Vanessa Woodfield

''Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared during 2012, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the soap's executive producer, Steve Frost. Ed Roberts made his debut appearance in February, followed by Declan Macey's half-sister, Megan shortly after, her son Robbie first appeared in May, while Kerry Wyatt arrived in July. Steve Harland, Vanessa Woodfield, Dominic Andrews and Gemma Andrews all made their debuts in December. There were three births in 2012, Jack Sugden, the son of Andy Sugden and Debbie Dingle and Molly Sharma, the daughter of Nikhil Sharma and Genesis Walker were born in October and Archie Breckle, the son of Jai Sharma and Rachel Breckle was born in December. Additionally, multiple other characters appeared in 2012.

Ed Roberts

Ed Roberts, played by Lloyd Everitt, made his debut appearance on 8 February 2012. Ed arrives in Emmerdale with a broken down minibus and takes it to Aaron Livesy ( Danny Miller) to fix. A writer for ''Inside Soap'' said there is a spark of attraction between Ed and Aaron, but Aaron dismisses it because he is unsure whether Ed is interested in guys. Aaron wants to move on from Jackson Walsh (Marc Silcock) and an ''Emmerdale'' spokesperson told the magazine "With the arrival of Ed, the darkness that has been haunting Aaron begins to disappear." However, Ed and Aaron's potential romance does not get off to a good start when Ed drives off without paying for the repairs to the minibus. Aaron thinks Ed has gone for good, but he later returns to settle the bill. Ed has been described as being "handsome" and "hunky." Anthony D. Langford of AfterElton said Aaron and Ed's scenes often revolved around Aaron's past with Jackson, which he explained was too heavy and not romantic for their fledgling relationship. Langford added "This of course raises the question of why a smart and funny guy like Ed would want to deal with the emotional mess that is Aaron Livesy."

Ed brings a minibus to the garage for Aaron Livesy to fix. However, when Aaron becomes involved in an argument with Adam Barton (Adam Thomas), Ed leaves. He later returns with his rugby teammates and Aaron fixes the minibus, but Ed drives off without paying all of the bill. Ed comes back to the village to give Aaron the rest of the money for the work on the minibus and he invites him to a party. Ed brings his car to the garage for Aaron to look at and he later gives him his number. Aaron arranges to go for a drink with Ed, but he cancels to help Adam fix a roof. Ed finds out what Aaron is doing and he and two of his teammates comes to help. Holly Barton ( Sophie Powles) flirts with Ed and he reveals he is gay. Ed mistakes Aaron and Adam's friendship for something more, but Aaron corrects him and they kiss. Aaron and Ed go on their first date to Bar West, but Ed leaves early when the barman tells him that Aaron helped his previous boyfriend, Jackson to die. Aaron becomes angry with Ed, but he later calls him and they meet up. Aaron and Ed talk and Aaron reveals his scars from self harming. Ed is not fazed and they spend the night together. Ed later tells Aaron that he has been signed for a French rugby club and is leaving for France in four weeks. He asks Aaron to come with him and he agrees.

Megan Macey

Megan Macey (previously Sharma) played by Gaynor Faye, made her first on screen appearance on 21 February 2012. The character and casting was announced on 12 October 2011. Faye said she was "incredibly excited" to be joining ''Emmerdale'' and series producer Stuart Blackburn added he was thrilled to welcome the actress to the show. Faye later revealed she has a twelve-month contract with ''Emmerdale''.

Megan is Declan Macey's (Jason Merrells) glamorous half-sister, arriving at Home Farm to stay with Declan after he contacts her about getting involved with a big project. She is described as "fiercely ambitious, intimidating and oozing self-confidence," she stands up for herself and will shake things up between Declan and his girlfriend, Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward). Of her character, Faye said "The women on ''Emmerdale'' are strong and feisty and I can't wait to play my character, who's fun but extremely driven and will stop at nothing to get her own way! She's quite different to many of the roles that I have played before and hopefully will take people by surprise." Nicola Methven of the ''Daily Mirror'' said Megan will "turn the heads of the village men." Speaking to a writer for the ''Daily Mirror'', Faye said she could not wait to start playing Megan, who she branded "a baddie". The actress said viewers are used to seeing her play nice characters and her new role is a departure from that, as Megan will cause mayhem and stir up the men and women of the village. A writer for ''Soaplife'' magazine said that since Kim Tate (Claire King) left ''Emmerdale'' there had not been a "Lady of the Home Farm Manor to fill her designer boots." They said that Megan's arrival could change that, and added that if Megan is half the woman Kim was, she will do more than "just surprise."

In April 2012, it was revealed Declan would track down Megan's son, Robbie Lawson (Jamie Shelton), who she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager. Faye said Megan would be furious if she knew what Declan was up to. She explained "Megan is always telling Declan to keep his nose out of her life. They may be good at business together, but they're not good at each other's personal lives. And him interfering in this is going too far." Of Megan's past, Faye revealed that she was in her late teens when she had Robbie and because no one was there for her, it was decided she should put him up for adoption. Faye added "She hasn't seen Robbie since she gave him up. She ignored a letter he wrote to her years back, but finding him is still something that's always at the back of her mind."

Megan moves into Home Farm, after being asked by Declan to be the events organiser of a festival in Emmerdale. She demands to know why she was not invited to Declan's stepdaughter Mia's (Sapphire Elia) funeral and has an argument with Charity Sharma (Emma Atkins), who hoped that she would have got the job. She has a fling with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), Charity's ex, resulting in a fight between the two. When Megan badmouths Katie, Declan tells Megan to leave once the festival has finished. Megan meets her old friend Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson) in The Woolpack and Declan demands that she should stay away from him. When the two talk, they look back on the past lives and Declan apologises for not being there for her when he left the family home aged nineteen. Declan later tracks down Megan's long lost son, Robbie, and Megan becomes furious that he went behind her back and slaps Declan. Robbie arrives at Home Farm and tells her that she will never be his mother, stating that his adoptive mother died of an asthma attack previously. When Declan invites Robbie to stay with them after he slept with his landlord's girlfriend, Megan tells him that she feels uncomfortable with him being around. During the summer, she begins a relationship with Carl King ( Tom Lister). However, he dumps her, because of his feelings for Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter). The festival goes well and he invites Megan to plan for another one, the following year. Megan agrees, but Katie becomes unimpressed and tries to make her leave, especially when Robbie threatens her. During Declan and Katie's wedding reception, Megan pushes Katie's face into the wedding cake.

The following year, the festival plans do not go well and the police find Alex Moss' (Kurtis Stacey) body buried in the woods. When Katie and Declan's marriage ends, Megan tells Declan that they haven't got enough money for another festival and decides to leave the village. However, she decides to stay after Declan says that he needs her. Declan begins physically abusing Megan by hitting her across the face on numerous occasions. Eventually, Katie witnesses one of Declan's attacks and sticks up for Megan, despite Megan saying that it was just a misunderstanding. On Boxing Day, Megan enters a fire at Home Farm, believing that Declan is trapped inside, but she is unaware that he caused the fire and left earlier with Charity. Megan becomes trapped herself but is later freed by the fire brigade. Megan is not impressed in April 2014 when Declan announces he is engaged to Charity and that she is pregnant with his child. They plan to get married on 15 May 2014, although Charity's cousin and former boyfriend Cain and his fiancée Moira Barton ( Natalie J. Robb) also intend to marry on that day. Only Megan, Robbie and Charity's son Noah (Jack Downham) attend, as the rest of Charity's family are at Cain's wedding. Just as the registrar pronounces them husband and wife, Megan sounds the fire alarm, which infuriates Charity. When she finds out what Megan has done, Charity slaps her and a small fight ensues, although Declan stops them.

Unbeknownst to Declan and Megan, but Charity has her pregnancy terminated as she never wanted a child. When Charity is having an argument with Megan, and Megan accidentally knocks Charity to the floor, Charity uses the accident to fake a miscarriage. Megan, becoming ever more guilty, reveals this to Declan, who shouts at her and throws her out. Megan then begins a relationship with Jai and becomes business partners with Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi). Megan becomes devastated when she identifies Robbie's body after being shot with a flare gun by Declan. She blames Charity and demands to know where Declan is. On the day of Robbie's funeral, she begins to doubt how well she knew her son, after seeing his friends. The following day, Declan returns and holds Megan hostage, along with Charity's family and tells everyone what Charity did to Rachel Breckle (Gemma Oaten). Declan goes on the run and Megan tries to get her revenge on Charity. She becomes relieved when Charity is sentenced for two years in prison for perverting the course of justice.

Megan and Jai become engaged and they get married in January 2015. When Rachel returns, Jai tries to win a custody battle for Archie. After realising that Leyla and Jai were having an affair, Megan decides to get her revenge and promises Rachel she will make sure Jai loses custody of Archie. After Leyla finds out that Jai has been threatening Rachel, she tells Megan. In the midst of arranging her revenge on Jai, Megan is shocked to realize she is pregnant. Megan contacts Jai's drug dealer, and plants drugs in the factory to get Jai arrested for them, however, Jai finds out and threatens to turn the tables on Megan. At this point, Megan reveals she is pregnant, and Jai backs down. Megan agrees to help Jai gain custody of Archie, however, at the day of the custody hearing, Megan begins experiencing stomach cramps and is taken to hospital. She tells Leyla that she had a miscarriage and rushes to court, getting there just in time to tell the court everything about Jai's actions against Rachel, and framing her as an unfit mother. As a result, Rachel gains custody of Archie, and a few weeks later, moves to Liverpool with Archie. Megan tells Jai that he has now truly lost everything, and leaves him. Leyla also rejects Jai. Megan starts packing up her things and moves in with Rachel's ex Sam Dingle (James Hooton), revealing that she did not miscarry Jai's baby. Megan files for a divorce and Jai tells Sam and Megan that they are evicted from their house. Jai's father Rishi Sharma (Bhasker Patel) stops him from evicting them, leading to Megan thanking him. Jai's brother, Nikhil (Rik Makarem), returns and finds out that Megan is expecting Jai's baby. Megan begs him to keep the pregnancy secret, expressing that Jai is dangerous and doesn't want the baby to grow up with him as a father. Megan decides to leave the village when Brenda Walker (Lesley Dunlop) exposes her pregnancy. Jai finds out about the pregnancy, not long before she leaves and in anger, he accidentally runs Megan over. At hospital, she discovers that she is having a baby girl and demands Jai should leave her life for good. A few months after her accident, she witnesses Tess being involved in a hit and run and she calls an ambulance. Upon learning from Tess' death, she suffers from shock and decides to rest for the sake of her baby. She goes into labour prematurely and learns that the baby was starved from oxygen and has a low chance of survival. She names her daughter, Eliza, when she is taken out of the neo-natal intensive unit. Following regular check-ups with the doctor, Megan is devastated after finding out there is a possibility that Eliza has cerebral palsy. After the news, Megan allows Jai to have some access into Eliza's life.

In March 2018, Megan suspects Priya of child abuse against her daughter when she confesses to having an outburst towards Eliza after bruises are found by Jai on the toddler's legs following her 2nd birthday party. This belief is strengthened when the bruises disappear after Megan takes full custody of her. Ultimately, however, Priya's innocence is proved when Megan finds that Eliza's bruises have returned in early April and are determined to be the result of her medication for epilepsy.

Led to believe that her partner Frank Clayton (Michael Praed) is cheating on her, Megan becomes enraged and has an affair with Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), only to find that Frank was making arrangements for a marriage proposal to her. Though she inadvertently reveals her affair to Tracy Metcalfe (Amy Walsh), Frank's daughter is convinced to keep Megan's secret for her father's sake.

Robbie Lawson

Robbie Lawson, played by Jamie Shelton, made his first screen appearance on 16 May 2012. The character and Shelton's casting were announced on 4 April 2012. The actor told a reporter from the official ''Emmerdale'' website, that he was excited to join the cast because Robbie is "a great character to play". Robbie will be involved with characters within the setting of Home Farm. He will share a specific connection to the character of Megan Macey (Gaynor Faye), with his arrival confronting her "with a past she had hoped to forget". Robbie will also "test the loyalties of everyone around him". The serial's producer Stuart Blackburn spoke of his delight over Shelton's casting, adding that his character would "certainly stir things up at Home Farm". Robbie is described as "tough nut" and is used to putting up a front, a personality trait that Blackburn said would take a while to get past. Of Robbie, Kate White of ''Inside Soap'' said "We must admit to being intrigued by ''Emmerdale'' new boy Robbie. He's mysterious, he's got an edge, and he's even made Megan's scenes bearable. Long may it continue!"

On 26 September 2014, it was confirmed that Robbie had been killed off, as part of a storyline that saw him trying to save Charity Macey (Emma Atkins) from his uncle Declan (Jason Merrells). Shelton filmed his final scenes a few weeks prior to the storyline airing. Of his departure, Shelton said "My time on ''Emmerdale'' has been such an exhilarating experience. From my first day until my last I've been treated with respect, had the opportunity to work with some fine actors and been allowed to develop my acting ability in a way that I couldn't have in any other circumstance. I hope I have made a positive impact on the show and I am extremely excited for my career to be further concentrated towards TV and film in the UK and transatlantic."

Megan was living at Home Farm in Emmerdale village with her brother Declan Macey (Jason Merrells), who tracked Robbie down. Robbie told Declan that he had been thrown out of his flat after he slept with his landlord's girlfriend, so Declan invited him to stay at Home Farm. Robbie bonded with his mother and he developed a crush on Declan's girlfriend Katie Sugden (Sammy Winward). Robbie then tried to kiss Katie, but she rejected him, so he made her feel uncomfortable by constantly flirting with her. Wanting rid of him, Katie decided to set Robbie up by encouraging him to kiss her in front of a CCTV camera. Robbie did so but Katie rejected him again, so he punched her. Katie then showed Declan the footage and he threw Robbie out until Megan blackmailed Declan into letting him stay (knowing that Katie had set him up).

The following year, Robbie went into partnership with Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb), selling illegal alcohol. He developed an unrequited crush on Debbie and wanting to become closer to her, Robbie started stalking/harassing Debbie and he led her to believe that an associate Kirk Stoker was responsible. Debbie then realised that Robbie had been stalking her, so she set him up by sending him on a job, delivering some of the alcohol with Adam Barton (Adam Thomas). They were both caught by the police and arrested, but were later cautioned. Robbie got revenge on Debbie by telling her family about the booze, which resulted in Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) being hospitalised. As a result, Debbie lost custody of her children. Meanwhile, Robbie and Adam stole Cain Dingle's (Jeff Hordley) car after spending the afternoon drinking. Robbie accidentally runs over Kerry Wyatt (Laura Norton). However, Cain resolves the situation by torching the car and sending Kerry compensation money.

When Declan's wife Charity (Emma Atkins) secretly has an abortion, she pretends to have had a miscarriage following a fight with Megan. Robbie supports his mother and he attempts to expose Charity by breaking into the abortion clinic to gain access to her medical records. However, he is caught by the police and arrested before being given a caution. Declan later discovers the truth and he attempts to murder Charity. A concerned Robbie and Megan eventually find Declan and Charity having a fight on a boat that is stranded in the lake. Robbie dives into the lake to save Charity, but as he gets onto the boat, Declan accidentally shoots Robbie dead with a flare gun.

Kerry Wyatt

Kerry Wyatt, played by Laura Norton, made her first screen appearance on 17 July 2012. The character and casting was announced on 31 May 2012. Norton began filming her first scenes in June. Of joining ''Emmerdale'', the actress said "I am delighted to have been given this role. ''Emmerdale'' has always been my favourite soap and it's a joy and privilege to be joining the team." Series producer Stuart Blackburn commented that Norton is "a fantastic actor" and that it was a delight to welcome her to the cast. Norton announced her pregnancy in 2020 and due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, she stopped appearing on screen. Kerry's last appearance was on 5 June 2020. On 24 October 2021, it was announced that Norton had returned to filming from maternity leave and her return scenes aired on 1 November 2021 as part of a storyline that sees her working as Chloe Harris' (Jessie Elland) housekeeper.

Kerry is the mother of established character, Amy Wyatt (Chelsea Halfpenny). Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy reported Kerry was heartbroken when Amy was taken into foster care. He stated that Kerry is "wayward" and guaranteed to liven things up for her daughter and her foster parents Val (Charlie Hardwick