Joy Fishwick was the mother of Colin Fishwick and widow of John Fishwick. Bearing a strong resemblance to Mrs Warboys from One Foot in the Grave, she was played by Doreen Mantle.
Biography[]
Backstory[]
Joy was born around 1932, and would later marry a man named John Fishwick and together they had one son Colin. Colin would grow up to become a teacher. According to Joy's neighbour Clifford, Colin was not a good son to Joy. She would become widowed when John passed away, leaving her on her own. Unknown to Joy, Colin died in July 2010 but his body was buried under Underworld by his friend and former colleague John Stape, the latter whom had stolen Colin's identity to get a teaching post.
2010-2011[]
Several months following Colin's death, Joy turned up at 5 Coronation Street as this was the last residence Colin had been known to live at (due to John previously using his identity and living here). Fiz, aware of John's scam but unaware of him covering up Colin's death, told Joy that the last she heard is that he was working in a bookshop somewhere in Manchester. Joy managed to find the location and was worried when she found out Colin disappeared after being beaten up by Ben Fielding, a man whose wife Colin had an affair with. Joy was desperate to see Colin as she wasn't in the best of health, and returned to 5 Coronation Street to inform John and Fiz on her findings. John wanted Joy out of the way so lied to her that Colin had returned to Canada and didn't want to see her again. Although upset, Joy accepted this as she was happy that Colin was alive and well.
The following month, Joy crossed paths with John and Fiz at the hospital where their premature daughter Hope was recovering. Joy revealed that she had little time left. This left John with guilt, and he began to visit Joy in order to do work for her around the house. But as time went on his guilt overwhelmed him, and he later confessed to her that he had covered up Colin's death by burying his corpse underneath the knicker factory. To no surprise this revelation scared Joy, and it didn't help that John mentioned his previous misdemeanors such as kidnapping. This brought on Joy's angina, but John refused to hand over her medicine unless she agreed not to go to the police. Joy's nosy neighbour Clifford called round, and John covered Joy's mouth to stop her crying out for help. When Clifford eventually left after not getting an answer, John removed his hand but was distraught to discover that Joy had died. He tried to give her medicine to her, but with little success as it was too late.
John left the body but later returned to clear the evidence of his presence at the house. He posed as a delivery driver when caught by Clifford, and Clifford then called the emergency services when discovering Joy's body. After clearing the evidence of his visits John then fled the scene, managing to get away with the accidental murder for the time being.
Aftermath[]
Joy's death took its toll on John, who already found it difficult enough to cope with the constant lying, killing people and covering up deaths. He suffered a breakdown at his workplace and was later sectioned as the guilt took too much. In that time it was discovered that Joy had left Colin a large sum of money in her will, which would go to John as it was believed he was actually Colin. Fiz got involved in the scam by posing as Colin's wife Mrs. Fishwick, so that she could use the money to support her daughter Hope, who had been released from the hospital. John didn't take kindly to this deceit, as it meant more lying.
John would later be exposed for the murders of Charlotte Hoyle and Joy Fishwick, and was even believed to have killed Colin, whose body was eventually found in June 2011. John tried to kill himself but later went on the run. Fiz was seen as an accomplice by the authorities and held on remand until her trial. Due to her taking Joy's money, it was believed she killed her for the inheritance.
When John eventually returned to Weatherfield, he confessed to the police the truth before he himself passed away, following injuries sustained in a car accident. This cleared Fiz's name and allowed her to go free.
Memorable info[]
Born: 1932
Died: January 2011
Full Name: Joy Fishwick
Parents:
Siblings:
Spouse: John Fishwick
Children: Colin Fishwick (c1960)