The Archers

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 forgiveness. He moves on to the hay, and Clarrie despairs. Their family’s falling apart, and he's on another get rich quick scheme! Eddie declares he’s as worried as Clarrie, but farm life goes on. Clarrie retorts he’s like a different person. Eddie ponders – maybe he is.Emma presses George on what else he can remember, in case he has to go to court. He doesn’t come up with much; he’s just glad it’s over, and they can get on with their lives.

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 positive. Jolene rallies and declares she’s spent enough time worrying – they’ll make this the Burns Night Highland games the best the village has ever seen. Joy reports Fallon’s on board, and Jazzer returns as a willing volunteer having had a pep talk from Bert. Later Joy reckons they’ve created a monster, having listened to Jazzer’s gung ho ideas for authenticity. Kenton’s going to have a lot more on his plate than neeps and tatties.

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 him. Will’s not happy with Eddie’s decision, but Emma admits she can see his point. They’ve got it badly wrong, lying and covering for George. They’re too soft on him, and he’s spoilt. Their guilt about the past has made them bury their heads. George takes up so much headspace, there’s no room for Keira and Poppy. If he’s really going to learn from his mistakes, they all need to take a step back.

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 there when Nic died. Will says he couldn’t bear it if the same happened with George. Ed and Amber try to reassure him. Will tells Ed that Nic and what they had was his lot in life; there’s no point trying for more. Ed thinks this is a waste. Will could try something different or start dating again. He asserts Will deserves to be happy. Will reckons the only thing that will make him happy is tomorrow, when their boy comes home.

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 New Year’s Eve CCTV footage. Fallon wonders if it could have been deleted by accident. Joy thinks that’s unlikely. Neither can remember seeing anything untoward on the night. Joy broaches the topic of Burns Night, but Fallon reckons they should keep it small this year under the circumstances. When Jolene continues to fret about who could have got access to the Bull’s security system, Joy suggests they forget all about New Year’s Eve. The likes of Markie and his gang will get what’s coming to them.