Across:
8 Rotten (OFF-) bad habit (vice) doesn’t start (v) (‘vice’ without ‘v’ = -ICE) (OFFICE) in the workplace (OFFICE),
9 Dark grey (CHARCOAL) church (CH-) with religious type (Roman Catholic = -RC-) of Anabaptist leaders (‘Of Anabaptist’ leaders = -OA-) in Alabama (AL = -A-L) (CHARCOAL),
10 Opens 15 across (opens ‘hit the right note’ = HIT-) with endless (end ‘lesS’ = -S) (HITS) strikes (HITS),
11 Prepare your flowers for a dry spell (UNDERWATER) below the surface (UNDERWATER),
12 Godparents left out pots (‘godparents’ left out/without ‘pots’ = gdaren = GARDEN) in cultivated ground (GARDEN),
14 Remembered (RECALLED) in retrospect (= reverse indicator) small valley (dell = -LLED) with maple (acer = RECA-) (RECALLED),
15 Suitably stick to the arrangement perhaps (HIT THE RIGHT NOTE) and knock (HIT) article (THE) by most of those in 26 across (most of ‘rights’ = RIGHT) and 24 across (‘note’ = NOTE) (HIT THE RIGHT NOTE),
18 Popular (IN-) time (-T-) to be cheeky (-RUDE-) at school (-S) (INTRUDES) as local muscles in (INTRUDES),
20 It’s chaotic from Roman Catholic (‘chaotic’ from ‘Roman Catholic’ = romanl = NORMAL), as usual (NORMAL),
22 Type of intelligence (ARTIFICIAL intelligence) produced by spies (-CIA-) in mischievous (= anagram indicator) airlift (airlift = ARTIFI-L) (ARTIFICIAL),
24 Take down (NOTE) what’s caught up (= reverse indicator) in fire tongs (caught up in ‘firE TONgs’ = eton = NOTE),
25 A French (‘a’ French = UN-) chaise longue (settee) with fourth (fourth ‘panel’ = ‘e’) and fifth panel switched (fifth ‘paneL’ = l)? (‘settEe’ replaces ‘e’ with ‘l’ = settle = -SETTLE) (UNSETTLE) Bother! (UNSETTLE),
26 Works for newspaper (writes) reporting (= homophone indicator) (‘writes’ = ‘RIGHTS’) to some who are civil? (Civil RIGHTS).
Down:
1 Ask for recipe tips (‘Ask For Recipe’ tips = AFR-) from women’s institute (Irish Countrywomen’s Association = -ICA) (AFRICA) covering a really large area (AFRICA),
2 Ship- (ship) -shape (= anagram indicator) (ship = HIPS) joints (HIPS),
3 Queen’s (queens) foreign (= anagram indicator) (queens = SEQUEN-) church (-CE) (SEQUENCE) order (SEQUENCE),
4 Hippy drug (ACID) in flipping (= reversal indicator) medication (in ‘meDICAtion’ = dica = ACID),
5 Make-up (FABRIC) of foreign footballers (Football Association = FA-) from Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries = -BRIC) (FABRIC),
6 Sand, for instance (OCEAN LINER), found in 11 across (OCEAN LINER found ‘underwater’),
7 Cellar (BASEMENT) workers (-MEN-) following (= position indicator) soldiers home (soldiers’ home = BASE-) for tea (-T) (BASEMENT),
13 Comes to a decision (DETERMINES) to ward off (DETER-) those attracting gold diggers (-MINES) (DETERMINES),
14 Holds up (RAIDS) with end of finger (end of ‘fingeR’ = R-) for shots in the arm (-AIDS) (RAIDS),
16 Turning a blind eye (IGNORING) to omen (sign) heading off (s) (‘sign’ without ‘s’ = IGN-) to find love (-O-) in Waterford (-RING in Waterford) (IGNORING),
17 Trainers of boxers (HANDLERS/trainers of boxers/dogs) with agents (HANDLERS),
19 Detective (DS = D-S) taking in Split (split/hole = -RIFT-) (DRIFTS) goes with the flow (DRIFTS),
21 Media-savvy (ASTUTE) press from super states (‘press’ from ‘super states’ = utates = ASTUTE),
23 Leaderless (s) factions (‘sides’ without ‘s’ = IDES) in Rome warned about them (IDES of March warning to Caesar),
24 Old horses (NAGS) produced yearlings Riley dismissed? (‘yearlings’ ‘Riley’ dismissed/without ‘Riley’ = angs = NAGS).