down; she struggles with his death. When vet Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) finds a homeless dog, Tootsie (Sky/Dusty), he asks Edna to care for her. Despite her initial reluctance, Edna agrees and she brings happiness into her life. Edna befriends Len Reynolds (Peter Martin), who develops feelings for her. She does not reciprocate these feelings and tells Len, although she is displeased when he begins dating Pearl Ladderbanks (Meg Johnson). Edna struggles to warm to Pearl, but is the only person to defend the couple when Pearl's son, convicted rapist Frank Bernard Hartbourne (Rob Parry), comes to live with them. Pearl and Edna bond over the trouble they have with their respective sons and become close friends. When Len dies, Edna is devastated and briefly falls out with Pearl over Len's feelings for Edna. After learning that her grandmother was a prostitute, Edna becomes ashamed and briefly goes into hiding. Whilst walking Tootsie, Edna becomes the victim of a hit-and-run accident, falling into a ditch and breaking her hip. Her lifeless body is discovered by Shadrach Dingle (Andy Devine) who steals from her purse. The blame initially falls onto Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) as his car was involved, but Sam Dingle (James Hooton) later admits responsibility. After needing a new boiler, Edna accepts a loan from local businessman Tom King (Ken Farrington) to buy one. To pay the loan back, Tom suggests that she become his personal assistant as he would prefer someone efficient rather than the glamorous yet incompetent young women favoured by his sons. Edna and Tom soon become close friends and he often turns to her for advice. Edna sometimes found the company challenging to manage, causing her to clash with Tom's sons, Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and Matthew King (Matt Healy), and quit when Tom retired. Edna joins Tom when he starts Home Farm Estates. While she does not always agree with Tom, Edna believes he is a good person and soon falls for him; she is consequently disappointed when he marries Rosemary Sinclair (Linda Thorson). Peter later arrives in the village to ask his mother to attend Eve's wedded blessing in France. Edna refuses as she resents Peter's rejection of her faith and believes that she failed to care for Eve properly. Edna is persuaded to attend the blessing, where she reunites with her estranged sister, Lily Butterfield (Anne Charleston). Back in the village, Edna