Since her return, storylines have included a reconciliation with her ex-husband Billy, their daughter, Janet, being the victim of a hit and run, the breakdown of her relationship with Billy for a second time after he cheated on her with Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White), a toxic relationship with her dentist Adam Bateman (Stephen Rahman-Hughes) which ended after he had a secret affair with Habiba Ahmed (Rukku Nahar) and several other women behind her back, which leaves her with low self esteem and suffering with bulimia.

Honey enters into a relationship with Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), has a friendship with Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) in which Suki realises she is a lesbian after she develops an unrequited crush on Honey, reunites with Billy after breaking up with Jay, and supports Billy’s granddaughter Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) through her terminal brain tumour.

When Jack discovers that Honey is pregnant, he tries to persuade her to abort her unborn child, convinced that she would share the same fate as her mother.

Honey is furious with Jack for making her so unnecessarily fearful about her health all her life, and chastises him for not getting her heart checked when she was a child.

They try again in July, but due to a series of unfortunate events — starting with a prank performed on Billy's stag night — the groom doesn't get to the ceremony on time.

However, in November 2007, Honey is knocked down whilst trying to stop Jase Dyer (Stephen Lord) being attacked, sending her into labour.

She is rushed to hospital where she gives birth to a boy, who initially appears stillborn, but is resuscitated, and is named William after his father.

Billy is unable to raise their rent money and despite attempts to barricade themselves in the flat, Mrs. Patel evicts them, leaving the entire family homeless before Christmas.

Desperate, Billy takes a job as a getaway driver for Jase, who is in league with Terry Bates (Nicholas Ball), the man responsible for the pub riot that caused Honey an injury the year before.

Billy assumes it is a date and confesses his love, however Honey reveals that she wants to move to Canada for a year and take the children.

Honey asks Billy to speak to Ronnie about loaning them some money so she can move into a flat nearby with Janet and William.

After Billy reveals why he needs money from her, Ronnie suggests Honey and the children move in with her and her son, Matthew Mitchell Cotton, so that she is no longer alone.

Billy cooks Honey a special dinner hoping it will start a reunion, but she cracks a tooth on an olive stone.

Honey exposes Adam in the Queen Vic, before kicking him out of their flat after he mocks her bulimia, leading to her attacking him with a recycling box.

For several weeks afterwards, Honey struggles with her bulimia, and eventually decides she must leave Walford and move in with her aunt while she seeks treatment for her eating disorder.

Actress Emma Barton was chosen to play Honey Edwards in September 2005, after a successful screen test with Perry Fenwick.

The pregnancy was the start of an ongoing storyline about Down's syndrome (DS) as, in September 2006, Honey and Billy's baby Janet was diagnosed with the disorder shortly after her birth.

Real parents with Down's syndrome children were approached to act as consultants in the making of the storyline, meeting with writers and the actors who play Billy and Honey.

The programme makers' main priority was to show the reality of having a child with the condition, "with all of its positives and negatives" and to "create awareness among thousands of people who know very little about Down's syndrome, who might have out-dated or prejudiced views."

[8] Sue Jacob, a teacher at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said EastEnders presented a "poor picture of midwifery practice".

During Janet's birth, Honey was refused an epidural while in pain, and later she was told that her baby had Down syndrome alone, without her partner or family there to support her.

The midwife would also have been open and honest and said 'We need to get the baby checked out and we will get your partner' [...] What the soaps do is set scenes which prompt people to talk about things which are affecting their lives.

[9] The BBC responded by saying, "EastEnders has undertaken a great deal of research to script the storyline of Billy and Honey giving birth to their baby daughter.

In relation to some particular points raised, Honey was not denied an epidural – she made the choice to put herself out of reach of communicating effectively with the midwife by locking herself in the bathroom.

It is worth noting that EastEnders has received incredibly positive feedback from the Down's Syndrome Association following the first few episodes, whom we are continuing to work with very closely."

Carol Boys, chief executive of the Down's Syndrome Association, has confirmed that 40% of parents whose babies were diagnosed after birth were given no written or practical information about the condition, and 11% were told, as Honey was, by a midwife rather than a paediatrician: "The way in which Billy and Honey have learnt of their baby's disability, and their subsequent support from their health professionals, is not a best-practice model.

[12] In September 2006, Steve Frost, head producer of EastEnders' rival soap Coronation Street, publicly branded Honey and the Down's syndrome storyline as "Painful to watch [...] wooden and emotionless – crap."

Honey would sob, Billy would do one of his "I try so hard to do the right thing" soliloquys and everyone in the Vic would be forcing down marzipan-coated fruit cake for weeks."

Two dim-witted people, week-in, week-out, making lots of mistakes and getting the wrong end of the stick with farcical consequences.

"[15] The scenes in which Honey was attacked were subject to heavy criticism in 2007, with Ofcom receiving 78 complaints from viewers about the level of violence displayed, and concerns for the safety of her baby.