Alice and Chris have been having a difficult time. Do they want different things? Have they got what it takes?
I think they do and they don't want different things. In Alice's head, this job in Canada is exactly what she wants it to be. But, I don't know if she would definitely be happier if she went out there. I think she's just a bit unsettled and her job is a bit of a grind at the moment. I can see it from both sides. Chris does understand, but it is the worst possible time to choose to do this. He’s bought this business and is just getting rid of the debt.

Is work the only reason Chris wants to stay in Ambridge?
He's very settled and he's very much a small-town man. That's probably where we differ the most in terms of me and him. He's got his football practice and cricket. He's got his local pub where he knows everyone. He's got his job that he's happy doing. He's a man of the earth.

What does Chris love most - Ambridge or Alice?
I think Alice. The fact that they got married in Las Vegas - that's not really him. He's so devoted to her. He does really value their relationship.

So Alice has her sights on adventure in Canada. What are Chris' ambitions?
He loves his job and he wants to be able to do that, do it well, I'm sure he wants to expand it at some point, maybe he'll get an apprentice. I guess kids at some point. But I don't think he's got any plans to join the circus or anything like that. He's quite set on his path.

How did you feel when you read about Chris's accident?
My initial reaction was - will he be alive!? It's been a really nice storyline to play. Chris and Alice are generally a very happy couple so it's been nice to have loads of drama. I got to do quite a few scenes, sat under a blanket vaguely talking which was quite fun to do.

How did you replicate the kick in the studio?
In terms of timing it was hard to get exactly right. It was to do with Freddie knocking over a bucket and it had to be in time with that. I fell over loads of times. There were no actual horses involved or recreations of horses although I was imagining that.

Do you have experience with horses?
I know well how to deal with an invisible horse but anything other than that is not my cup of tea!
 

Should Alice feel guilty about Chris's accident?
Obviously she's going to but I don't think it's her fault. I don't think she's actually doing anything really wrong. Maybe the way she's gone about it isn't the best but I don't think she's a bad person.

What do you have in common with Chris?
He's quite a jokey guy. I quite enjoyed the episode before getting kicked, when he gets ridiculously drunk. I think we came together there in a beautiful moment! He's well liked, he's a friendly person. We share that. We're quite upbeat and jokey. Obviously I like to think I'm like that!

How much has he changed since you've been playing him?
He's changed quite a lot considering he's married, he owns the business - he’s done quite well considering he's in his mid-20s! He's always been quite confident and sure of himself but he is now more than ever.

Who are the people in the cast that you get on well with?
It's a really friendly cast. I remember the early days of Christmas parties and Tim who plays David took me under his wing. My parents are absolutely lovely. I feel like they're my parents in real life! I'm like "Hey dad! How have you been?" But most of my scenes for the past three years have been with Hollie (Alice). She came to my gig the other day!

Read an interview with Hollie Chapman (Alice)

Listen to some classic clips from Chris and Alice's past

When Alice and Chris surprised their parents with news of their Las Vegas marriage, Brian and Jennifer weren't best pleased. (Susan was delighted!)

Here's Brian and Jennifer's reaction in a conversation broadcast on 2 August 2010.

Is Brian right? Do you think this is a "starter marriage" for Alice?

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As things hit crisis point for Chris and Alice, we thought you might like a brief history of their relationship - with audio clips.

Even though they grew up in the same small village, Alice Aldridge and Christopher Carter had very little to do with each other until one night in the summer of 2008 when they met by chance in a club. As the evening progressed, Alice became drunker and their flirting grew stronger. At the end of the night, Alice lunged and kissed Chris. He didn't resist but, being a gentleman, he didn't pursue the pass either.

A few weeks later they went to the Bestival music festival on the Isle of Wight – with different groups of friends. Alice once more found herself in trouble when her tent and everything in it was stolen. Chris came to her rescue. He gave Alice his tent and his sleeping bag and settled down for a night under the stars. But it was cold and Alice was worried by the idea of Chris in a chair outside. She invited him in.

Long-distance relationship

They returned from Bestival as an item. Jennifer wasn’t pleased at her daughter dallying with a pigman’s son but reassured herself that it would not survive Alice’s imminent departure to Southampton University. But she was wrong. The couple worked hard to maintain the long-distance relationship –  despite occasional temptations and Jennifer’s hamfisted attempts to pair Alice off with uber-posh Sebastian ‘Basti’ Streatfield.

In December, Alice pooh-pooed Chris’s worries that he was too lowly for her. She loved him – and he returned the sentiment.

Chris’s origins may be humble, but his job as a farrier brought him into close contact with the upper echelons of Borsetshire society. At a Boxing Day party, Brian was nonplussed to find Chris on first name terms with Lord Elbury.

Chris made regular trips to Southampton and they spent most of Alice’s vacations together. Finding a place to be private was a challenge until 2010, when Alice boldly decided that one of the Home Farm holiday cottages – which Brian had gifted to her some years before – would make an ideal love nest.

Married in Vegas

In the summer, the couple took a wonderful trip to the US, announcing on their return that they had been married in Las Vegas (on 28 July 2010). While Chris’s mother Susan was ecstatic at being linked to the well-heeled Aldridges, it’s fair to say that the feeling wasn’t mutual.

The two mothers locked horns as they planned a lavish wedding party, but on 20 August a grand marquee played host to one of Ambridge’s most eclectic gatherings, from the upper-crust Streatfields to the white-trash Horrobins (Susan’s family).

With Chris ensconced in The Nest (no really, that’s actually its name), Alice split her time between university and home and the couple couldn’t be happier. . 

Trouble in Paradise

But the marriage ran into serious trouble the following year (in events mainly told in Ambridge Extra). Alice foolishly agreed to lie to the police on behalf of her close friend and housemate Chaz (another posh boy) in connection with an assault outside a club. This was the first inkling of Chaz’s hidden life.

At this time Chris was keen to take up the opportunity raised by his boss Ronnie’s early retirement. Not realising that Chaz was falling for her, Alice brokered a loan from him – at very favourable rates – that enabled Chris to buy Ronnie’s business.

It eventually transpired that most of Chaz’s loans were to much more vulnerable people, and at eye-watering rates of interest. As his business went sour and the police pursued him, Chaz declared his love for Alice and desperately arranged for them to run away together. For a while it looked to Chris as if Alice had been concealing a relationship with Chaz. He took a lot of persuading not to end things between them.

Alice starts work

In July 2011, Alice returned to Ambridge with a 2:1 in Aeronautical Engineering. She went on to an MSc at Felpersham University, and worked hard to re-establish Chris’s trust.

Chris was working hard too, having to replace Chaz’s favourable loan with one at full commercial rates. But he loved his business and felt very settled in his home village with the woman he loved.

After her MSc, Alice’s job prospects should have been limitless. But she was restricted to a reasonable commuting distance from Ambridge, so in November 2012  she started work with a small aircraft equipment supplier near Ramsbury.

Itchy feet

But it wasn’t long before she was regretting the limitations of her new role. In February 2013, she had an interview with a company in Vancouver, Canada. The effects were to be shattering. 

Decision time

After a nasty accident with a horse, Chris re-evaluated his life and marriage. He struggled to weigh up his desire to stay in Ambridge with his desire to support Alice. In the end love won through and Chris decided he would move to Canada with Alice. However, in April 2013, Alice made her decision.

Keri Davies is an Archers scriptwriter and web producer.

• Discover more about Alice Carter in our Who's Who
•  Discover more about Chris Carter in our Who's Who