Storylines
Joe was widowed in 1982, and has two daughters, Megan and Shelly, from his first marriage. Joe met Pauline Fowler, a dancing companion at their salsa dance club, and they became good friends. Joe fell in love with Pauline and proposed to her once in a crowded The Queen Victoria. She turned Joe down but he did not give up as he knew that Pauline was fond of him and dared not admit so, and asked her again in February 2006 after falsely telling her that he would leave for Dubai; this time she accepted.
On their wedding day on 17 February 2006, Pauline had doubts about remarrying as she felt that she was betraying her deceased husband Arthur. Joe was about to cancel the wedding when Pauline turned up at the registry office ready to get married. Pauline chose to keep her surname as Fowler since she felt that she had lived most of her life with the name and didn't want 'a new identity'.
Joe admitted his criminal career to Pauline, revealing that his lifelong friend Bert Atkinson did time in prison for Joe's crime, and that Joe still owed Bert. Joe refused to choose between Pauline and Bert, and Pauline threw him out of the house. After he and Bert converted Pauline's loft, Pauline forgave him and let him come home, but their relationship remained uneasy as she became obsessed with her irrational vendetta against her daughter-in-law, Sonia.
In December 2006, as Pauline's behaviour became increasingly erratic, Joe reluctantly joined with Pauline's son Martin, Sonia, and neighbours Dot and Jim Branning in keeping secret from Pauline the fact that Martin and Sonia had got back together. When Pauline found out about this — by overhearing the four criticising her for her faults — she falsely claimed that she was dying of a brain tumour. When Joe went to the hospital and discovered this was untrue, it was the last straw for him and he left to stay with the Brannings.
In one final encounter, Pauline told Joe she never loved him, insulted his lovemaking and told him she wanted nothing more to do with him. Joe responded in kind by calling her "a block of ice in bed," and then smashed her family photographs, insulting in turn her late husband Arthur, ("a criminal"), her dead son Mark ("diseased") and her daughter Michelle ("little scrubber"). The scene ended with Pauline smashing a plate on Joe's head.
Joe left to spend Christmas with his daughter, and when he returned on Boxing Day he was first shocked to find out about her death, but later got drunk and told everyone he was pleased she was dead. When he saw her flowers in the Square however he realised how much he loved her and apologised to everyone. When the police arrived at Pauline's funeral with news of a murder inquiry, Martin first believed Joe must be the suspect, and tried to strangle him, until Sonia owned up and announced it was her the police were investigating. Joe later packed his belongings and went to live with Megan. He promised Martin he would return for Pauline's second funeral, but he claimed that his car broke down on the motorway, so was unable to attend.
On 25 January 2007, Joe unexpectedly returned to the Fowlers' house, much to the horror of Dot, who was inside the house at the time. Dot was originally suspicious of Joe turning up but he was quick to point out that he had lived there and had a key. Joe and Dot then had a deep conversation over his relationship with Pauline, which made Joe upset. They both went upstairs and Joe started drinking, making him speak about his deeper feelings. Joe then revealed to Dot that he had gone back to the house on Christmas Day to try and patch things up with Pauline, who had packed her bags ready to leave for the USA, but following her earlier conversation with Sonia, had decided not to move away. Joe explained how she harshly told him that he was leaving, not her, and continued to insult him and his ways. He told Pauline he felt like lashing out at times, and she dared him to "be a man" and hit her. In an angered rage, Joe described how he picked up the frying pan and hit Pauline hard on the head with it. He left the house after the incident, at which point Pauline was fine, and that was the last time he saw his wife, who later died due to a brain haemorrhage caused by the blow to the head Joe had given her.
Dot then proceeded to try and convince Joe to tell the truth but he refused, telling her he couldn't go through with it. She then attempted to ring the police but Joe snatched the phone out of her hand and threw it on the bed, pleading with Dot not to reveal his secret.
Dot's husband, Jim, meanwhile, arrived at the Fowlers' house to find Dot, and he saw Dot at the window trying to open it. Dot wanted to shout the truth to everyone, despite Joe's pleas. When Jim entered the house he heard Dot and Joe shouting so Jim went upstairs to investigate. When Jim entered the room, Dot tried to run to Jim to reveal the truth about Pauline's death. Joe immediately tried to stop her by grabbing her and putting his hand over her mouth. Jim rushed over to save Dot and the struggle that followed resulted in Joe falling back and crashing out of the window and falling through the market stall. Jim looked out of the window as Joe lay on the street, dead.
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