Radio Times/BBC Credits and Spoilers – 21st to 26th July 2024

[carolet]

Note that spoilers are included below the cast and crew.

Cast :
Ben Archer - Ben Norris
Pat Archer - Patricia Gallimore
Pip Archer - Daisy Badger
Tom Archer - William Troughton
Lilian Bellamy - Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter - Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter - Charlotte Martin
Vince Casey - Tony Turner
Ed Grundy - Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy - Emerald O'Hanrahan
George Grundy - Angus Stobie
Alistair Lloyd - Michael Lumsden
Paul Mack - Joshua Riley
Denise Metcalf - Clare Perkins
Elizabeth Pargetter - Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter - Katie Redford
Fallon Rogers - Joanna van Kampen
Lynda Snell - Carole Boyd

Writer : Tim Stimpson
Director : Mel Ward
Editor : Jeremy Howe

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

S

Spoilers:
Sunday 21st - Elizabeth offers a suggestion, and there’s a surprise for Tom.
Monday 22nd - There’s a shock at the vets, and the Grundys scale new
heights.
Tuesday 23rd - Alistair faces humiliation, and Lily keeps something on
the down-low.
Wednesday 24th - Lynda is thrown a curveball and Fallon wonders if the
grass might be greener on the other side
Thursday 25th - George goes too far for his own good, and battle lines
are drawn over the summer fete.
Friday 26th - Denise fears the worst, and Pat gets the wrong end of the
stick.
 

[Serena Blanchflower]

Post by carolet
Sunday 21st - Elizabeth offers a suggestion, and there’s a surprise for Tom.
Monday 22nd - There’s a shock at the vets, and the Grundys scale new
heights.
Tuesday 23rd - Alistair faces humiliation, and Lily keeps something on
the down-low.
Wednesday 24th - Lynda is thrown a curveball and Fallon wonders if the
grass might be greener on the other side
Thursday 25th - George goes too far for his own good, and battle lines
are drawn over the summer fete.
Friday 26th - Denise fears the worst, and Pat gets the wrong end of the
stick.

Oh dear! It looks as if, all too predictably, Denise keeps wimping out
of telling Paul about her relationship with Alistair, with Paul walking
in on them on Monday, leading to hissy fits all round, humiliation for
Alistair, and Denise worried that she's done irreparable damage, either
to her relationship with Paul or with Alistair.

[Kosmo]

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.

She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told). And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

[Nick Odell]

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told). And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

Has she really been working at the practice for twenty years? I know
that's what the TA website says but could it be that the beeb is
gaslighting us? (Again?) It doesn't feel to me as if she's been around
longer than Nigel has been gone.

Nick

[Kosmo]

Post by Nick Odell

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told). And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

Has she really been working at the practice for twenty years? I know
that's what the TA website says but could it be that the beeb is
gaslighting us? (Again?) It doesn't feel to me as if she's been around
longer than Nigel has been gone.
Nick

Denise was an infrequently mentioned member of staff at the vet surgery
long before she spoke - although I cannot confirm she has been around
that long in any way I do know that there were references a long time
ago - the ketamine incident with the partner (Theo) was in 2002 and
Snappy became a sole practioner - so might have recruited her around
that time. I cannot find any mentions in the various Who's Who I have
to hand.

[BrritSki]

Post by Nick Odell

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told). And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

Has she really been working at the practice for twenty years? I know
that's what the TA website says but could it be that the beeb is
gaslighting us? (Again?) It doesn't feel to me as if she's been around
longer than Nigel has been gone.

Certainly not my recollection. It was when Al merged with the other
super-vet that she came into the picture IIRC. Was that 20 years ago ?

According to Beeb "The flood of 2015 damaged the vet practice badly and
brought an end to Alistair's one-man-band setup. He had a short-lived
partnership with the ambitious equine vet Anisha Jayakody and then took
the tough decision to sell his practice to Lovell James, a large
veterinary company, and become an employee of theirs."

[Kosmo]

Post by BrritSki

Post by Nick Odell

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told).  And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

Has she really been working at the practice for twenty years? I know
that's what the TA website says but could it be that the beeb is
gaslighting us? (Again?) It doesn't feel to me as if she's been around
longer than Nigel has been gone.

Certainly not my recollection. It was when Al merged with the other
super-vet that she came into the picture IIRC. Was that 20 years ago ?
According to Beeb "The flood of 2015 damaged the vet practice badly and
brought an end to Alistair's one-man-band setup. He had a short-lived
partnership with the ambitious equine vet Anisha Jayakody and then took
the tough decision to sell his practice to Lovell James, a large
veterinary company, and become an employee of theirs."

He became a sole practitioner when Theo departed in 2002 and the surgery
moved to the Stables. However Denise certainly had mentions down the
years - well before Lovell James - the practice needed someone to be
there when Snappy was out on calls if nothing else.

[Chris]

Post by Nick Odell

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told). And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

Has she really been working at the practice for twenty years? I know
that's what the TA website says but could it be that the beeb is
gaslighting us? (Again?) It doesn't feel to me as if she's been around
longer than Nigel has been gone.
Nick

She was non speaking, just a passing name. That’s a thought. StS,
presumably, knows nothing. But surely it’ll reach her ears eventually …..

Mrs McT

[Serena Blanchflower]

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.

John knows and, as you say, he immediately guessed about Alistair. I
don't think Paul does though; he has, or at least, had, a very
Disneyfied view of his parent's relationship where he seemed to think
that few couples had ever been happier together than they are.

Post by Kosmo
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told).  And suddenly
an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

I would guess that she's been married a little longer than that, maybe
25+ years. We don't know whether Paul or Cara is the elder child, but
Paul must be early twenties now, so they've probably been married at
least a year or two longer than that.

It doesn't seem too implausible to me, for a marriage to fall apart at
this stage. It sounded as if they've drifted apart over the years, so
that their children were the only thing they really had in common, and
they're now pretty much off their hands. It sounds as if Denise had got
to the point where she didn't have any common ground left with John and
the idea of another twenty five years or so being married to him, was
more than she could cope with. Ironically, rather similar to the way
Shula felt about remaining married to Alistair...

[Kosmo]

Post by Kosmo

Denise keeps wimping out of telling Paul about her relationship with
Alistair,

Paul already knows - he guessed when Denise said it was over.

John knows and, as you say, he immediately guessed about Alistair.  I
don't think Paul does though; he has, or at least, had, a very
Disneyfied view of his parent's relationship where he seemed to think
that few couples had ever been happier together than they are.

Whoops too many non-Archers characters - I had the wrong person.

Post by Kosmo
She has been working at the practice for 20 years - and I suspect
married only a few years longer (we have never been told).  And
suddenly an affair starts - seems highly unusual.

I would guess that she's been married a little longer than that, maybe
25+ years.  We don't know whether Paul or Cara is the elder child, but
Paul must be early twenties now, so they've probably been married at
least a year or two longer than that.
It doesn't seem too implausible to me,  for a marriage to fall apart at
this stage.  It sounded as if they've drifted apart over the years, so
that their children were the only thing they really had in common, and
they're now pretty much off their hands.  It sounds as if Denise had got
to the point where she didn't have any common ground left with John and
the idea of another twenty five years or so being married to him, was
more than she could cope with.  Ironically, rather similar to the way
Shula felt about remaining married to Alistair...

Indeed.

[Chris]

Post by Serena Blanchflower

Post by carolet
Sunday 21st - Elizabeth offers a suggestion, and there’s a surprise for Tom.
Monday 22nd - There’s a shock at the vets, and the Grundys scale new
heights.
Tuesday 23rd - Alistair faces humiliation, and Lily keeps something on
the down-low.
Wednesday 24th - Lynda is thrown a curveball and Fallon wonders if the
grass might be greener on the other side
Thursday 25th - George goes too far for his own good, and battle lines
are drawn over the summer fete.
Friday 26th - Denise fears the worst, and Pat gets the wrong end of the
stick.

Oh dear! It looks as if, all too predictably, Denise keeps wimping out
of telling Paul about her relationship with Alistair, with Paul walking
in on them on Monday, leading to hissy fits all round, humiliation for
Alistair, and Denise worried that she's done irreparable damage, either
to her relationship with Paul or with Alistair.

Getting fed up with it now. They’ve milked all the plot lines they can.

Mrs McT

[Kosmo]

Post by Chris

Post by Serena Blanchflower

Post by carolet
Sunday 21st - Elizabeth offers a suggestion, and there’s a surprise for Tom.
Monday 22nd - There’s a shock at the vets, and the Grundys scale new
heights.
Tuesday 23rd - Alistair faces humiliation, and Lily keeps something on
the down-low.
Wednesday 24th - Lynda is thrown a curveball and Fallon wonders if the
grass might be greener on the other side
Thursday 25th - George goes too far for his own good, and battle lines
are drawn over the summer fete.
Friday 26th - Denise fears the worst, and Pat gets the wrong end of the
stick.

Oh dear! It looks as if, all too predictably, Denise keeps wimping out
of telling Paul about her relationship with Alistair, with Paul walking
in on them on Monday, leading to hissy fits all round, humiliation for
Alistair, and Denise worried that she's done irreparable damage, either
to her relationship with Paul or with Alistair.

Getting fed up with it now. They’ve milked all the plot lines they can.
Mrs McT

I am not sure any cows have appeared on the programme in recent weeks.

[BrritSki]

Post by Kosmo

Post by carolet
Sunday 21st - Elizabeth offers a suggestion, and there’s a surprise for Tom.
Monday 22nd - There’s a shock at the vets, and the Grundys scale new
heights.
Tuesday 23rd - Alistair faces humiliation, and Lily keeps something on
the down-low.
Wednesday 24th - Lynda is thrown a curveball and Fallon wonders if the
grass might be greener on the other side
Thursday 25th - George goes too far for his own good, and battle lines
are drawn over the summer fete.
Friday 26th - Denise fears the worst, and Pat gets the wrong end of the
stick.

Oh dear!  It looks as if, all too predictably, Denise keeps wimping out
of telling Paul about her relationship with Alistair, with Paul walking
in on them on Monday, leading to hissy fits all round, humiliation for
Alistair, and Denise worried that she's done irreparable damage, either
to her relationship with Paul or with Alistair.

Getting fed up with it now.  They’ve milked all the plot lines they can.

I am not sure any cows have appeared on the programme in recent weeks.

Quite right. Milk is racist you know.

<https://x.com/HSMOxford/status/1798355225624920281>

[Kosmo]

Ben Archer    -    Ben Norris
Pat Archer    -    Patricia Gallimore
Pip Archer    -    Daisy Badger
Tom Archer    -    William Troughton
Lilian Bellamy    -    Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter    -    Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter    -    Charlotte Martin
Vince Casey    -    Tony Turner
Ed Grundy    -    Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy    -    Emerald O'Hanrahan
George Grundy    -    Angus Stobie
Alistair Lloyd    -    Michael Lumsden
Paul Mack    -    Joshua Riley
Denise Metcalf    -    Clare Perkins
Elizabeth Pargetter    -    Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter    -    Katie Redford
Fallon Rogers    -    Joanna van Kampen
Lynda Snell    -    Carole Boyd

6 of 18 - probably the best for a considerable period. Hopefully a good
week.