Peter Partner of Sean Myerson, who was the landlord of the Cat and Fiddle pub. Subsequent to Lilian having a brief affair with Matt's estranged brother Paul, (which she did not find out Matt knew about until later), Lilian arrived home from a holiday to discover that he had emptied out all of their joint holdings, ransacked their house of valuables and fled to Costa Rica. But during the initial orientation, she changed her mind and decided to return home to Ambridge and work with her parents at Brookfield. With Brian she had two daughters, Kate and Alice. Rob and Helen married secretly on the Isle of Wight in August 2015. She has been a silent character since 2022, when the actor retired at the age of 103. Bethany had Downs Syndrome, which led to Mike, Vicky and Bethany moving to Birmingham to ensure the best care for Bethany. Peggy Woolley, ne Perkins, formerly Archer (born Margaret Perkins, 13 November 1924) (June Spencer, briefly played by Thelma Rogers) is the widow of Phil's elder brother, Jack Archer, and of Jack Woolley. He also undertook occasional tree-surgery work. He was, having concealed his marriage from her and wanting only a fling. She ended her relationship with Tom, saying that she did not want to marry and bear children. On New Year's Day 2007, he was run over by Helen Archer,[7] but rescued by Robert Snell. Peggy has two daughters, Jennifer and Lillian, and a son, Tony, by her first husband. Tom Forrest (George Hart and Bob Arnold) was Doris Archer's brother and a gamekeeper. On 9 March 2021 she gave birth to a baby girl, Martha. Coriander has a son called Oscar. Miserable and alone, Kathy befriended Lower Loxley chef, Owen King (a.k.a. He took over his elder brother's pig herd after John was killed in a tractor accident, going on to produce organic sausages. A skilled horsewoman, she ran the local riding stables for many years. After Will Grundy bought No. In 2018, Shula stunned Alistair when she told him their marriage was over. In January 2006 Lynda was elected to the parish council alongside Lilian Bellamy. Jack Woolley (19 July 1919 - 2 January 2014) (Arnold Peters, formerly played by Philip Garston-Jones) was a self-made man originally from Stirchley in Birmingham who owned the village shop. [44]), Bert Fry (7 June 193625 October 2021) (Eric Allan, formerly played by Roger Hume), husband of Freda Fry (deceased, formerly a silent character), was employed for many years as a farmhand by (initially) Phil and later by David and Ruth until his retirement, after which he continued to undertake casual work. She then dated Sam Batton, who ended the relationship because he was in love with Ruth Archer. She has since undergone breast reconstruction surgery to restore listeners' empathy with her (not entirely successfully), and coped rather better than David with the sudden transformation of priggish daughter Pip into a very stroppy seventeen-year-old with a much older boyfriend, Jude, who eventually dropped her. [9] In April 2013 Brenda decided to end the engagement and the couple separated. He never knew that he was finally to become a father. (The actor Ryan Kelly is visually impaired, unlike his character.). Tom was decided to throw in his lot with Brian Aldridge, husband of his aunt Jennifer, becoming a junior partner in the business. She is busily involved in village life and supports her children by taking on child-minding duties. On returning to the village, Ed at first sought refuge with mentor and past employer, Oliver Sterling, who did his best to help him face his demons and abandon his vices. Having recovered from both, he now takes more of a back seat in the family business. He became concerned about the environment and tried to become "green". Over the next few months he isolated Helen from her family and friends, employing gaslighting methods to persuade her that she was the one who was being problematic and even made plans to send Henry to boarding school without Helen's knowledge or consent, with the assistance of his mother, Ursula (played by Carolyn Jones), herself a victim of coercive control at the hands of Rob's father, Bruce (Michael Byrne). [5] Jim later relocated, bought his own property in Ambridge and went into a business partnership with Kenton which was dissolved when Kenton moved to the Bull. Alf Grundy (born 13 November 1944), Joe's elder son and a rogue. Ruth Archer, ne Pritchard (born 16 June 1968) (Felicity Finch) is the wife of David Archer. He has an uncomfortable relationship with his stepson, Adam, which has been the source of some friction with his wife. Iftikar Shah (Pal Aron)[60] is a maths teacher, who runs cricket coaching sessions for Ambridge residents. Often discussed in male only company due to her 'physical attributes'. Jethro Larkin (George Hart), Stereotypical yokel. Walter continually tried to romance Mrs Perkins. Now divorced, they are still good friends and probably closer than they had been in the last few years of their marriage. Her death was discovered by Shula in 1980 when she and Christine were visiting Glebe Cottage. Janet's time as vicar led the conservative Peggy Woolley to attend services at All Saints' in Borchester until she left the parish. Meanwhile Elizabeth seems to have gone all in with Dodgy Vince Casey, 'A peculiarly English epic': the weird genius of The Archers. During their marriage he was unrequitedly enamoured of Jolene Rogers (later Perks, now Archer), his partner in a country and western double act. [45], Walter Gabriel (Robert Mawdesley and Chris Gittins), originally a smallholder, was a friend of the Archers and provided comic relief in the years before the Grundy family were given greater prominence. In the 2021 new year's honours list Lynda Snell received an MBE, for which she had been nominated "by the community". Josh Archer, played by Angus Imrie,[11] made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 September 1997. Colonel Freddy Danby (Norman Shelley and Ballard Berkeley) lodged with Laura Archer at Ambridge Hall. Matt Crawford (born 7 August 1947) (Kim Durham) He threw his weight around and become more hated by all. Alice Carter, ne Aldridge (born 29 September 1988) (Hollie Chapman), the younger daughter of Brian and Jennifer, studied engineering at Southampton University. He was persuaded to co-operate with the authorities (in contrast with his less scrupulous colleague Stephen "Chalkie" Chalkman), but on practically the eve of the trial he fled in panic to Costa Rica, planning to live there as a fugitive. Rob Titchener (Timothy Watson) moved to Ambridge in January 2013 to manage Borchester Land's intensive dairy enterprise. [46] Walter Gabriel's phrase "Me old pal, me old beauty" remains one of the most enduringly remembered phrases associated with The Archers. WebVince Casey .. Tony Turner Chelsea Horrobin .. Madeleine Leslay Tracy Horrobin .. Susie Riddell Kirsty Miller .. Annabelle Dowler Elizabeth Pargetter .. Alison Dowling Freddie Pargetter .. Toby Laurence Lynda Snell .. Carole Boyd Nurse .. Deborah Tracey 13 min 3 NOV 2022 03/11/2022 03/11/2022 As a result, Vince physically harms Ben and upsets Beth and Elizabeth.. Sid Perks (Alan Devereux) was landlord of The Bull, Ambridge's village pub. [20] and a former partnership in Tom Archer's sausage business. #TheArchers", "Charlotte Higgins on The Archers: it's party time in the cider shed! A parental testing showed that despite Emma's certainty to the contrary, George was Will's son. Pat and Tony had three children, John, Helen and Tom. Filled with remorse, Pat had strongly disapproved of Sharon, John's girlfriend, and this discovery turned into an obsession which caused problems for her family. Elizabeth witnessed his fatal attempt to rescue a sheep in difficulty on Lakey Hill, despite her pleading with him not to. Polly Perkins, known as "Mrs P" (Pauline Seville), a close friend of Dan and Doris Archer and formidable mother of Peggy. During 2015, the increasing indications Rob was coercively controlling and emotionally abusing Helen, became a major plot line. Moreover, he served as voice and speech training director at the Mountview Theatre School in London and the Walt Disney Productions London department manager. Lilian took dancing lessons from Mike Tucker after she discovered that Crawford's ex-wife was a much better dancer than she. [57] and Ruair came to Ambridge to live with his father, although much of his care falls, not without a struggle, on his father's wife, Jennifer. Despite owning an MG sports car, bought with a windfall from his mother, he is generally considered to be a rather dull man. Usha was also regularly on the receiving end of 'helpful' advice about her unmarried status by her Aunty Satya (Jamila Massey), an occasional visitor to Ambridge from Usha's home town of Wolverhampton who attempted to match-make for her on numerous occasions, with cousins from home. Virtually silent: he once called out 'Yoo-hoo'. He was patriarch of the Archer family. [citation needed] Ian proposed to Adam and the pair entered a civil partnership on 14 December 2006. Brian was prosecuted by The Environment Agency and forced to retire from active management of the farm. He subsequently sold the enterprise to Ed and "retired properly". In April 2016, after the secret intervention of her friend, Kirsty Miller, Helen secretly met Jess, who revealed the true nature of her marriage with Rob, before stabbing Rob in a moment of clarity, after he placed a knife in her hand and goaded her to commit suicide, as he refused to let her and Henry leave the house. Phil Archer (Norman Painting) younger son of Dan and long-time patriarch of the Archer family and a leading resident of the village. Nigel and Shula found themselves in court in 1984 for taking a car they erroneously believed to be Beecham's. Played by Felicity Finch. His or her gender was not specified for some considerable time, but definitely referred to as 'he' by Oliver Sterling in the Xmas Eve episode. When the reality of her flirting dawned on the naf David he backed away and Barlow returned to London. As the family rallied round, devastated Elizabeth drew her precious twins close to her. Helen resumed her affair with Rob on New Year's Day 2014. In March 2008 he had problems with the herd being infected by Bovine TB. A single mother to Brad and Chelsea, she was a long running silent character before finding a voice. The Grundys were minor characters until the early 1980s, when they were developed to be a working-class foil to the Archer family. Julia Pargetter-Carmichael, mother of Nigel Pargetter (she also had a daughter called Camilla who wasn't seen); mother in-law of Elizabeth Archer (whom she disliked at first, because she wanted Nigel to marry into the wealthy Aldridge family, but grew to love Elizabeth later on after the birth of her beloved grandchildren, Freddie and Lily) and sometime entertainer, died from a stroke in 2005,[40] shortly after the actress who played her, Mary Wimbush, died, also from a stroke, aged 81. She gave birth to her daughter Phoebe in a tipi at the Glastonbury Festival. He first came to Ambridge from Birmingham, where he had been sent to borstal for breaking and entering, which made obtaining his publican's licence difficult. It took Kathy some time to trust a man again, and Kenton showed uncharacteristic patience in enabling her to rebuild her self-confidence. John was killed in a tractor accident. Once again, Adam and Ian contemplated parenthood; in 2019, surrogate and friend Lexi gave birth to Alexander Macy-Craig (Xander). WebThe Female Vicar Janet Fisher joined the Archers in the nineties as a female vicar when three local parishes merged in Ambridge. She became involved with him after her father, Jethro, employed him to remove the range in their home. Until she gave her notice in January 2007 she worked as a cleaner at Brookfield. Fallon's drive to modernise village life has caused friction with older characters such as Lynda Snell, who resigned from the 2016 fte committee after an argument with Fallon and with Shula Hebden Lloyd who felt pushed out of catering the village cricket teas when Fallon took over following Harrison's appointment as captain. Carl (Nicholas Bailey) was Amy Franks's ex-boyfriend. He began a caring relationship with Tracy Horrobin, sister of Susan Carter. It was also revealed shortly afterwards that the previous year, while still manager of the mega dairy, Rob had blocked a nearby culvert to prevent a build-up of rainwater from flooding the dairy and was therefore responsible for the massive flood that had engulfed Ambridge and nearly caused the death of his boss. Brookfield has suffered in recent years from bovine TB, but David is enthusiastic about his herd of Herefords. Susan wanted him to be a white collar worker but he decided that he was a pigman at heart. After finally realising the degree to which Carl had abused her trust things seem to be improving at home. New daughter Keira was born in 2011 and following financial problems, they returned to live with Emma's parents in 2012. Lily is the more easily angered, sarcastic and pretentious twin; while Freddie, is more sweet-natured and very sensitive, though also more cocky and moody at times. Sean Myerson (Gareth Armstrong) Landlord of the former pub The Cat and Fiddle. Mandy Beesborough Brian missed his daughter Alice's birth because he was at the races with her. Much taken with studying feminism in the mid-1980s she came close to having an affair with her lecturer, Roger, just before Bridge Farm entered the process of becoming organic. In 2013, a wealthy American descendant of his made contact with the Vicarage enquiring about his ancestor Zebedee, and subsequently made a large donation towards the repair of the village organ. Mike Tucker (born 1 December 1949) (Terry Molloy) lost an eye in a farming accident, for which Brian Aldridge was found responsible. Helen Titchener, ne Archer (born 16 April 1979) (Louiza Patikas, formerly played by Frances Graham and Bonnie Engstrom), Tony and Pat Archer's daughter, makes a cheese called "Borsetshire Blue" in the farm dairy and runs the organic farm shop, Ambridge Organics, in Borchester. Subsequently, she was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The youngest child of Phil and Jill Archer, Elizabeth is the widowed lady of Lower Loxley. However, Ian can be outspoken with husband Adam Macy when he thinks Adam's overstepped the mark. Daniel "Dan" Archer (Harry Oakes, Monte Crick, Edgar Harrison and Frank Middlemass), son of the elder John Archer, was the first owner of Brookfield when the family bought it from Squire Lawson-Hope. His tenure came to end in 1987 when helping David fell a tree using a chainsaw. He remained missing, despite a police investigation into his disappearance, until July 2006 when he was admitted to hospital after being beaten up while sleeping rough in Borchester. Meanwhile Elizabeth seems to have gone all in with Dodgy Vince Casey, who has shown a sudden interest in contemporary art, airily discussing Jean-Michel Lillian took a more active role than he expected which caused some friction. After feeling increasingly badly-treated by Lilian and Matt, she left Amside without notice. Gareth Taylor, Alex Wallace and latterly Marcus Dixon), but he raped her just before Christmas 2004. In 1995 she married the new owner of the estate, Guy Pemberton (Hugh Dickson). Ruth survived breast cancer which struck in 2000, undergoing a mastectomy operation. Though most people were welcome to the change, Peggy Woolley was not, something she showed by refusing to attend the service and opting to worship in Borchester. Hayley worked at Lower Loxley as nanny to Freddie and Lily Pargetter, and then as a rather amorphous children's visitor specialist. [13][14] As a reward for his misdemeanours and to get him interested in farming Ben is now training the new sheepdog "Bess". (Margot Boyd died on 20 May 2008. An attractive woman, she distinguished herself by successfully resisting the advances of erstwhile village Lothario, Brian Aldridge. After the suicide of her gamekeeper partner Greg Turner in 2004,[6] she suffered from anorexia nervosa, but recovered after a time at a specialist clinic. In this romance she calls him "Tiger" and he calls her "Pussy-cat". It was then that Rob revealed himself to be manipulative, controlling and emotionally abusive. Amy qualified as a midwife in Manchester and then worked at Borchester General Hospital. Elizabeth's mother-in-law Julia lived in the family pile until her demise in 2005. [3] Helen had a baby boy, Henry Ian Archer, through AI, a decision of which Tony initially disapproved. Many listeners considered Ruth's behaviour during this storyline to be entirely out of character, and therefore unbelievable. [12] He was originally played by Cian Cheesbrough. His weak bladder was a regular source of amusement to speaking characters. He arrived in Ambridge as a gentleman farmer and huntsman and bought Grange Farm from the estate. Tracy Horrobin (Susie Riddell) is the younger sister of Susan Carter and frequently a great embarrassment to her. His father Professor Jim Lloyd (John Rowe) stayed with them at Christmas and New Year 2007-8 while his broken leg healed. In late 2019, Emma and Ed briefly separated, though they have since reconciled. The main characters in the story 1 Aldridges 2 Archers - Bridge Farm branch 3 Archers - Brookfield Farm branch 4 Carters 5 Franks 6 Grundys 7 Lloyds/Hebden Lloyds 8 Pargetters 9 Perks 10 Snells More items Caroline Sterling, ne Bone, formerly Pemberton (born 3 April 1955; died 2017) (Sara Coward) moved to the village in 1977, aged 22, when she was hired by Sid as barmaid in the Bull. Lilian was elected to the parish council in January 2006. Sabrina's somewhat extreme competitive streak, especially (though by no means exclusively) when it comes to sporting activities, gets her featured at least twice a month. [34] When younger Fallon was the lead singer of local rock band, Little White Lies, when not running the Upstairs@the Bull music venue and working as a barmaid. Rob barely survived the encounter. Tony Archer (born Anthony William Daniel Archer, 16 February 1951) ( David Troughton, formerly played by Colin Skipp) is the youngest child and only son of Peggy Archer (and step-son of Jack Woolley). He jilted her at the altar. She is an erratic bowler, who often has to be stopped from excessive sledging. Forever trying to give Usha unwanted relationship advice or a welcome shoulder to cry on, and architect of numerous failed matchmaking ruses. Heather Pritchard (Margaret Jackman, formerly played by Joyce Gibbs) Ruth Archer's widowed mother who lived in Prudhoe, Northumberland. Numerous animals have been repeatedly referred to during The Archers' run usually played by the special effects department as necessary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/3dXcdbXfwsp4qTCXY28Lx5x/ian-craig. Subsequently, he came close to having a relationship with Debbie Aldridge, but Pemberton assaulted her after she confessed that she could not love him. Kirsty Miller (Annabelle Dowler),[33] worked at Ambridge Organics and the Jaxx Bar. She lives at Bull Farm. His subsequent marriage to Kathy ended in divorce but his third marriage, to his affair partner, country singer Jolene, was happier. Although she came to accept him after Helen made a drastic move and left her family home and moved in with Rob in February, she had questioned whether Rob had played a part in Helen quitting her long- running job at the Ambridge Organics store. In April 2017, Matt made a surprise re-appearance, claiming to have returned to Ambridge in order to repay his debt to Lillian. Martha Woodford (Mollie Harris) Shopkeeper, wife of Joby.[62]. 1 January 2012 saw Will & Nic get married at the local Grey Gables Hotel followed by a honeymoon in Cap Verde which on their return led to the renaming of their cottage to Greenwood. Tony Turner plays the character Vince Casey in the radio series The Archers. She ultimately returned to Ambridge several months later, got a job at Grey Gables and moved in with Roy Tucker while also making amends with Helen and the rest of the family. Elizabeth Pargetter, ne Archer (born Elizabeth Ann Archer, 21 April 1967) (Alison Dowling). Ben is David and Ruth Archer's youngest son, and Pip and Josh's brother, having been born on 15 March 2002. [53] She flirted with David and made a play to have an affair with him, having been resistant to intimacy before. He worked at Grey Gables, and was promoted to deputy manager. In 1985 Aunt Laura fell in a ditch and listeners were treated to her forlorn cries while owls hooted overhead. Molly Button has a degree of terpsichorean talent and is often mentioned in the context of village performances. In December 2010 Sabrina was heard when she played the part of the cat in the village pantomime Dick Whittington - however she was only heard to make cat noises and didn't have any lines. The Frys did however take a holiday in India when he retired. However their misdeeds tend toward relatively harmless mischief-making rather than criminal activity (although on one occasion they committed criminal damage by vandalizing Rob Titchener's car and it was eventually established that they were the 'bunting thieves'). Their first child, Martha Carter, was born prematurely in March 2021. Roy, Hayley and Phoebe lived with Mike Tucker at Willow Farm. Tony Turner plays Vince Casey in the radio drama The Archers. She inherited some of grandfather Phil's interest in music, learning to play the piano and singing solos at carol concerts. Having turned his back on the family farm to join the Merchant Navy, Kenton tried his hand at a number of ventures, including selling antiques and running a wine bar. He composed poetry and won several ploughing contests, and was a regular guide at Lower Loxley. After learning that Natasha was expecting twins, they moved into April Cottage. She has daughters, including India, whom Oliver and Caroline's foster child Carly described as having "an arse the size of a continent". Kathy Perks (Hedli Niklaus), formerly married to Sid, lived at April Cottage with her son Jamie. Since 2019, Christine has become a silent character. Neil Carter (born 22 May 1957) (Brian Hewlett) is another business failure. . The actor is also the author of famous songs like Voice for Teachers" and "The Dialect Magician. He has two daughters from a previous relationship; Coriander, who goes by the name "Cas", and Leonie. He was widowed before moving to Ambridge and is the father of Amy, a midwife. Jennifer Aldridge, ne Archer (7 January 1945-22 January 2023) (Jennifer Piper) was the elder daughter of Peggy Woolley by her first husband, Jack Archer. They lived for a while in the flat above the village shop before moving back in with Tony and Pat. She was the general manager at Grey Gables until it was sold. Two members of the gang, Spanner Bridges (so called because he used a spanner (wrench) as a weapon) and Craven, were charged, and while Craven pleaded guilty and got a lesser sentence, Spanner was convicted and sentenced, his bike being sold and the proceeds given to Usha. Tony Turner plays Vince Casey on Radio 4's The Archers On the Archers Appreciation Group, Julie Willetts posted: 'Thought Vince was in the Laurels for a mo.' Jazzer started out as a general ne'er do well, engaging in burglary and drug abuse, before settling down a little and holding down two jobs. She studied at Oxford University and was leader of a rewilding scheme aiming at improving the natural life around Ambridge along with Pip Archer and Rex Fairbrother until moving to Scotland for a new job. Listeners said that he sounded too similar to Vince Casey, played by Tony Turner. Over recent years he has become increasingly caring, for example driving up to Northumberland to bring his widowed mother-in-law to stay, and renting a piece of land to Joe Grundy to allow him to keep the barn he had erected without planning permission. He no longer has an Irish accent,[27] following a change of actor in 2012.[28]. [61] Has been living in France with her mother Michelle and sister Sonia but after family upheavals returned to England to seek out Helen Archer. Radio 4 listeners complained that they could not distinguish between the two characters' voices. [59] When Amy asked Carl about moving into together, he broke up with her. Tony Archer (born Anthony William Daniel Archer, 16 February 1951) (David Troughton, formerly played by Colin Skipp)[2] is the youngest child and only son of Jack and Peggy Archer (and step-son of Jack Woolley). Following his debut in the 1963 Z Cars as McEvoy, Tony has starred in over 40 TV series and movies. Roy Tucker (born 2 February 1978) (Ian Pepperell) was formerly part of a teenage gang which perpetrated a series of racist attacks on Usha Gupta; he gave them her address. The shock of this event made her re-evaluate her life and she has since helped develop a new type of cheese with Oliver Sterling. In the mid-1970s Paul deserted the family and he was later killed in a helicopter crash in Germany. He has found work in this area hard to obtain recently and has capitalised on his DIY skills to set up a small business doing general building work. After moving to The Laurels retirement home she was a silent character for several years before her death was finally mentioned on 13 August 2008. Bellamy senior died in 1980, but Lilian unaccountably returned to Ambridge in 2003 and took up with Matt Crawford (then a married man); her exploits cause much gnashing of teeth from her respectable sister Jennifer Aldridge. Clarrie Grundy ne Larkin (born 12 May 1954) (Heather Bell, part created by Bell[16] and also formerly played by Fiona Mathieson and Rosalind Adams) is Eddie Grundy's long-suffering wife, having married him in 1982. In late 2012, financial troubles reflecting earlier reductions in milk prices forced the couple to move back in with Emma's parents. [37] Carol was originally married to Ambridge landowner Charles Grenville until his death. Bert lived in "The Bungalow", which was originally built to house David and Ruth. More recently, some local parishioners made complaints to the bishop when Alan, the vicar, began a relationship with Usha (who is Hindu). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. To pay his fines he and Jenny were forced to sell the farmhouse and move into rented accommodation. Siobhan Donovan (formerly Hathaway, Caroline Lennon) moved into Honeysuckle Cottage in 1999 with her husband, new local doctor Tim Hathaway. She was found alive and spent a week in hospital being treated for pneumonia but died of heart failure soon after being discharged on St Valentine's Day while her friend Freddy Danby read to her from Moby-Dick. In 2005 Peggy tried to persuade her husband to agree to his affairs being governed by power of attorney. Sabrina and Richard Thwaite Residents of the salubrious Grange Spinney. She returned home when her mother died suddenly in December 2005. Betty Tucker (Pamela Craig) wife of Mike, mother of Roy and Brenda. The couple married unexpectedly in Las Vegas during a 2010 summer holiday. After spells in London and Spain he opened a wine bar in Borchester in 1980 and later an antique shop (with Kenton Archer). bbc.co.uk. After his sister Helen's trial and acquittal, Tom and Kirsty got back together for one evening and she later discovered that she was pregnant. Eddie's hopes of a career in music appear to have been permanently dashed. She reacted to the sudden death of Sid, her ex-husband, as if she were the grieving widow, rather than his wife of eight years Jolene, being of little help to their teenage son and undermining her relationship with Kenton, who can do nothing right. This is a list of many of the characters from the long-running British radio soap The Archers. As the story progresses, we can see Vince is looking forward to building a good relationship with the archer dynasty by lending David money to reconstruct Brookfield. Ben The show is the longest-running radio show, with 19,894 episodes as of 30 December 2022.. Hayley left Roy in 2014 after discovering the nature of his relationship with Elizabeth Pargetter, eventually moving to Birmingham. He began seeing Alice to the barely concealed delight of his social climbing mother and the scarcely concealed horror of Alice's mother, Jennifer Aldridge. Her parents did not approve. Noted for always wearing a battered hat. (John) Higgs Jack Woolley's chauffeur and handyman at Grey Gables. Nigel (who also had a never-seen sister, Camilla who was married to a man named James) had only intermittent help from his beloved mother, Julia; more often she was a source of anxiety and friction (due to her dislike of Elizabeth, which, happily ceased once Freddie and Lily were born), but she died suddenly in November 2005. He makes cider and kept a pig called Barbarella. An outsider by birth, Matt often inveigled himself into positions of power, such as the parish council, but many villagers were suspicious of his motives. Mike later married Vicky, a fellow ballroom dancer, who gave birth to their daughter Bethany in January 2013. He had a shady history. When Janet left, Peggy returned to St. Stephen's. A widower, he always wanted to marry her, but it was not to be.