List of The Archers Characters - The Grundy Family

The Grundy Family

The Grundys were minor characters, humorous stock yokels and petty rogues, until the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they started to be developed as a working-class foil to the Archer family.

Joe Grundy (Edward Kelsey, formerly played by Reg Johnstone and Haydn Jones) heads the oldest of the well-established local families, and often provides comic relief. Joe maintained for many years that the Archer dynasty had robbed them of their estate. After years attempting to keep the family farm afloat, they were made bankrupt in 2000 - an opportunity for the mainly urban audience to witness the personal and family tragedy of farm sales - and were forced to move to a sink estate in Borchester. Joe took this especially hard and in one of the most harrowing episodes ever broadcast, bludgeoned his beloved ferrets to death with a hammer. The family moved back to Ambridge shortly thereafter. Lately he has begun to assist Oliver Sterling in the management of a new dairy herd at Grange Farm and has celebrated his ninetieth birthday. Following the death of Bob Pullen in 2012, Joe became Ambridge's oldest resident.

Eddie Grundy (Trevor Harrison) is Joe's son and Clarrie's husband. During their marriage he was unrequitedly enamoured of Jolene Rogers, now Perks, his partner in a country and western double act. Eddie's hopes of a career in music appear to have been permanently dashed. He has a history of involving himself in numerous dubious money-making schemes and at one point stood trial for unwittingly selling condemned meat. He mainly makes his living by laying patios and selling novelty garden gnomes. He makes cider and keeps a pig called Barbarella. Joe has participated in some of Eddie's money-making schemes; at other times he scolds his son: legality never dictates his response.

Clarrie Grundy née Larkin (Heather Bell, part created by Bell and also formerly played by Fiona Mathieson and Rosalind Adams) is Eddie Grundy's long-suffering wife, having married him in 1982. She became involved with him after her late father Jethro employed him to remove the range in their home. Clarrie spends much of her time sorting out problems created by her husband, sons and father-in-law. She works at the dairy at Bridge Farm, where Pat Archer is a good friend, and behind the bar at the Bull. In 2011 she was responsible for an outbreak of E-Coli at Bridge Farm.

William Grundy (Philip Molloy) is the elder son of Eddie and Clarrie. He is gamekeeper for Borchester Land; his boss is Brian Aldridge. In August 2004, he married Emma Carter and they had a son, George, but she harboured a dark secret. Whilst Will was engaged to Emma, she enjoyed two one-night stands with his brother Ed, including one on her hen night, leading her to believe that Ed was George's father. Eventually she left Will for Ed, taking George with her, although George was later shown by DNA testing to be Will's child. Will's existing rivalry with Ed became even more intense: to Clarrie's despair, the brothers engaged in physical tussles and bitter arguments over Emma and George. In 2008 he was left £120,000 by a relative, and bought the Carters' former home from Matt Crawford, a property his friend Roy Tucker had been interested in. Will and Ed's rivalry culminated in a fight in which Will nearly killed Ed, and Will moved temporarily to another gamekeeping job in Gloucestershire. Christmas 2008 saw Will reunite with ex-girlfriend Nic, whom he originally split from when he saw her hit George. After returning to Ambridge in Feb 2009, Will pushed for Nic and her 2 children (Jake (4) and Mia (2)), to move back in with him: they did, and in 2010 Nic started occasional bar work at The Bull, a career move which traditionally leads to expanded roles. January 1st 2012 saw Will & Nic get married at the local Grey Gables Hotel followed by a honeymoon in Cap Verde which on their return led to the renaming of their cottage to Greenswood. Will's dog is called Meg.

Ed Grundy (Barry Farrimond) is the younger son of Eddie and Clarrie. Ed took up his father's interest in music and aspired to be in a band. A farm labourer, Ed secured a job in France and planned to move there secretly with Emma and George, but they were thwarted in November 2005 by Will. In May 2006, Ed mysteriously vanished after Emma left the caravan and moved into her parents' home, saying it was for the sake of her baby's health. He remained missing, despite a police investigation into his disappearance, until July 2006 when he was admitted to hospital after being beaten up while sleeping rough in Borchester. Whilst living as a vagrant, he had become addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine. Ed had a history of drug use and petty crime including joyriding. On returning to the village, Ed at first sought refuge with mentor and past employer, Oliver Sterling, who did his best to help him face his demons and abandon his vices. With the additional help of family support and counselling Ed has made major steps towards recovery, demonstrated by his increased dedication to Oliver Sterling's dairy farm. Ed now lives with Emma and George at Brookfield in the holiday cottage. In April 2011 they welcomed a new daughter, Keira Susan. In late 2012, financial troubles reflecting earlier reductions in milk prices forced the couple to move back in with Emma's parents.