Storylines
Joe arrives in Albert Square from Bolton in 1996, looking for his father, David Wicks (Michael French), following the death of his sister Karen. At first, David rejects his son, not wanting him back in his life, and sends him back. However, after Joe runs away again and turns up at David's, he becomes more receptive to having Joe in his life. Eventually Joe and his mother Lorraine (Jacqueline Leonard) move to London and Joe moves in with David. Things are okay for a while but Karen's death has seriously affected Joe. He blames himself because the day Karen died, they had had an argument over who would sit in the front seat of the car. Joe won and Karen was in the back when a lorry crashed into the car. Karen was horrifically injured and died whilst Joe was barely injured at all. This leads to Joe developing schizophrenia and exhibiting increasingly strange behaviour. Whilst suffering from schizophrenia, Joe attempts suicide, at one point hides Nellie Ellis (Elizabeth Kelly)'s dead cat Mandoo in a box in his bedroom and shocks his father David when he covers his room with old newspaper articles relating to aliens.
While in Walford, Joe gets engaged to Sarah Hills (Daniela Denby-Ashe), but has a one night stand with his second cousin Mary Flaherty (Melanie Clark Pullen) and realises he is too young to get married, so calls off the engagement. He and his mother, Lorraine, leave in 1997, returning to Bolton and he reportedly reconciles with Sarah many years later. In 2012, when David returns to Walford to visit his dying mother, Pat (Pam St. Clement), he tells her that Joe has a girlfriend who has children, and that David stayed with them for a while but it did not work out. However when David is arguing with Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) it is revealed that Joe and David have lost contact and he has no address for his son.
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