The Archers

Freddie’s feelings are hurt, and Khalil has some making up to do.

At Berrow Farm, Martyn Gibson is concerned about costs in their challenging pig industry and warns Jazzer that they’ll need to make hefty savings. Jazzer fishes for information – does he mean job losses? Martyn assures him that Jazzer's job at least is safe. Jazzer is worried. Hannah’s put an offer in for her first house – and what about Neil?
After talking about the stormy forecast for the wedding, David shares with Brian that he feels Josh has been alienated from Brookfield, and now they’ve lost him. Brian argues that David and Ruth are doing much better than he is with his family.
Alistair’s missing his dad Jim and just wants to meet Jazzer for a friendly pint. But on getting to the bar he’s accosted by Martyn who feels Alistair’s vet invoice was a bit steep. Brian joins in the criticism, suggesting that in the future, with all the welfare monitoring tech available to farms, vets might find themselves redundant.
In The Bull, Brian insists on buying Stella a drink, and she’s joined by Hannah as they’re celebrating Hannah’s new house offer being accepted. Stella loudly vents her frustration with Josh cancelling his wedding plans apparently for a new girl he’s met in Patagonia. She’s appalled when Brian points out that David has overheard. Outside the pub David says he understands her frustration but is really disappointed with her. She shouldn’t have voiced it so clearly to their community. He’s so hurt that he no longer wants to walk her down the aisle.

Keira and Henry wish Khalil a happy 16th birthday and promise him a treat at the school shop. Keira is looking forward to dancing and celebrating with the boys at the wedding, however she’s less impressed at having to go to school over half term for catch up lessons. Waiting in the shop queue, Henry almost lets slip that he knows about Khalil’s childhood cancer and covers himself, however Khalil isn’t fooled. When Keira arrives, Khalil’s sharp with them both, saying he doesn’t want them to buy him anything.
Freddie is annoyed that the ‘Unicorn’ he’s ordered for the wedding has cancelled because of the weather forecast. Elizabeth reminds him that horses don’t like storms. Freddie reveals to his mum that he’d applied to be General Manager of a stately home in dire straits, but the application had not got any further. He’s frustrated that he’ll never get the experience needed to manage Lower Loxley. Elizabeth thinks the struggling hall would have been too much of a challenge, but on a positive note, the trustees have had a shift in attitude towards Freddie. Because of his responsibilities at Casey Meats, he may even be able to take over at Lower Loxley in a year. Later, Vince shares his reservations with Elizabeth. Freddie is doing well but he still has a long way to go. He didn’t ask Elizabeth for help with his stately home application for example – he doesn’t yet have the wisdom to ask for advice when he needs it.

Pip and David discuss AI in farming, which they think can’t be ignored. Pip tells David that Stella’s mum is still coming to the wedding but won’t be walking Stella down the aisle. David offers his services instead of Stella’s mum. The weather forecast still isn’t good for the wedding and Josh messages to say he won’t be back from Patagonia in time.
Ruth wonders to David and Pip if Azra will keep up the hostilities forever, after a frosty meeting in the shop. David encourages Ruth not to give up, and to take Azra for lunch, which she does. Ruth apologizes again for showing Khalil the photos of the sheep. Although Azra is still annoyed with Ruth, she misses her friend and remembers how welcome Ruth made her feel when she first came to Ambridge. Reunited, they discuss the upcoming wedding.
Ruth asks Usha about Anna’s whereabouts, as she called round to Carol’s cottage over the weekend and Anna didn’t answer. Usha is keen to speak to Anna. Anna is still very angry with Alan, but agrees to a visit from Usha. Alan returning the money won’t be enough for Anna. Every time she tries to convince herself that Alan isn’t a bad person, the facts keep crashing back. Anna can’t believe that in her final days, Carol was betrayed by Alan. Anna’s stunned that Alan would have got involved in Carol’s banking when she’d specifically asked him not to. Usha defends Alan and says he’s not trying to hide anything. Later, Usha tells Ruth that the funeral upset was just a misunderstanding between Anna and Alan.

Pip and Stella are in wedding planning mode and discuss their first dance, practicing lifting each other. On a more serious note, Pip is worried about the lack of silage stored for their pasture-fed herd. They’re running low even before the cows come inside for the winter. They’re interrupted by a message – Stella’s mum’s in A&E. Nothing is broken but she has a bad sprain and won’t be able to walk Stella down the aisle as planned. Pip suggests asking David to do it – Ruth will be with Pip.
As Helen helps her brother harvest the last of the peppers and cucumbers, Tom is filled with enthusiasm for his greenhouse. Although Helen gently teases him, she agrees that they have the best of both worlds at Bridge Farm – tech and tradition.
Visiting an injured stag at Home Farm, Alistair listens to Brian brag about how well the farm is doing without Adam’s input. However, when Alistair presents his invoice, Brian is astonished at the cost, accusing him of daylight robbery. Brian thinks the charges set by Lovell James are lining the pockets of shareholders and he’s not at all happy. Calling Helen, Brian shares his concerns about the vet price increases and meets her and Tom at The Bull. Brian argues that a farm feeding the nation is too important to be at the mercy of shareholders. Tom would argue that Bridge Farm is even higher up in the hierarchy for needing support. However, they all want to join the fight against rising costs.