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The Fifties

Marking the end of a way of life for farmers, Dan retired his last working horses, Boxer and Blossom, in 1951.

In 1955, record numbers of listeners tuned in to hear Grace Archer killed by a fire at the stables just five months after her marriage to Phil. The following year, foot and mouth hit Brookfield, and all cloven-hoofed animals had to be slaughtered.

In 1957, whilst Bob Larkin was out poaching, he was accidentally shot dead by Tom Forrest. Charged with manslaughter, Tom was later acquitted. In November, Phil married Jill Patterson, a girl he'd first seen at the village fete which, incidentally, was opened by Humphrey Lyttelton.

A year later, their twins Kenton and Shula were born, marking the start of the new generation of Archers. Towards the very end of the decade, in September 1959, baby David Archer was born, the future farmer of Brookfield.

The Sixties

The Sixties started when Reggie Trenthan sold Grey Gables Country Club to Birmingham businessman Jack Woolley. The green-fingered residents of Ambridge were rewarded when they won the Best Kept Village competition. Ambridge also welcomed Sid Perks that same year when he moved to the village and started working for Jack.

In the mid-Sixties, The Archers covered the subject of adoption when Chris and Paul adopted a baby boy, Peter. And there was another baby on the way when the unmarried Jennifer announced her pregnancy – but refused to name the father. Later, it became clear that farmhand Paddy Redmond was the man responsible.

In 1967, Jill gave birth to their fourth child, Elizabeth. The family had cause to worry about the baby, who was born with a heart defect.

The decade swung to a close with Sid and Polly Perks becoming owners of the village shop, only for Polly to suffer a miscarriage during a raid on the post office.

The Seventies

In 1971, Dan and Doris celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. Dan decided he had farmed for long enough. He and Doris moved into Glebe Cottage while Phil settled his young family into Brookfield.

Reflecting the change in shopping habits across the UK, the village shop in Ambridge finally became self service. Sid and Polly sold up to Jack Woolley and took over the village pub, The Bull. In 1973, they made their first ventures into gastronomy when they opened the Ploughman's Bar. This was the year that the village school was closed.

The mid-Seventies saw George Barford slide into depression but, fortunately, his attempted suicide was not successful. Jennifer divorced Roger Travers – and married Brian Aldridge. And Joe Grundy tried to emulate the success of Glastonbury when he held a pop festival at Grange Farm.

Ambridge celebrated The Queen's Jubilee with a party and bonfire on Lakey Hill and, the following year, Eddie Grundy returned home to live at Grange Farm.

The Eighties

The new decade opened with romance when Mark took Shula for a flight in a hot air balloon. Elsewhere, Nelson opened a wine bar in Borchester and the local hunt was disrupted by saboteurs.

The following year, David went to work on a farm in Holland and Eddie proposed to Clarrie. But, in 1982, tragedy struck when Polly Perks was killed in a car accident. An outbreak of TB in the cattle at Willow Farm drove Mike Tucker to bankruptcy.

In the mid-Eighties, Neil Carter proposed to Susan Horrobin when she revealed she was pregnant and Pat and Tony decided to convert Bridge Farm into an organic farm, Ambridge's first. And history was made when HRH Princess Margaret made an impromptu visit to Grey Gables during a charity fashion show – the first Royal appearance in a British soap.

In 1986, townie incomers Lynda and Robert Snell moved into Ambridge Hall and the village said goodbye to Dan Archer, who died from a heart attack.

Tragedy continued to hit Ambridge the following year when Jethro Larkin was killed in a farm accident.

The decade came to a close with a real sense of change in the air – Jerry Buckle was appointed vicar and, for the first time, women were allowed at the Cricket Club dinner. And Grange Farm had its first case of a mysterious new disease of cattle – BSE.

The Nineties

The Nineties started romantically when Jack Woolley commissioned the "Ambridge Rose" to be named after the village. The following year Jack married Peggy Archer.

By now sharing the management of Brookfield with Phil Archer, Ruth and David moved into their brand-new purpose-built bungalow. David's sister Elizabeth came of age when, pregnant, she was abandoned by financial fraudster Cameron Fraser. Her decision to have an abortion shook her family.

In 1992, things got a little steamy when Jennifer had an affair with her first husband Roger and Peggy's wartime sweetheart Conn Kortchmar turned up in the village.

The following year saw another raid on the village shop. Betty, Debbie, Jack and Kate were held hostage. Former shopkeeper Sid finally got his hands on The Bull when Peggy sold it to him and his business partner Guy Pemberton.

The year 1994 saw a terrible car accident in which Mark Hebden was killed and Caroline Bone was seriously injured. TB returned to Ambridge, this time at Brookfield, and wild child Kate Aldridge went missing.

Mark's former partner, Usha Gupta, was very nearly forced out of Ambridge after a series of racist attacks. The Grundys' future was also threatened when a terrible fire at Grange Farm hit their already rickety finances.

The late-Nineties saw Phil and Jill celebrating their ruby wedding and Kate was still causing ructions, giving birth to Phoebe, at the Glastonbury Festival. But Bridge Farm was thrown into mourning when her cousin, John, was killed in a tragic tractor accident.

Shula's affair with Dr Richard Locke sent shockwaves through the village but Alistair forgave her and they married. Meanwhile, Kate left Ambridge and baby Phoebe behind with father Roy.

John's younger brother Tom deliberately damaged a crop of GM rape on Home Farm.

The Noughties

The new century saw one of the most dramatic storylines in recent years as Ruth struggled with breast cancer and a subsequent mastectomy. Elsewhere in Ambridge, Sid and Jolene fell in love, Debbie and Simon got married and the Archers family was divided over who should inherit Brookfield.

In 2001, change was again in the air with everyone on the move. Jill and Phil retired and left Brookfield, Christine Barford sold The Stables to Shula and both couples moved. Meanwhile, brothers Ed and Will battled for Emma's affections and Brian and Siobhan began an affair.

The following year saw Debbie divorce Simon, a penniless Kenton return from Australia and Tim Hathaway divorce Siobhan. She was then pregnant by Brian Aldridge.

In the middle part of the decade, Adam Macy returned from Africa and started a relationship with Ian Craig after a passionate kiss in a polytunnel. Jack Woolley started to have memory problems and Emma married Will despite sleeping with his brother, Ed, on her hen night. Helen Archer was treated for anorexia after Greg Turner's suicide.

Possibly the most shocking story yet was when Owen King raped Kathy Perks. At first, she didn't report the assault, but ex-husband Sid forced King from the area.

Matt Crawford moved in with Lilian, Adam and Ian bought Honeysuckle Cottage and Emma left Will, moving into a caravan with Ed. When Emma's baby, George, was proved to be Will's, he fought for parental rights. Elsewhere, Usha Gupta and Rev Alan Franks defied family disapproval and started dating.

In 2006, Emma moved home with baby George, leaving Ed Grundy homeless. Distraught, he turned to drink and drugs, only recovering with the support of Oliver Sterling. Jack sold Grey Gables to Caroline and Oliver while the golf course and country park were bought by Borchester Land.

When David Archer's head was turned by old flame Sophie Barlow, Ruth was nearly tempted into an affair with their employee, Sam Batton.

The following year, tragedy returned to Ambridge when Siobhan Hathaway succumbed to terminal cancer. Jennifer Aldridge agreed to take in Ruairi, Siobhan's lovechild with Brian. And mending her marriage after the near-affair, Ruth decided she wanted a breast reconstruction.

In 2008, Alice Aldridge and Christopher Carter started dating, to the Carters' delight and the Aldridges' dismay, and Ed and Emma got back together.

Jack Woolley's dementia became increasingly troublesome for wife and carer Peggy but she was furious when the family moved him into a care home after she suffered a stroke.

In 2009, there was romance aplenty at the start of the year as David and Ruth looked forward to a new future together on the farm and Will renewed his relationship with single mum Nic Hanson.

After falling out with business partner and uncle Brian Aldridge, Tom Archer finally returned his pigs to Bridge Farm, which started to run more as a family enterprise. Ed Grundy became tenant of his former home, Grange Farm, supplying Mike Tucker's milk round.

Peggy Woolley finally admitted that she could no longer give husband Jack the help he needed and he moved into The Laurels nursing home.

Lilian Bellamy refused to start a life in exile in Costa Rica, forcing Matt Crawford to return for his fraud trial. He was found guilty and immediately imprisoned.

Helen Archer took in Annette, the daughter of her former partner. Annette eventually thanked her by sleeping with Helen's boyfriend Leon.

This year (2010) started with Annette Turner, pregnant by Leon, deciding to have an abortion. Wracked with guilt, she fled to Sheffield, leaving Helen lost and bewildered. To her family's consternation, she chose to become pregnant by donor insemination.

Lilian Bellamy became dangerously close to Matt Crawford's half-brother, Paul. When Matt came out of prison, he quickly warned Paul off and established a property company fronted by Lilian. They were soon interfering in Borsetshire Land's plans for a new cattle market.

Ambridge Village Shop was saved from closure by conversion to a community-run enterprise. Pip Archer's flaky older boyfriend Jude Simpson, meanwhile, abandoned her on the verge of an impossibly ambitious world trip. She returned to college determined to mend the damage to her studies.

After Sid Perks' sudden death in New Zealand, devastated Jolene lost heart in the pub that had been their home and business. Daughter Fallon kept the place running and Harry Mason started the "We Love The Bull" campaign. And with the imminent launch of Jaxx bar, Kenton Archer couldn't accompany Kathy Perks to New Zealand for Sid's funeral. The emotional impact stretched the underlying flaws in the relationship to destruction.

Kate Aldridge returned from South Africa for a nine-month development diploma at Felpersham University, creating emotional mayhem for her daughter Phoebe and her Ambridge family. After friction with Ed Grundy and her husband, Mike, despondent Vicky Tucker was forced to admit that her sentiment-driven plan to raise Bridge Farm bull calves for veal was a failure.