Custody case mirrors story in ‘The Archers’

A COUPLE locked in a bitter legal dispute over custody of their three-year-old daughter left a judge exasperated after he discovered the pair insist on referring to the child by different names.

In a case echoing a current storyline from Radio 4’s The Archers, the couple could not agree on a name for the child, so each refers to her by their own choice.

The situation mirrors that of Ambridge characters Rob and Helen Titchener, who clashed over the name of their newborn son, with Helen registering him as Jack, but Rob insisting his name is Gideon.

In the Family Division of the High Court, the real-life couple displayed a similarly stubborn approach.

Mr Justice Hayden, who analysed the girl’s case in the High Court, explained that her father was British while her mother was American and lived in New York. The woman became pregnant after a brief but “intense” relationship while the father was in New York on business.

The child was born in New York, but when she was aged one she moved to London to live with her father.

Since then relations between the parents have broken down. The woman applied to the courts to have the infant returned to the US to live with her.

But Mr Justice Hayden refused the application, saying the girl was “habitually resident” in the UK and was integrated into London life.

The judge said when the father had attended court to give evidence, he had offered to use the name chosen by the girl’s mother.

Next week in The Archers, listeners will hear the start of Helen’s trial, described as one of the show’s most gripping storylines for decades.