Joel Samuels - Character Development

Character Development

Whilst travelling, Joel meets and becomes friends with Malcolm Kennedy (Benjamin McNair) and he comes to Ramsay Street "out of the blue" to stay with the Kennedy family. Upon his arrival, Joel was described as being "good-looking, down-to-earth, friendly and a champion triathlete." Inside Soap called Joel a "heart-throb" and said that he appears to be Mr Perfect. However, MacPherson told them that Joel is unlucky in love, saying "A couple of the girls throw themselves at him, but he's no naive he doesn't really notice." The BBC said "Being a fit, young tri-athlete, Joel certainly set a few hearts a flutter among the Ramsay St girls."

When Anne Wilkinson (Brooke Satchwell) crashes her car into a riverbank, Joel and Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) are first on the scene and try to help her. The car slides down the riverbank and Joel becomes trapped underneath the vehicle. A storm causes the water level to rise rapidly and Karl tries to help Joel breathe. Filming for the stunt took three days and McPherson spent most of his time underwater. He said "Luckily, that meant I didn't have too many lines to learn, half the time I had to just sit under the water, hold my breath and wonder if they were still shooting!" Joel is eventually rescued and taken to hospital and McPherson told Inside Soap that there is a chance that Joel may not be able to walk again due to his injuries. The actor said "That is a tremendous shock. The triathlon is his life." Joel tries to keep his injury from his sponsors, but Karl reveals to them that Joel may not walk again. Joel is "absolutely furious" with Karl and McPherson said "I think in his heart of hearts, Joel knew they would find out eventually, but he hasn't learnt how to deal with the consequences yet." Joel then faces a long recovery process, but he has a "good chance of pulling through."

Joel has a brief relationship with Natalie Rigby (Nicki Paull), a woman ten years his senior. Joel meets Natalie after auditioning to be a stripper and she asks him for a date. Natalie reveals that she has a teenage son, but refuses to introduce Joel to him until she is sure their relationship is serious. Joel and Natalie argue and Soaplife said Joel feels "belittled" by Natalie's over-protective attitude towards her son. The magazine added "Emotional baggage and not the age gap ruined the relationship in the end, as Natalie put her son first."

Joel begins a relationship with Dee Bliss (Madeleine West), which progresses steadily. Joel later finds himself "immediately drawn" to Dee's best friend, Carrie Clark (Vanessa Rossini), after Dee introduces him to her. MacPherson explained, "It's quite a complicated situation. He is over the moon about Dione, but I think it's a little more lust than love." Joel tries to keep his feelings about Carrie to himself, but Soaplife said this is not easy as his eyes "practically pop out of his head every time Carrie's name is mentioned." MacPherson said that Joel does not want to hurt Dee, but inevitably when feelings for someone become strong the truth comes out. West revealed that Dee feels awful after realising that Joel likes another woman, but the situation becomes worse for her as she becomes aware that it is Carrie Joel likes. Of Joel's love triangle storyline, Soaplife said "After playing the singles game for such a long time, you would think he'd want to focus all his energies on one girl. But it seems one lovely lass is not enough for him!" Joel is delighted when his father, Bernie (Sean Scully), arrives in town, but he is unaware that Bernie has been flirting with Dee. Of the interesting storyline, MacPherson said "Joel has Bernie up on a pedestal, but it turns out he's the last one to find out what he's really like. Everyone else can see that he has his faults, but nothing they can say or do make Joel realise it. He just thinks his old man is the best." Joel is "quite cut up" when he realises that his father is not the hero he perceives him to be. McPherson said the storyline was good for his character as everyone got to learn more about his background.

After their relationship ends, Dee is keen to remain friends with Joel, while Joel finds it awkward and wants them to get back together. Joel eventually moves on with his friend and neighbour Felicity Scully (Holly Valance). The official website said that they are "two of the sexiest residents in Ramsay Street" and that it was not surprising they would be getting together. The website said that up until now there has not been any attraction between Joel and Felicity. McPherson said Joel had always been aware of Felicity, but because he was dating Dee he just did not think about her. After Lance Wilkinson (Andrew Bibby) asks Joel and Felicity to star in his film, they have to kiss in a scene and McPherson said "they do a little more acting than is strictly necessary!" The actor said Joel backs off straight away and pretends it did not happen because Felicity is in high school and is "probably a little too young for him." However, Lance and Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) tease Joel about the kiss and Felicity's crush, so he cannot get away from it. Felicity invites Joel to the Erinsborough High debutante ball as her partner and McPherson explained that she is not exactly truthful, saying "Flick asks Joel to be her partner, and says it's because she can't find anyone else to go with. But she's actually already asked Paul, and as you can imagine, it leads to a bit of strife!"