Storylines
Joel was born to Bernie and Brenda Samuels (Pixie Jones) in Launceston, Tasmania in 1979 and grew up wanting to be a triathlete, which he pursued upon dropping out of a Marine Biology course. While in London, Joel met Malcolm Kennedy and the two quickly became friends. Malcolm told Joel that he would always be welcome in Ramsay Street, where his parents lived.
Joel arrives in Ramsay Street at Malcolm's parents place and introduces himself to Malcolm's mother Susan and younger brother, Billy (Jesse Spencer). Karl, Malcolm's father has reservations about Joel staying as the Kennedys hardly know him but relents. Joel later settles in and makes friends and catches the eye of Hannah Martin (Rebecca Ritters), who has a crush on him and goes through the effort of buying a takeaway meal and passing it off as her own in order to impress him. Hannah is crushed when Joel tells her he only likes her as a friend. Joel later gets a job at Across the Line, a local sports store and later falls for Libby (Kym Valentine), Malcolm's sister. Joel is too scared to tell her his feelings but she eventually figures it out and the pair remain friends. After a number of problems at the Kennedys', including the breakdown of Karl and Susan's marriage, Joel moves in next door to Number 30 with Sarah Beaumont (Nicola Charles) and Toadfish Rebecchi. Toadie later introduces Joel to his co-host, Sally Upton (Sally Davis) at Uni FM, the radio station at Eden Hills University. Joel and Sally begin dating but things fall apart after Sally becomes jealous of Joel's closeness with Libby and accuses him of cheating.
When Joel decides to join the Ramsay Street teenagers at a campsite to celebrate the end of Year 12 and exams, Karl offers him a lift. When they drive by a river bank, they find Anne Wilkinson sitting in a bogged down ute by the riverbank crying. Joel and Karl stop to help and begin to push the vehicle from the front, but the vehicle slips down the bank and traps Joel's knee. As the water level rises due to drains bursting and a heavy downpour of rain, Karl battles to keep Joel breathing during the rise. Joel loses consciousness and Anne raises the alarm. After being airlifted to Erinsborough Hospital, Joel wakes up and Sally visits him. Joel thinks she wants to get back together, but she tells him of her attraction to his friend, Drew Kirk (Dan Paris). Sally leaves and Joel finds it hard to be positive. Joel's mother, Brenda visits but she has a hard time getting close to her son as he has made so many friends in the community.
Joel is later discharged from hospital and moves back in with the Kennedys temporarily, as Toadie and Sarah are finding his mood swings difficult to live with. When Joel recovers, he takes part in a routine based on the movie The Full Monty along with Bill, Karl, Drew and Toadie. Joel later meets Natalie Rigby, the manager of a pub when he auditions as a solo stripper and they begin dating, but are opposed by Natalie's son, Liam (Damien Bodie) and the relationships fizzle out. After a while of being single, Joel and Toadie decide to go out one evening to Foxy's in February 2000, a local nightclub and meet they Dione Bliss (Madeleine West) and her friend, Vanessa Bradshaw on under the pretence of Joel being an Argentine Footballer and Toadie being a lawyer (a partial truth as Toadie was studying law). The girls ultimately see through this but play along and during one date leave the boys stranded at Italian restaurant, Lanzini's when the time comes to pay the bill. Dione later reappears and Joel falls for her but cheats on her with her friend, Carrie Clark. Joel is dumped and goes out of his way to win Dione back. They get back together but their reunion is fraught with jealousy problems and things are not made easier when Joel's father, Bernie arrives and tries to make advances towards Dione every chance he gets. Dione tells Joel who disbelieves her at first but then he comes to realize Dione is telling the truth about Bernie and soon sends his father packing. Joel and Dione begin playing jokes on each other, but Joel ultimately takes it too far when he enlists Malcolm's help by pretending to be a distant relative Joel's interested in Dione's art. This proves too much and Joel and Dione split once again.
After helping Lance Wilkinson film a home-made Sci-Fi movie, where he and Felicity Scully are the leads who share a kiss, Joel agrees to be Flick's date to Erinsborough High's debutante ball. As the ball nears, Joel finds himself falling for Flick. At the after party Joel and Flick spend all night talking and they share a kiss the next morning by the pool. Joel and Flick try to keep their relationship a secret but gradually their neighbours and friends find out. Flick's father, Joe (Shane Connor) catches the couple together one evening and angrily confronts Joel and pushes him, injuring his shoulder. Flick refuses to return home after this and stays with Joel. When Flick opts to move out after Joe comes down hard on her, she suggests that she moves in with Joel. Joel realises things are moving too seriously and decides to join the Kennedys on a trip to London to attend Malcolm's wedding to Sarah's sister, Catherine O'Brien (Radha Mitchell).
When Joel returns, problems still have not eased and things don't get any easier when Flick moves in temporarily much to the annoyance of Toadie and Dee. After an argument with Flick on her 18th birthday about spending so much time with Dee, Joel breaks up with her and is chastized by Dee and Joe for doing so on Flick's birthday of all days. Flick later begs Joel to take her back but he tells her they are not right for each other. Joel and Dee become close again and begin dating. This is nearly wrecked when Joel accidentally tells Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety), Dee's ex-boyfriend that she had previously miscarried his baby. Dee is furious but forgives Joel. Joel begins diving with marine Biologist Vernon Wells (Vincent Gil), who soon offers him a job in Queensland. Dee agrees to go with him but on the day Joel leaves, she changes her mind and they share one final kiss at the docks and Joel walks away and sets off on his journey.
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