Ed, Emma and Will

Make a pot of coffee and relive the epic story of the Grundy love triangle. (Better make it decaf, because the story is exciting enough on its own...)

2001 - The crash

June:Ed Grundy and Emma Carter dance together at The Bull Upstairs.

August: Drunken Emma kisses Ed but regrets it.

September: Ed tries to kiss Emma again, but she rejects him. Emma agrees to go to a gig with Ed’s brother Will, but she returns home with Ed - in Will's car. Ed swerves to avoid a deer and crashes. He is badly burned pulling unconscious Emma from the wreckage.

October: Despite Will's fury at Ed, Emma wants to thank him for saving her life. Emma’s father Neil won't allow Ed to visit. The Grundy and Carter parents are estranged. Will visits Emma regularly, taking flowers. Emma has complications which require a further operation. Ed sneaks into Emma's ward and Will interrupts the emotional reunion.

Emma insists that she be allowed to see Ed. Emma is discharged from hospital. Ed is convicted of stealing the car and dangerous driving. He is given a year's driving ban and a community punishment. Disgusted Will thinks he's got away lightly.

November: Thanks to vicar Janet's diplomacy, Ed’s father Eddie shakes hands with Neil. Ed is jealous of Will's new car and how he's getting on with Emma.

December: Will persuades reluctant Neil to let him take Emma out, for tea at Grey Gables. She kisses him on the way home.

New Year's Eve: Ed is inconsolable while Will and Emma are all over each other.

2002 -Emma and Will together

January: While Emma and Will go out, Ed is in a bad emotional state.

July Neil and his wife Susan are upset that, for her 18th birthday, Emma wants to go away for a weekend with Will. Will and Emma have a lovely day at the Game Fair. At a birthday tea party at home, Emma announces that she is definitely going away for the weekend with Will. Neil hates the idea but realises that he can't stop her.

August: Will and Emma have a lovely weekend in Liverpool and the Lake District. Neil and Susan are uncomfortable when they return but Susan tries to keep the peace.

September: Emma starts to stay over regularly in Will's flat. Emma doesn't like Will's negative attitude to plans for Ed's 18th birthday party. Neil continues to object to Emma going out with a Grundy. Will gets himself and Emma away from Ed's birthday party as quickly as he can.

2003 -Theproposal

March: Emma defends Ed as Will and Fallon Rogers slag him off. Will and Emma go through a bit of a rocky patch - Emma feels taken for granted.

April: Ed defends Emma from two muggers, but gets a vicious beating. Emma is very solicitous of Ed. Will tries to stop her visiting Ed in hospital, and she finishes with Will. After Will apologises and pleads, she relents, but admits to Brenda how much she fancies Ed.

Torn between the two brothers, Emma starts clandestine dates with Ed, but Fallon sees them. Will warns Ed off, and they have a scuffle in the Bull. His attitude increases Emma's attraction to Ed.

May: Ed and Emma have more dates, and sleep together. Emma knows she has to choose between the brothers. William makes his case simply, but passionately and Emma is persuaded. Gutted, Ed says he'll always love her. Ed blows his money from the sale of Baby Spice on a holiday in Ayia Napa with his friend Jazzer, but it's a big disappointment.

June: Fallon tries to pull Ed out of his depression with an offer of work on Tom Archer's van at Glastonbury. They have a great time, but don't get a lot of work done.

August: Will gives Emma a wonderfully romantic birthday. After a champagne picnic, a hot air balloon ride and dinner at Grey Gables, he proposes. She accepts. Disgusted Ed helps Jazzer with a robbery, but he's caught and prosecuted. Emma is sad that Ed can't attend the engagement party, because of his curfew.

September: Emma decides to use her £12,000 compensation to pay for a dream wedding and honeymoon.

October:Oliver Sterling gives Ed a big pep talk over his attitude to his thinking skills course, part of his community punishment.

December: Emma receives £12,000 compensation for the accident.

2004 -Thewedding

January: When disappointed Emma can't afford to hold the wedding at Lower Loxley, Elizabeth Pargetter offers a room free of charge.

February: Clarrie is disappointed when William chooses his boss Greg, not Ed, as his best man.

May: After Greg's suicide, Will reluctantly asks Ed to be his best man. Ed reluctantly agrees, for their mother Clarrie's sake.

June: After the Carters move out of 1, The Green, Emma stays mainly at Will's flat. At Neil's request she spends some time at the caravan, but hates it.

July: There's sexual tension as Ed takes Emma for a drive in his newly tuned car, but she tries to play it down. Emma's hen night, at the Waterfront club is not a success. Afterwards she seeks Ed out, and they sleep together. Ed thinks this means the wedding is over, but Emma is still going through with it.

Emma becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the wedding preparations, and the fear that Ed will tell Will what happened. Ed confesses to Oliver that he loves Emma. Oliver arranges for him to spend a few months working in Hungary. Emma is shocked, and Will furious about his best man letting him down.

August: Emma is appalled to find that she is pregnant, especially as she thinks the baby is Ed's. Roy Tucker agrees to step in as best man. Will turns down his big plans for a stag night in Dublin. Emma has mixed feelings when Will gives her a "floating heart" on a chain for her birthday. Will starts to detect Emma's cold feet, but she pretends she's been uncertain about the honeymoon, not the wedding.

At the stag night (at the Bull Upstairs), Roy has to reassure worried Will about Emma's apparent reluctance. The wedding rehearsal goes badly. On the eve of the wedding, Will is offered the head keeper job at Home Farm. Emma is aghast that he's accepted the tied cottage, after Greg's suicide. They part uneasily.

Weddingday, 27 Aug: As the worried guests wait, outside the church Emma confesses to Will that she's pregnant, and admits that maybe they don't love each other in the same way. But the wedding goes ahead. They honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico and on their return visit Will's Aunty Rosie in Great Yarmouth.

September: On their return from honeymoon, proud Will announces that Emma is pregnant. After Greg's old cottage is refurbished, Emma feels that maybe she could live there after all.

October: Will and Emma move into their new cottage, which they name "Casa Nueva". Emma decides that she is happy and made the right decision.

November: There's friction with Will over Emma's plans to return to work quickly. Emma is shocked when Ed returns with Beth, an American girlfriend he met while travelling in Europe.

Ed wonders if the baby might be his, but accepts the "honeymoon baby" explanation. Although Will's reluctant, Emma invites Ed and Beth to dinner. It's a very edgy affair. Beth gets a job at Jaxx Caff, which means working with Emma. Pregnant Emma feels intimidated by lively, slim Beth.

2005 - Thebreak-up

January: Beth starts to get bored in Ambridge, and decides to do some travelling in the UK.

March: Beth tells Ed she's going back to the States. Ed decides to sell his car and go with her, but Beth tells him it's over between them. Emma tries to cheer up downcast Ed. Ed is thoughtful around Emma - he brings her food that she's craving and starts making secret visits to Casa Nueva.

7 April: Emma goes into labour. Will is out of phone range, so Ed has to take her to hospital. Emma begs Ed to stay with her, but Will arrives and she gives birth to baby George. At first Ed's reluctant to visit. When he does Emma tells him the baby's middle name is Edward - after Eddie, of course...

May: Ed starts giving Emma secret driving lessons. They get on well.

July: The driving lessons continue. Emma's envious of Ed's freedom to party.

August: Emma becomes increasingly frustrated with her life. She panics about being seen with Ed and says the driving lessons will have to stop. Emma persuades Will to go to a club, but spends most of the time dancing with Ed. Emma is uncomfortable at their first wedding anniversary.

September: Stuck in Casa Nueva with George, Emma becomes increasingly frustrated. A cancelled night out becomes a big issue for her. She is furious to discover that Will and Clarrie have been discussing another baby.

Ed decides to go travelling again, this time to Australia. When Emma finds out, she is devastated. Emma begs him to take her and George with her. He says he can't separate George from Will, and is stunned when Emma says that Ed is George's father.

In a whirlwind of emotion, Ed and Emma decide to run away, but have to arrange a passport for George. They slip away from his farewell party but Will catches them in an embrace. They say they love each other. Will pummels Ed. But when they say that Will is not George's father, he pleads with them. After a night in Ed's car, Emma moves back to Ambridge View for a few days while they organise their departure.

October: Emma confesses the truth to an aghast Neil and Susan. Furious Eddie throws Ed out. The Grundys and Carters are estranged. Against Neil's better judgement, Ed, Emma and George move into the caravan. Will angrily tries to bust in to see George. Roy advises legal action, not violence. After taking advice, Will tells Emma he has legal rights as George's presumptive father.

Ed gets casual work at Bridge Farm and they try to pay their way. Emma is forced to allow Will time with George, but hates it. Ed decides they'll have to prove he's the father - with a DNA test, despite the high cost. Will starts divorce proceedings. Ed advertises for work - a couple contact him with the possibility of working on their farm in France. It sounds perfect.

November: The test results are a crushing blow - Will is George's father. Triumphant Will applies for residency - George would live with him. Emma agrees that Will can see George at set times. She urges Ed that they should leave. They plan a secret flit to France.

Suspicious at Emma's sudden cooperation, Will slips into the caravan and discovers the tickets. He takes George's passport, and tells the new employers that Ed was planning to kidnap Will's son. They withdraw the job offer.

December: Will spreads the news about Ed and Emma's planned flit. Susan and Clarrie help Emma and Will come to proper arrangements about contact and maintenance. It's a miserable run-up to Christmas. After a tussle, Emma agrees that Will can have George overnight on Christmas Eve into Christmas Day.

2006-Edgoesmissing

January: It's a meagre winter in the caravan. Emma wants to go back to Jaxx part-time, but Will's variable contact days with George make it difficult for her to commit to her shifts.

February: There's continuing friction between Emma and Will.

March: Will wants to take George on holiday to Tenerife. Ed and Emma refuse but Will makes the arrangements anyway. They are forced to relent.

April: Emma and Will's divorce is finalised. George's first birthday is a difficult affair. Emma claims that Will makes the boy ill with his own party. Emma is on tenterhooks as Will takes George to Tenerife. On their return, Emma withdraws cooperation over Will's contact time, and decides to take legal advice.

May: As Will, Ed and Emma argue, George pulls a CD rack down in the caravan, and cuts his head. Shocked Emma relents over Will's contact time. She decides she has to move back in with her parents, effectively cutting Ed out.

Ed goes missing. Clarrie becomes increasingly frantic. Initially Eddie is dismissive but eventually labours to find his son. Friends and family do what they can to find Ed. Emma is distraught.

June: Frustrated Eddie lashes out at Jennifer's attempts to help in the search. He and Clarrie fight constantly. Fallon is upset that Ed misses her 21st birthday. Without Ed on the scene, Will finds things easier with Emma. They even manage a picnic together with George.

July: Ed is found beaten up in Borchester, having returned there from London. He tries to slip away from hospital but Oliver takes him back to Grange Farm. Eddie's relief instantly turns to fury at Oliver's involvement. Ed's drinking heavily. Oliver tries to help Ed recover, but It's a hugely painful and difficult process.

August: Angry Eddie disowns Ed. He hasn't just been drinking; he's been smoking crack. Oliver destroys the drugs and makes an appointment with a counsellor. Ed’s grandfather Joe persuades Eddie to talk to Ed, but it goes wrong and they have a terrible argument. Later, Fallon and Jazzer find Ed overdosed on booze and crack. When Ed wakes up in hospital, Eddie and Clarrie are there. Eddie apologises and asks Ed to come home.

Fallon is angry to find Ed drunk. She orders Jazzer to stop supplying him with crack. Clarrie tries to get Will and Ed to talk, but it's far too early. Ed starts counselling, but finds it difficult. Emma pleads with Ed; she still loves him. But he tells her they're finished.

September: Oliver gets Ed interested in the herd again. He starts occasional milking shifts, but Ed blows his money on a pointless pub crawl with Jazzer. The counsellor, and Fallon, help Ed cope with his feeling of worthlessness. Ed starts as full-time herd manager at Grange Farm.

October: Ed finishes his counselling and throws himself into his new job. It gives him a focus. Emma is happy to be flexible when the shoot season makes it difficult for Will to see George.

December: Will and Ed watch Dr Who with the family on Christmas Day. Clarrie hopes it's the start of a reconciliation.

2007-WillandNic, EdandFallon

March: Ed bumps into George with Susan. He's good with the boy, but is upset by the encounter.

April: Ed won't stay for George's birthday tea because Will is there.

May: Ed and Fallon agree that relationships are trouble. They start going on "non-dates" together.

June: Gossip spreads about Ed and Fallon's friendship. They agree that if they're still single at 35 they'll marry each other.

July: Will meets single mother-of-two Nic Hanson on a bus. They start to enjoy fun outings with their children.

August: Will and Nic start a proper relationship. Clarrie worries about the "baggage" that Nic brings with her. Fallon starts having feelings for Ed. She keeps them to herself. Emma thinks that Nic is shopping for a father for her children. A disastrous tea party confirms Clarrie's suspicions that Nic is a gold-digger. Eddie disagrees.

September: Emma is uncomfortable seeing George with Nic. Will's happiness emphasises how she is stuck at home with no boyfriend.

With Sid and Jolene Perks at the cricket Village Cup, Ed and Fallon run the pub. Fallon dreams of what might be. Jolene realises how Fallon is feeling. Fallon tries to tell Ed, but Jazzer fouls things up. Fallon buys an excessive present for Ed - an original Transformer model. He loves it, but it doesn't lead to the conversation Fallon hopes for.

October: Jazzer arranges a disastrous date for Ed. Fallon's downcast when he says he's off dating for ever. Fallon arranges a picnic, but Ed is thrown when they bump into Emma and new boyfriend Callum. Callum dumps Emma when he discovers she's been keeping George a secret.

Fallon finally tells Ed how she feels. He can only respond as a mate. She fears she's blown even their friendship. Jazzer helps Ed to see Fallon as more than a friend. Ed turns up at the Bull, sweeps Fallon off her feet and kisses her, to watching Emma's discomfiture.

Delighted Ed and Fallon start going out. Ed takes Fallon to Woolacombe. Even breaking his toe doesn't spoil their happiness. Clarrie adjusts to Fallon sleeping over. After meeting happy Fallon and Ed setting up for a pub gig, Emma can't face a night out.

November: Knowing that Clarrie disapproves of Nic, Will takes George to the Hollerton bonfire rather than the Ambridge one. Nic tries to build bridges with Clarrie, with some success. Emma has a regrettable one-night stand. It's because of her unhappiness about Ed.

December: Will discovers that Nic is badly in debt and is likely to lose her house. He insists that she and the children move in with him. They have a wonderful Christmas.

2008-Lovewillout

January: Nic moves the last of her things to Casa Nueva Ed isn't happy that Nic sometimes has sole charge of George. Nic becomes frustrated with the isolated cottage, and having to rely on handouts from Will.

February: Ed discovers Nic shouting at George. Will finally sees that Nic needs a proper allowance - and he suggests driving lessons.

March: Ed sees Nic apparently treating George badly - first in the village shop and later in a car park. Will reacts vehemently when Ed tries to tell him about his worries. Emma agrees to talk to Will. He claims that jealous Ed is causing trouble. But unsettled Will sets a trap for Nic, who he discovers treating George beautifully. Relieved Will arranges for them all to go on holiday to Great Yarmouth.

April: As they are preparing to leave for Great Yarmouth, George pushes Mia over. Will sees Nic angrily slap George. After a huge argument, Nic leaves. Will grudgingly admits to Emma that Ed was right.

Fallon goes on tour with the Little White Lies. Nic refuses an offer of money from guilty Will. She insists she only spanked George on one occasion. Angry Will won't let Ed play with George.

May: Ed finds Fallon's absence - and Emma's presence in the village - unsettling. When Fallon briefly returns, her head is full of the band.

Will's confidence is further knocked when his assistant keeper is discovered poisoning birds of prey.

June: Emma confronts Will. He eventually admits that he's been spoiling George because he felt guilty about being a failure as a father. She comforts him.

Excited Fallon returns from the tour, but Ed isn't the same. She notes his reactions to Emma. Jazzer tries to reassure Fallon that nothing went on while she was away

July: Will and Emma have comfortable times together with George. Will imagines that they might get back together. Following Jazzer's urging, Ed invites Fallon to Woolacombe again. But it's not a success. Fallon confronts Ed, and he can't deny his feelings for Emma. Desolate Fallon ends the relationship, and Ed throws himself into work.

From Fallon's reaction to her, Emma wonders about Ed's feelings, but Jazzer warns her off. Despite this, she asks Ed to get back together. Emotional Ed rebuffs her, but after a talk with Joe he realises he has to give his heart a chance.

Emma and Ed are reunited, but it's a devastating blow for Will.

Keri Davies is an Archers scriptwriter and web producer.

Learn more about Ed, Emma, Will, Neil, Eddie, Susan, Fallon, Brenda, Jazzer, Tom, Oliver, Elizabeth, Clarrie, Roy, and Jolene – and the actors who play them – in our Who’s Who.