The strawberry princess story rumbles on and, against expectations, Tommy is taken into custody ahead of his comittal.

Radio Times: Tommy stays in.

Characters: Custody Sergeant, Hayley, Mike, Pat, PC Davis, Tommy, Tony, Usha

• Hayley’s grandparents are the centre of attention at the strawberries and loving it! Hayley’s primary boss, Josey, a photographer with the Echo is taking a few shots and Mike’s positively salivating at the amount of publicity the PYO is getting! Hayley’s secondary boss(es), the Brookfield branch of the Archers, are causing her a little unease, she was off ill last week and Phil was in his element with his grandchildren, but now she’s recovered she feels a little uncomfortable playing second fiddle!
• Showing lots of parental concern, Pat and Tony wave Tommy off to the police station in the capable hands of his counsel, Usha assures them that it’s only formalities today and she’ll ring as soon as she knows what the score is. Unfortunately, the outlook is not rosy. He is charged under the Criminal Damage Act, 1971, with respect to the attack on the crop, valued by the biotech company at £42,000. The custody sergeant, as is within his powers, has decided that the combination of the value of the crop and the possibility that Tommy might commit similar acts mean that he’s not prepared to offer him unconditional bail and, because of the time of day, he’ll have to remain in police custody until appearing in front of the magistrates in the morning. Usha’s disappointed, but not surprised, and tells him to not give his tubthumping speeches to the police, but to save them for the court.
• When Usha arrives at Bridge Farm to deliver the news in person, his parents are distraught. He’s bearing up well, but cannot receive visitors. She explains that he’ll appear before the magistrates and ask for his case to be heard in the crown court, to take his moral speeches to a jury.