil and they’ve been careful. She must return for an ultrasound tomorrow.

Alistair and Denise are driving to a hotel after an enjoyable dinner together. Nervous, they chat about the evening to come. They screech to a halt as Alistair spots headlights in the water – a car has gone off the bridge into the Am. George, frantic, is on the scene. They hear Mick shouting and George helps Denise pull him out of the water, Alistair goes to help Joy. He and George drag her to the shore but she’s unconscious having hit her head. To their relief she’s breathing and has a pulse. But then Mick tries to wade back in – Fallon is still in the car. Desperate, she screams for help, trapped as it fills up with water. George dives in again and Denise tries to follow. Alistair begs her not to even as Fallon reaches the surface. The back door was jammed on rocks on the river bed so George got her out of the driver’s side. Shortly afterward he makes it back to the surface too. They’re all alive! Denise praises George and Fallon thanks him.

Then he hears sirens and dashes off. Alistair goes after George. Meanwhile he is busy shifting Alice into the driver’s seat of her car. He apologises to her but what else can he do? When Alistair arrives George tells him she has necked a whole bottle of vodka. Alistair remembers bitterly that he saw her buy it at the shop earlier that evening. As the emergency services arrive to speak to George, Alistair is distraught. Thumping the car he says: ‘Oh Alice, what have you done?'

Brian gives painkillers to a groggy Alice. She is hungover but claims she’s ill. She denies drinking but Brian tells her lying is not going to help. Chris arrives – Alice forgot to pick up Martha. Chris guesses she has been drinking and Alice storms off so Brian fills him in. She returns, furious. Chris reassures her she can see Martha as long as she’s sober. But all she hears is the threat of losing access. Brian says Jennifer would be so ashamed of her and, hurt by his words, Alice walks out.

George is at the shop looking for drinks for a party. He can’t afford much and Joy tells him fruit cider is on offer. In the end he has to settle for it. Alistair pops in and says he’s having a quiet night in and Joy mentions Denise bought an expensive bottle of sparkling wine for a night with friends. Alice arrives and despite Joy telling her the shop is closed insists on getting a few things. She picks up snacks, demands some vodka, pays and rushes out. Joy says she shouldn’t have sold her the drink but Alistair says Alice is an adult. Later George is on the way home from the party when he comes across Alice slumped, drunk in her car. He leaves a voice mail for Will saying he’s going to drive Aunty Alice home. En route she feels sick and starts trying to open the door. Distracted, George swerves and hits an oncoming car which crashes into the river.

Miranda is revelling in Lilian’s discomfort at her being there in The Bull for the pub quiz. Brian is determined to win but Kate is not happy with the team name. Alice is late, and Jakob is on edge. With good reason it seems after Alice turns up and, clearly the worse for wear, starts making a nuisance of herself. The family is mortified and Jakob is all for sneaking her out quietly but they have to wait until a break in the quiz. Brian suggests they make a quick getaway but Lilian doesn’t understand why they want to leave until Alice, slurring, says the night is just getting started. When Jakob tries to take her outside, she starts making a scene. Back at the cottage, Brian says none of them saw this coming. He can’t believe they’re back in this situation. Alice goes to bed, saying Jakob is the only person who is kind to her. From this they work out Jakob knew she was drinking again. Brian erupts and throws Jakob out.

George is treating Will and Emma to dinner at Grey Gables. Emma thinks the hotel’s new uniforms are shocking but is evasive when Will asks what she thought of the tee shirts and fleeces he bought for the tree surgery business. She suggest, diplomatically, that his name for the business is ‘a bit of a mouthful’. Emma is horrified by the prices on the menu. And when the mains arrive, vegetables are not included and George can’t afford pudding. Despite this they appreciate George’s gesture.

In April 2016 Helen Archer was arrested for stabbing her husband Rob Titchener during a row. One of the most closely followed trials in British radio drama history saw calls to domestic abuse helplines increase by 17%. This bonus catch-up edition charts the romance and the emerging coercive control, including Rob’s physical abuse of Helen, through to Helen taking her life in her own hands and stabbing Rob, and the insidious impact of Rob’s return on the family at Bridge Farm.

If you are suffering domestic abuse or violence, a list of organisations that can provide help and support in the UK is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas Rob Titchener ….. Timothy Watson Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler Tony Archer ….. David Troughton Pat Archer ….. Patricia Gallimore Tom Archer ..... William Troughton Johnny Phillips ….. Tom Gibbons Anna Tregorran ….. Isobel Middleton Lee Bryce ….. Ryan Early Jury foreman ….. Nigel Havers

Narrator: Annabelle Dowler Written and produced by Mel Ward The Archers Editor is Jeremy Howe

A BBC Audio Drama Birmingham production

Join Jill in the kitchen at Brookfield as she makes a batch of her much loved mince pies