Pip's Love life

I would venture a guess that it will be Rex. I think they are quite young to be settling down just yet, (The fact that the Fairbrothers are being bank rolled by daddy doesn’t bode well for him as a good partner for Pip), but since he is really the only eligible person in the picture at the moment, I think it will have to be him. He is very clearly keen to be more than just friends, and Pip will eventually come around to the idea.

I think that Matthew will return in the distant future and either complicate the Pip/ Rex romance or find Pip available to pick up where they left off. David and Ruth got off to a rocky start with Ruth being a temporary worker on the farm and David already having an on/ off relationship smoldering in the background during the start of his interest in Ruth so it seems like history could be repeating itself.

In my view, Pip doesn’t need a lover. Serial love affairs, rebound affairs and boomerang liaisons are the kind of thing soaps do all the time.

As it has been said before, Pip needs better emotional support from some actual friends whether they’re male or female. Soaps don’t always depict friendships very well. They mainly show conflict or a relationship where people are not equals (one of them takes the other under their wing) or where one party is the straight guy and the other is funny.

Having said that, there are lots of friendships in The Archers that work OK. Kirsty and Helen; Jazzer and Ed; Emma and Fallon; Clarrie and Susan; Shula and Caroline; Jill and Carol; Mike and Neil (when Mike was around). But where’s Kathy when Pat needs her? And what kind of friend has Ian turned out to be to Helen? Whatever our disagreement, if I were him I’d have put all of that to one side immediately to reach out to Helen as soon as I heard about her situation.

Still, it doesn’t seem as though Pip has many friends – and there’s no “sisterhood” in Ambridge.

I can’t speak for anyone else but I’ve never had any massive falling out with any of my friends – some whom I’ve known since we were 5 and others since we were 11.

You called it right, Ms Bubbles.

But to me, the whole thing is wrong. It’s mainly because I’m old fashioned but frankly, no-one does well out of a “friends with benefits” arrangement.

The character I recognise as Pip doesn’t seem to have the emotional or psychological stamina to cope. She’s had a break up and she wants to explore her sexuality freely and with no strings attached. Fair enough, but I’d have thought it was a bit soon after Matthew. She’s not going to fall for Toby. She’s made that clear. But how is she going to keep the relationship merely sexual? Why would she get into an arrangement like that with someone who’s so close to home – who’s in a business relationship with her brother and her parents? How will she react when Toby sees other women? What will they do when her family find out and when Rex finds out? The trick is for neither of them to become attached to each other. I guess it’s easy to start developing feelings for someone you’re having regular sex with. And I guess it’s easy to start to become used to having a ready and willing sexual partner and find that the sex is a habit.

Good luck to them both with the friendship and the benefits. I hope it’s worth it. It doesn’t have to be emotionally damaging but it’s all a bit messy for me.