Wrap-up of current spoilers updated July 11

11 Jul Shula has unexpected news, and Clarrie draws a line.
12 Jul Ruth has a decision to make, and Roy makes a bad first impression
13 Jul Lilian has got her hands full, and Brian gets another talking to.
14 Jul Tom is keen to attract attention, and Matt aims not to please.

16 Jul Eddie comes up with a plan, and Jill continues her opposition.
17 Jul Matt is keen to impress, and Christine has heard a rumour.
18 Jul Fallon’s options are limited, and Justin has had enough.
19 Jul Ruth makes her position known, and Rex gets an invitation.
20 Jul Shula shares all the latest gossip, and Kirsty is forced to reveal her hand.
21 Jul There is another unexpected visitor to Grange Farm, and Lilian tries to calm the situation.

23 Jul Justin’s mind is made up, and Alice recruits Pip.
24 Jul Matt receives a warning, and Shula is offered an alternative.
25 Jul Jill wants to be heard, and Roy is adamant action must be taken.
26 Jul Lynda worries about the fete, and Harrison has a difficult question to ask.
27 Jul Clarrie gets ready to host, and Oliver expresses his thanks.
28 Jul Lilian pulls rank, and Ed wants to lend his support.


Radio Times Ambridge Diary Jul 9-14
You’d have thought a birthday would be cause for celebration, especially so as Lilian is usually the first to break open a bottle of gin when word of a party hits Ambridge. But when it comes to her own big day, she’s far too fearful about the secret of her true age being revealed. Plus there’s the small matter of a gift from Matt that’s bound to result in huge problems between her and Justin.
We also have Jill left furious when she discovers that the Happy Friends cafe is to lose its premises and be replaced with a new high-end restaurant, owned by the wealthy Duxford sisters. Plus tragedy strikes in the village as Shula receives a devastating phone call …

Thanks to FleetingEileenM from the Bowman board


Total TV Guide Jul 9-14
Despite being centre of attention on her birthday, Lillian is a bit miffed that Matt didn’t mark the occasion in anyway. Turns out, his surprise gift might cause a rift between her and Justin.
For some reason, Brian asks Ruth to be Ruairi’s attorney. David is not happy about it.
Someone else not happy is Jill, who takes matters into her own hands when she discovers the Happy Friends cafe is going all upmarket as it is to be replaced by a posh restaurant.
Surely that’s somewhere Jill would feel at home?!
And yet another unhappy soul this week is Fallon, because she can’t fork out as much as Harrison can afford to on their new love nest, which puts a strain on the relationship.
Speaking of relationships, Lexi rubs Roy up the wrong way. In a soap that probably means they fancy each other - and of course, most of us saw something like this coming from the moment they met! We shall see if we’re right!
Such trivialities this week, however, take a back seat when Shula receives a devastating phone call …

Thanks to Toffee from Peet’s


Daily Mail Weekend Magazine Jul 9-14
Lilian’s face, thanks to all the work she’s had done, reveals nothing of her inner turmoil as her birthday approaches; too many people know her true age for it to remain a secret. A tricky gift from her dodgy ex adds to her facially unregistered anxieties.
Brian has a proposition for Ruth which could cause many a row in the years to come while Jill - who once had the patience of a saint - whips herself into a rage about the Duxford sisters.
Trouble brews for Harrison and Fallon over the financing of their love nest and there’s a flare up between Lexi and Roy.
All these little woes will seem as nothing though when Shula gets a phone call that puts the whole village into shock.

Thanks to maggiesaes from the Bowman board


Radio Times Ambridge Diary Jul 16-21
In the wake of the recent tragedy, Shula is planning a memorial, but wonders whether Alan is the right person for the job. And an old face returns to Ambridge in the aftermath of the drama - but while some are comforted by his arrival, others fear for their future …
Matt is still styling himself on Ken Masters from “Howards’ Way”, when he stands accused by a riled-up Justin of sabotaging the Investor’s Day event. As the two men go head to head, who will ultimately come out on top - and where does all this leave Lilian?
Plus, the Grundys are forced to accommodate some unwelcome guests and tensions rise at Home Farm as Ruth faces her first partnership meeting.

Thanks to FleeingEileenM from the Bowman board


TOTAL TV GUIDE Jul 16-21
The Investors Day event has a poor turn out, but Matt charms Christine and is quick to put her in front of Hugo Melling. Not surprisingly, it may be something she lives to regret.
Christine offers Harrison and Fallon first refusal on Woodbine Cottage, but it becomes obvious it is way out of their price range.
Shula plans a memorial which brings an old face back to Ambridge. Not good news for the Grudnys - his arrival is the last thing they need.
Roy and Lexi do a spot of bonding over a shared passion for Stephen King.
At the first Home Farm family partnership meeting, Brian does his best to influence Ruth.

Thanks to Toffee from Peet’s


Credits July 9-14
| Role | Contributor |
| Writer | Sue Teddern |
| Director | Kim Greengrass |
| Series Editor | Huw Kennair-Jones |
| Jill Archer | Patricia Greene |
| David Archer | Tim Bentinck |
| Ruth Archer | Felicity Finch |
| Jolene Archer | Buffy Davis |
| Helen Archer | Louiza Patikas |
| Tom Archer | William Troughton |
| Brian Aldridge | Charles Collingwood |
| Jennifer Aldridge | Angela Piper |
| Lilian Bellamy | Sunny Ormonde |
| PC Harrison Burns | James Cartwright |
| Justin Elliott | Simon Williams |
| Eddie Grundy | Trevor Harrison |
| Clarrie Grundy | Heather Bell |
| Will Grundy | Philip Molloy |
| Shula Hebden Lloyd | Judy Bennett |
| Adam Macy | Andrew Wincott |
| Kirsty Miller | Annabelle Dowler |
| Fallon Rogers | Joanna Van Kampen |
| Lynda Snell | Carole Boyd |
| Oliver Sterling | Michael Cochrane |
| Roy Tucker | Ian Pepperell |
| Lexi | Ania Sowinski |

Credits July 16-21
| Role | Contributor |
| Writer | Gillian Richmond |
| Director | Rosemary Watts |
| Series Editor | Huw Kennair-Jones |
| Jill Archer | Patricia Greene |
| Ruth Archer | Felicity Finch |
| Brian Aldridge | Charles Collingwood |
| Christine Barford | Lesley Saweard |
| Lilian Bellamy | Sunny Ormonde |
| Susan Carter | Charlotte Martin |
| Alice Carter | Hollie Chapman |
| Matt Crawford | Kim Durham |
| Justin Elliott | Simon Williams |
| Rex Fairbrother | Nick Barber |
| Alan Franks | John Telfer |
| Eddie Grundy | Trevor Harrison |
| Clarrie Grundy | Heather Bell |
| Shula Hebden Lloyd | Judy Bennett |
| Anisha Jayakody | Anneika Rose |
| Adam Macy | Andrew Wincott |
| Kirsty Miller | Annabelle Dowler |
| Fallon Rogers | Joanna Van Kampen |
| Lynda Snell | Carole Boyd |
| Oliver Sterling | Michael Cochrane |
| Roy Tucker | Ian Pepperell |
| Peggy Woolley | June Spencer |
| Lexi | Ania Sowinski |

Credits July 23-28
| Writer | Caroline Harrington |
| Director | Peter Leslie Wild |
| Series Editor | Huw Kennair-Jones |
| Jill Archer | Patricia Greene |
| David Archer | Tim Bentinck |
| Pip Archer | Daisy Badger |
| Brian Aldridge | Charles Collingwood |
| Jennifer Aldridge | Angela Piper |
| Phoebe Aldridge | Lucy Morris |
| Lilian Bellamy | Sunny Ormonde |
| PC Harrison Burns | James Cartwright |
| Alice Carter | Hollie Chapman |
| Matt Crawford | Kim Durham |
| Justin Elliott | Simon Williams |
| Alan Franks | John Telfer |
| Clarrie Grundy | Heather Bell |
| Emma Grundy | Emerald O’Hanrahan |
| Ed Grundy | Barry Farrimond |
| Shula Hebden Lloyd | Judy Bennett |
| Adam Macy | Andrew Wincott |
| Kirsty Miller | Annabelle Dowler |
| Fallon Rogers | Joanna Van Kampen |
| Lynda Snell | Carole Boyd |
| Oliver Sterling | Michael Cochrane |
| Roy Tucker | Ian Pepperell |
| Peggy Woolley | June Spencer |
| Lexi | Ania Sowinski |
| Lulu Duxford | Chetna Pandya |

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Oh well. At least no Pip’n Tobee.

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Goodness, Oliver appears! Just noticed that. I wonder what they are going to do about Caroline.

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Oh yes, I had not noticed. Perhaps he’s the unexpected Friday visitor. I hope they handle it well. I must switch on for that one.

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Is he going to stay at the b&b he owns ??

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I wonder if he’s heard from Harriet Vane

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I wonder if we are to hear a new Caroline. When there’s a surprise like that, they don’t put the actor in the cast list. Kim Durham wasn’t in the cast list the week Matt returned, nor was the actor who plays Jess when she made her surprise appearances.

Sarah Coward said before she died that she would like the character to continue.

Yes, finding out whether or not they’ve done as she asked is why I shall listen. I hope the character will continue - provided they find someone who can do it well.

I think I would best like it if they signal that the character will continue, but she’s stayed in Italy this time. I hope they don’t decide that O & C should stay in Italy for ever, and never cross the village boundary again.

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Now that the updated the wrap-up includes the Radio Times and Total TV Guide, we learn that Shula receives a devastating phone call. Could that be about Caroline: in spite of what Sarah Coward wished, they have killed off the character? Or is it about Dan?

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Just corrected the Total TV Guide entry. I’d put in last week’s by mistake.

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I just jumped to the same conjecture about Caroline elsethread. Will leave it I think. I wonder what it will mean for Grange Farm if it is Caroline.

And Grey Gables of course. Doom for Grey Gables might be a good moment to resuscitate Kathy.

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Left it a bit late, haven’t they?

I mean, all right, she hasn’t actually been declared to be dead, but…

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She is a really loose thread though. Implausibly not in evidence as Pat’s pal through R&H, and not properly tidied away either.

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Does not compute. There will never be a good moment for doing that. Tedious cah.

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Looking more and more as if they’re going to have Caroline croak, isn’t it?

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well that is fair enough, why not? She wasn’t an important character recently anyway. As to her having wanted her character to go on - meh. There is the - I hope it is a myth but I’m not sure because Ambridge truly is the Village of the Unfeasibly Aged - notion that if an established actor doesn’t want to retire, then they get their character to continue. I have no great fondness for ac-tors, who are normally a bloody nightmare to organise anything with and if you take two steps you have walked into their sodding ego and bruised it and nobody knows the pain they feel, mark you.
Basically, the sheep - even if highly respected, well loved and dying - don’t get to run the abbatoir. The actors are a resource. Hired, for pay. They are not in any way a motive force and they do rather need batting over the head now and then to get them back in their box.

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Yes, I do see what you mean about actors. But, somehow, The Archers is a bit special, I feel. Why not keep the characters going as long as the actor lives? I am sure they had no idea that Norman Painting was going to play the part of Phil for as many years as he did because they had no idea TA would last that long but, since it and he did, I was glad they kept him and sad when he died because it was the start of that generation popping its clogs in my own family. Now, they are all gone in my family and somehow I feel reluctant to see Peggy, Christine and Jill go to their maker.

I’m sure Sarah Coward didn’t issue any edicts, just expressed a wish that her character would go on and I think it would also make sense for the story, as she’s an easily recognisable character and they don’t at present have many characters of that class, do they, apart from Oliver and possibly Justin. Nigel’s death affected the demographic of The Archers. I don’t think they ought to polish off all the toffs; we need diversity!

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We do need the toffs. They’re an endangered species. Justin is no toff, very short on class

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