The Archers, review: The domestic abuse storyline is subtle, clever and creepy

Something unusual is going down in Ambridge, something decidedly not daft, says Fiona Sturges

The Titcheners, played by Louiza Patikas and Timothy Watson (BBC)

"You can't help it, it's a sickness," said Rob to his distressed wife Helen on The Archers. "Darling, you're ill."

Rarely have such sympathetic words sounded so chilling.

Usually, I loathe The Archers. I know that there are those who will view this as a grave offence, especially coming from someone whose job it is to listen to the radio. I'm not sorry, though. I grew up on a farm so hating it is in my blood.

In the Eighties its depiction of rural life was about as close to the real thing as Mr Benn was to the world of retail. Yes, I know, it's a soap, not a documentary, but they didn't even try. Ambridge's inhabitants were unrecognisable to us country dwellers, the acting was atrocious and little seemed to happen beyond the regular bust-ups with the Milk Marketing Board. And don't get me started on that jaunty bloody theme tune.

But now radio seems to be work and so, over the past five years, I've listened intermittently. The acting has improved but still, I have sat in abject confusion about the accents – if it's set in the Midlands, why do so many of them sound like they're from the West Country? – and I've despaired at the way cows moo whenever a human goes near them. Seriously, cows aren't that chatty.

But now something unusual is going down in Ambridge, something decidedly not daft. In fact the abuse being meted out by Rob Titchener to his pregnant wife, Helen – some of it physical, much more of it psychological – is all too believable. The story of his quiet coercion has been developing for well over a year which, in the land of soap, is pretty much unheard-of. Like the dreadful Rob, the writers are playing the long game, and are said to have consulted domestic abuse professionals when researching how best the issue should be tackled. Good for them.

Over the past week there has been an argument over a burnt toad-in-the-hole (Helen was in charge of taking it out of the oven but the timer mysteriously failed to ping), a sleepwalking incident (Rob said Helen frightened her young son rigid; she did not) plus a botched rescue mission from Helen's friend, Kirsty. Meanwhile, Rob has gradually convinced his wife that she's not up to driving, choosing her own clothes, seeing her family or going out. Furthermore, she is failing as mother and wife, and is in need of psychiatric help. All this is done out of concern, he says. He's just trying to help. His torture is like a gently dripping tap.

A Just Giving page has been set up to raise money for the Helen Titchener Rescue Fund, which will be donated to Refuge

When soaps go serious, it can raise the profile of issues that are invisible or taboo – think EastEnders tackling HIV, or Brookside dealing with incest. Who would have thought that The Archers would do this so effectively with emotional abuse?

That Helen is an educated, middle-class, once-confident woman means that she is not an obvious victim of psychological subterfuge. As a result of the storyline, and a social media campaign, the Helen Titchener Rescue Fund has been launched and is donating proceeds to victims of abuse. Women who have been through what Helen is enduring have praised the programme for its accuracy.

Certainly, Rob and Helen's relationship is unusually plausible and his careful undermining of her confidence subtly, cleverly and creepily drawn. Subtle... clever... creepy... Did I just say that? About The Archers? I don't know who I am anymore.