The Archers

It’s the Flower and Produce show, and Clarrie and Usha are discussing the new category ‘fruit and veg tableau’. Usha made a scene from the film 'Conclave' using radishes for clergymen, while Clarrie worries about Keira, who was up baking until after midnight. What if the judges don’t like her apple and cider cake? Lily arrives to say the judging is about to start, so the refreshment table may become busy. Harrison comes over for a cuppa when Usha congratulates him and Lily, who start to panic before Usha mentions the cricket match.
David is nervous over his and Martyn Gibson’s judging choices. Martyn thinks they’ve made a pair of excellent judges, but not everyone can be winner. Keira comes to Clarrie asking if she’s seen Khalil or Henry around. David asks if Keira’s had a look at the rosettes. Clarrie says they should go look together but Keira says she only entered for fun. Martyn decides to say a few final words at the presentation, and Keira made the favourite cake.
Leonard and Tony are at their repair stall when Robert brings Ambridge Hall’s broken toaster. They promise to have it fixed in a jiffy. When Robert returns, Leonard confesses they haven’t fixed it yet, but a gentleman called Dom offered to have a look. Robert recognises Dom from ‘The Repair Shop’ on TV. Leonard confesses he doesn’t know who Dom is, before Tony arrives, recognising Dom immediately. They thank Dom for all his help and Dom promises to help fix John’s old tractor for Tony.

A slightly awkward Harrison and Lily have arrived too early for nets practice in Felpersham, but they decide to small talk in the café. Lily eventually addresses the elephant in the room – Tango Night. They agree they both enjoyed themselves but it’s not a good idea to continue. Lily sees Fallon all the time, besides Lily’s promised herself no messy relationships for her own self esteem. Although Harrison reassures her that he and Fallon are truly over and he’s moved out, he doesn’t want to rush into a relationship either. So they’ll leave it there. Lily decides to join Paul at the cinema. She’ll see Harrison around.
At Meadow Farm, George wants Esme to hear him out. He wasn’t trying to rip her off. He panicked as he knew he and Amber would need the extra money ahead of her maternity leave. Esme angrily asks him not to spin the truth. Esme is working another job to pay for George’s sick pay, and Eddie’s cover, can George not grasp how wrong all this is? He disagrees – financially he’s barely keeping his head above water. Esme won’t sack him, but with some conditions. George will receive no further sick pay, and when he returns it will be basic milking hours, he’ll start from the bottom. The farm isn’t doing well and George should be grateful she’s supporting him. George responds that he doesn’t need her charity, and she can stick her job. He’ll take the permanent car sales job and won’t come to a job which feels like a favour.

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?

Natasha’s new skincare product samples have arrived from a small batch organic white label company. The next steps are to tweak the formulas to perfection and add their own ingredients to create Bridge Farm Botanicals. At the horsebox salon, Chelsea shares Natasha’s enthusiasm for the project and offers to stock a haircare range in the salon. Lilian calls in and shares that Justin is feeling his age. A plan is hatched – Natasha will demo her range to Lilian at The Dower House and Lilian will be ‘called away’. Although suspicious, the plan works and Justin agrees to sample the products. After a face mask, serum and moisturiser, he looks radiant. He sees the business sense in targeting older people with a more disposable income who are losing their confidence in their appearance. He asks Natasha to send a business plan – he’s a potential investor!
Jolene calls in on Fallon at The Cruck Barn. She understands why Fallon doesn’t want to move out of Woodbine, but she has another idea, and with Fallon’s blessing it could be a solution. Jolene goes with her proposal to Harrison. They’ve always got on well, so why doesn’t he move in with her and Kenton at the pub? He’d have complete freedom and it would surely make life easier for them? Seeing the sense in this, Harrison packs his essentials. He and Fallon recognise that the past weeks have not been easy, but once upon a time it had been great. Acknowledging what they’d had, they hug before he leaves for The Bull.

Visiting the vicarage, Pat reiterates Henry and Khalil’s apology to Alan and recommends a glazier, but says she’s mainly come to say how upset Henry is. Defensively, Alan retorts that he shouted at them because the lads didn’t use their brains. Also he’s run off his feet, without this trouble on top. He reminds Pat of the time Henry vandalised the church door, and suggests Pat has never forgiven him about Rob’s baptism.
As Chelsea cuts Justin’s hair dramatically short to his instruction, he says he’s not worried about a complete restyle, and can grow it back if he doesn’t like it. He’s delighted with the result and wonders aloud about a return to the brown colour of his youth. Chelsea steers him away from this, complimenting his grey hair. Justin then focuses on his skin worries – can she recommend someone who can treat his aging skin? Her friend Keisha does treatments such at fillers but Chelsea suggests starting with skin care products.
Justin feels great, and once over her shock, Lilian says she likes his hair. When Justin shares his worries about his face collapsing at an alarming rate, Lilian at first gently teases him, but seeing his despair says she understands – she’s been trying to reverse the signs of aging since her 30s. She thinks it’s exhausting, expensive and not such a worry for men as women. Justin feels the reality of aging has just hit him – he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life tweaking his appearance, nor does he want to feel the way he does now.