Like the antique fountain pen that has had three new nibs and two new handles, The Archers has the enviable knack of seeming constantly to change its appearance while remaining fundamentally the same. Herculean attempts are made to harmonise its two staple ingredients (lurid incident plus tea-table chit-chat), the range of unconvincing Borsetshire accents grows ever more expansive, and every so often there emerges some cataclysmic coup de théâtre.

Last week’s trial of Helen Titchener (5-9 September), dramatically arraigned at Borchester Crown Court for the attempted murder of her abusive husband, Rob, who was discovered on the kitchen floor at Blossom Hill Cottage with three stab wounds, certainly fell into the third category.