Peter was the youngest child of Radcliffe dairy farmer Jimmy Saunders and his wife Rosemary Saunders. His father prepared him from an early age to take over the farm in the wake of when he was longer able to do so. As a teenager he dated Deirdre Covington and years later he married Sarah Lynn. The two went on to produce two daughters Louise and Martha. He inherited his father's 50% of Franklin Farm Ltd. when he died in 1990 In the first episode, he and his wife celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. He didn't take it well when Daniel Covington came to inform the family about his plans to use the shares he got from his late father to involve himself more in their business. He and his older sister Esther was determined not to let that occur.

When Martha told Sarah Lynn and him about her pregnancy and wanting to raise her baby on her own. Morally conservative Peter didn't take the news well since he didn't want her to be a single mother. It took for her to being rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with dehydration, for him to make amends with his daughter. He found himself working beside Daniel to obtain a contract to have their products be sold at Marketfresh supermarkets. The two and Esther had a lunch meeting at The Chateau to go over the deal with the chain owner Lyle Wysocki. That same day Martha gave birth to his firstborn grandson Steven "SJ" Saunders. Peter suffered a mild heart attack after he watched Martha singing at The Waterfall. He was sent to the hospital where he recovered. Nonetheless, he told his wife he had his will updated if anything happens to him. Sadly, two months ago, Peter passed away after having a massive coronary.