About this episode
Alan apologies to Henry and says he’s been under pressure. Pat admits there has been a distance between her and Alan, and Alan is sorry that he’s not made an effort to reconcile things. Later, as Natasha shares how well Seren and Nova have settled into school, Pat says that she’s worried about Alan.
Overwhelmed with late pregnancy symptoms, Amber meets Esme in the Tea Room. Esme mentions that she needs a copy of George’s sick note, but Amber’s obvious discomfort around the subject arouses Esme’s suspicions. At Bill’s car showroom, George tells Anne Marie how grateful he is to have been offered a permanent job with them. Over a hot drink, she senses that his heart is in farming despite the better pay and benefits they could offer. She asks him how he’d feel about losing his farming dream if he were to get stuck in car sales. To George’s horror, Esme enters the showroom and angrily reads him the riot act. She feels betrayed by him working there without her knowledge. Later, George works out it was Poppy who let slip his secret to Esme, and tells Amber that Esme feels cheated out of the sick pay she’s been giving him. He will need to take the car job. But Amber is determined - he’d be miserable if he was out of farming for long and he shouldn’t be tied long term to her parents. He needs to go and convince Esme not to give up on him. Surely with a baby on the way, she’ll give him another chance?
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The Archers — 03/09/2026. Machine-transcribed; use the interactive transcript above to jump the player to any line.
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Incredible true stories shared by people from around the world. Something really strange happened to me. It was getting more and more bizarre. I didn't know who I could trust. I did not think we were ever going to make it out of life. Life's less ordinary is the podcast where real life is often stranger than fiction. G'day, my name's Brawga and I am a full-time kangaroo mother. Lives less ordinary from the BBC World Service. Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Get more with BBC podcasts wherever you listen. Be the first to listen to your favourite shows, like Evil Genius, Good Bad Billionaire and Your Dead To Me, with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts ad-free. With an Amazon Music subscription.
You're listening to Thursday's episode of The Archers from BBC Radio 4. Music I've decided. Chicken and bacon please. Yeah? No. Tuna. No. Chicken. The avocado one please. Is that your final answer? Yes. Chicken with avocado. Sorry Natasha. I don't know what's wrong with me. Even the tiniest decision is throwing me. I've never been like this. Give yourself a break, Amber. You're about to have a baby. Your body and your brain are working overtime. And I bet you're not getting much sleep. No, I'm not. I've tried everything but nothing works. Maybe a pregnancy massage. Yeah, that's 540. Thank you. To be honest, I don't think I could lie in one position comfortably for long enough. A face shoulder? Maybe.
I could do one for you. I've just got my sample bridge farm botanical products and they were really lovely. Oh. Thanks Natasha. But honestly, I don't think it would help. Nothing helps. It's just like everything hurts or itches or aches. My hips and my back and shooting pains right down my... Oh, hi, Esmi. Hi Amber. Hi Natasha. Hi Esmi, how are you doing? Yeah. You know, hanging in there. Oh, that bass. I'm fine. It's just a bit full-on at the moment. Got a big job on. Things are busiest ever on the farm. And it is a great help while George is off. But it's time to go in. Oh yeah, Emma said he had his wrists. Came off a tractor. Yeah. Oh poor George. Not great timing either, just as the babies do. Tell me about it. The bit is pretty fatter. Not being able to work. Yeah. Yeah, he is. Yeah, I've been trying to get hold of him actually. I just wanted to get a copy of his doctor's note for my records. Is he at home? I could just call in on my way back. Oh, um, no. Don't do that.
Okay. I mean, I think he said he was just going to pop to the shops for Clary about now. Okay, I'll tell him to call you. No, no, no, don't worry about it. No, I don't want to bother him. He'll wait. As long as he's all right. Yeah. Yeah, he's okay. Apart from the wrist, obviously. Actually, I better go. Thank you, Natasha. See you. Sorry, Asmi. What can I get you? Actually, I'll leave it. There's something I need to do. I thought I might find you here, Henry. Did you come straight from school? Yeah. If I go home first, Mum will ask me about homework. Where are you? If you come here, you can see the goats and then spend half an hour sitting on that bench on your phone. I've noticed you're new, routine. Busted. How is school? Oh, predictable. Is that good? Basically, every single lesson they go on about not wanting to book pressure on us. How important our mental health is. Well, that sounds like good advice. Yeah, but in the given slow to homework,
we've already got five subjects worth, and have only been in school two days. Then mocks, and then more mocks, then the GCSEs are in May. I don't know how I actually meant to learn anything when they're just testing us to hold on. Why suppose they want to prepare you as much as they can? Ah, it's just, I don't know, Granny. I just get sick over in being about what's next. What about now? Henry, that's actually quite profound. It's the truth. This whole year is about what happens next. Well, I think you should talk to your teachers about how you feel. They might not change anything, but I think they'd be interested. Hmm, ah, here's what it is. That's fine. Oh, Pat. Henry. Oh, hello, Alan. What can we do for you? Well, I was hoping to hold word with Henry if I may. I thought he'd probably have come here to see his goats after school. Henry, is that all right? Uh, I guess. George. After George. Oh, sorry, I'm sorry. I was miles away, though. Only for a minute, like, I've just finished with the customer.
I know, I know. I saw you from outside. Don't panic. If you're looking for Bill, you just missed him. Yes, he's got that meeting mat in your software system. Not that we need a new software system, but you know, Bill, he likes new things. He reckons it will revolutionise the ordering. So I hear. No, I come to do the account. So I hear. No, I come to do the accounts. Everything all right? Good, yeah. You sure? No, yeah, I'm fine. I'm good. I just got a bit of my mind. That's all. Nothing bad. No, no, no, it is good, I think. Bill asked you about staying on permanently. He did, yeah. And? I'm really grateful. Of course I am. I'm made up. But? But what? I sense there's a bad. No, no, no, no. I really am grateful. I mean, I've been in trouble without this job. I appreciate you and Bill taking a chance from me. I mean, I know it's because of Amber and the baby. You don't want me to be out of work. True. But we also think you're good at the job. Oh, thanks. I suppose I just...
Well, this was only ever meant to be temporary. Well, I can't work at the farm. I never imagined doing it like... properly. George, would you like to have a coffee? I'm sure Conrad's fine to cover the floor from it. And you seem like you could do with a chat. Well, I suppose what I'm trying to say about everything else is... I'm sorry. It was an accident and my reaction was completely out of proportion. The reasons that I've absolutely nothing to do with you. What do you think, Henry? I get it. Oh, good. You do it. Everyone gets stressed in time. They do. Even vickers. Avert vickers. Can I go now? Yes, sure, of course. But thanks, Henry. I really appreciate your understanding. No worries. Bye, love. And tell my mum I'll ring her later. Bye, Henry. Bye. Thank you, Ellen. No, no, I'm so sorry, Patter. I handled the whole thing really badly. I shouldn't have brought up what happened with Rob.
Well, it did throw me a little. It was totally inappropriate. I was just trying to... I don't know what I was trying to do. I was just being defensive, Pattern. I'm so sorry. Well, thank you. But actually, Ellen, what you said, it... It was true, at least in part. There has been a distance between us since then. It wasn't my intention. But yeah, I know how difficult that time was for you. All of you. It was difficult for you, too. I can see that now. I had to do what I thought was right. But I'm so sorry. I didn't do more to reconcile things between us, because actually, I value your friendship very much. And I yours. I'm so glad to hear it. So, are we... You know, all right? We're all right. Oh, good. But Ellen, are you all right? Me, yeah. Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I mean, I suppose things have been particularly busy recently.
You seem a little stressed. Well, there's so much need, Pattern, more than ever. You know, people don't have the support they once did. No, that's true. I'm finding, well, it just aren't enough hours in the day to do what's required. But you need to take care of yourself as well. I know. I will. I do. In fact, as I'm here, I think I'll treat myself to a couple of cakes from the tea room. Take it home for our afters. Now is that for self-care. I don't want you to think I don't appreciate it, because I do. George, you've convinced me. The money's good, it's better than the farm. A company car in the future. The aircon. The commission. Not stinking a co-s and muck the whole time. I mean, it's the best option. It might be. If you overlook one small but significant fact. What a fact. The fact that you are a farmer, George. Or I would be if I hadn't injured myself. No, I mean, in here. You're a farmer in your heart.
And why, though? I mean, can I call myself a farmer if I don't have a farm? Do you want a farm? Well, yeah. That's the dream, eventually. So what happens to the dream if you give up working for Esme and take a permanent job here? I don't know. It might be the best option for a bit. I mean, I'm just working with the co-s being outside, but it wouldn't have to be forever. Sometimes things become forever without us noticing. How will you feel if you get to 45 and you're a full-time car salesperson? I don't know. Will you regret letting go of your farming dream? I think of my, yeah. See, when I think about me and Amber and the baby, I'll picture us on a farm. I want us to build something good together for our family. Then I think that's what you should work towards. What about Bill? Bill will be fine. He'll understand. And even if he doesn't, I do.
Dreams are important, George. You should hold on to them. Take your time. Think about it. There's new rush. Okay, thanks. George, who's that? No, Esme. I don't believe this. What are you doing here? No, I can ask you the same question. Because it looks very much to me like you're selling cars while I'm breaking my neck, forking out for your sick pay. No, no, no. I'm just having a coffee with Amber's mum. This is Amarie. Hello. Hello, Amarie. Does George work here? Yeah, all right. I've been working here. I knew it. But not for long. No, well, that's all right then. Just let me explain. Actually, you know what? I don't want to hear it. There is nothing you can say that can make this okay. You betrayed me, George. I think we all need to take a break. Please. I should listen when people told me not to trust you. Because enough of them did, they were queuing up to warn me not to give you a job. And I wish I hadn't now. Don't say that. No, no, you've let me down, George. Yeah, you're... You're let me down. How did Serran and Nove get on today?
I don't know. Tom did pick up and I haven't seen them yet. But they went in fine this morning, so fingers crossed. It sounds like they've really taken to it. Well, the first couple of days have gone okay anyway. Oh, it's amazing, isn't it, when you think about it. What is? How adaptable they are. Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. I know that I've said that I'll get home and they'll have hated it. Of course they wouldn't. No, I'm joking, kind of. Did Alan come into the tea room earlier? Yeah. How did he seem to you? Normal, I guess, why? Well, I'm a bit worried about him. Because he's shouted at Henry. No, not just that. He apologized anyway, which is... But he seems very stressed, not himself. Hmm, I can't say I noticed. But to be fair, my brains got so many tabs open at the moment, so might have been a bit distracted. Oh, yeah. This is awful. Oh no, I was there. It was me she was shouting at in front of the whole showroom. Oh, it's my fault. How is it, you're awful?
I ran into Esmi this morning. She asked if you were in and I got all flustered. Didn't know what to say. Well, that might have got her expecting something, but it was Poppy who sold me out. Poppy told her. Yeah. Well, she obviously didn't realise. How mad was Esmi. Extremely mad. But when you think about it, the fact is, you can't work on the farm, can you? So what difference does it make if you're working in the car showroom? She'd still have to pay Eddie to cover. I suppose if she weren't paying my sick pay, then she'd be better off. But it's not like I'm on a full wage at the showroom, yeah? I'm still a trainee. But Esmi don't see it that way. Oh, what am I going to do? I don't know. Maybe I'll have to take the permanent job after all. No, no, you can't do that. It sounds like you're a man. Well, I don't know what she's up to trying to talk you out of it, but she's right, George. You'd be miserable, stuck in a car showroom working for my parents.
And I don't want to be tied to them like that. Yeah, I know, but what if Esmi don't want me no more? We have to convince her. How? I don't know how, George, but you have to just do it. Explain to her that you are wrong and you're sorry, and you know, we're just trying to bring in some money for the baby. She can't sack you and you're just about to have a baby, Genji. She wouldn't. Hmm, no, no, she wouldn't. She was mad, but she'll understand, have I explained? Yeah, of course she will. Oh, incredible, true stories shared by people from around the world.
Something really strange happened to me. It was getting more and more bizarre. I didn't know who I could trust. I did not think we were ever going to make it out of the life. Lives less ordinary is the podcast where real life is often stranger than fiction. G'day, my name's Brawger and I am a full-time kangaroo mother. Lives less ordinary from the BBC World Service. Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Premium on Apple podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts, add free with an Amazon Music subscription.
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