Joe Macer
Encyclopedia
Joseph "Joe" Macer is a fictional character
from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by Ray Brooks. He made his first appearance on 19 August 2005 and left the show on 26 January 2007.
, 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 life-long 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 [Joe] 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.
(Wendy Richard
). The characters were shown to meet at salsa classes, a relationship was quickly developed and despite Pauline's initial trepidation the year 2006 saw her marrying Joe after almost a decade since the death of her first husband, Arthur Fowler
. Their marriage was an attempt to give the character Pauline a "new lease of life" and her wedding day was screened to coincide with EastEnders 21st anniversary. Richard was openly opposed to her character remarrying, but she was eventually convinced by the executive producer and battled—successfully—for Pauline to keep her surname, Fowler.
In July 2006 however, Wendy Richard announced that she would be leaving the show. She said she made the decision to leave when the producers of EastEnders revealed that Pauline was to remarry. Richard thought it was "disloyal" of Pauline to her beloved first husband Arthur, commenting: "I think it's the most terrible shame, I really do. I thought in my heart of hearts it was wrong." Richard felt that she did not have the same chemistry with Ray Brooks, who played Joe, as she did with Bill Treacher
, who played Arthur. She rejected producers' opinions that Pauline and Joe "looked good together" and felt that she and Brooks had to work very hard to turn them into a "realistic-looking couple."
Following Richard's announcement that she was quitting, the BBC announced that actor Ray Brooks was being axed from the soap in September 2006, with one insider commenting "With Pauline going, there’s not much more we could do with Ray’s character...it’s going to be a dramatic exit." Brooks was said to be "fine with the decision" having endured a "challenging working relationship with unhappy EastEnders legend Wendy Richard."
Just two months after the wedding was screened, Pauline and Joe's marriage was shown to sour after Joe's criminal past was uncovered. Their relationship steadily deteriorated throughout the year, and in episodes that aired in December 2006 Pauline ended the marriage—removing her wedding ring and informing Joe that he "was half the man that Arthur had been, that she had never really loved him and that their sex life was a sham." The resulting row saw Joe insult Pauline's family—suggesting that her "perfect marriage" with Arthur was "nothing but a fantasy" and brandishing Mark "diseased", Michelle a "slapper" and Arthur a "con"—to which Pauline responded by smashing a plate over his head. Wendy Richard has commented "It was not just the memory of Arthur that stopped the marriage to Joe being a success. He was proven to be a weak and untruthful man. That is what caused the marriage to be a non starter. Pauline was not mean to Joe, he used her…and lied to her."
The destruction of Pauline and Joe's marriage was part of the build-up to the exits of both characters. Pauline was killed off in a "shocking" and dramatic storyline, which saw her collapsing and dying in the middle of Albert Square, leaving both characters and viewers in uncertainty about the cause of her demise. The storyline—dubbed "who killed Pauline?" by the British press—continued through 2007, as first Pauline's funeral was interrupted by the police in order to perform an autopsy on her body, and then Pauline's former daughter-in-law Sonia Fowler
was arrested for the murder. Following the screening of the suspected murder, bookmaker Ladbrokes
listed odds on the suspects with Sonia being favourite at 2/1, Joe Macer and Pauline's son Martin
both at 3/1 and outsiders Peggy Mitchell
at 10/1, and Dot Branning at 20/1.
However, Sonia's arrest proved to be a "red herring" and it was later revealed that the killing blow had actually come from Pauline's husband Joe, who broke down and confessed to Dot Branning
that he had rowed with Pauline on Christmas Day (off-screen) and, in a fury, struck her across the head with a frying pan, causing a brain haemorrhage that claimed her life. The plot's eventual climax in February 2007 led to the exits of several established characters connected with Pauline. This included Martin, Sonia and Joe, who was dramatically killed off after confessing to Pauline's murder—he fell out of the Fowlers' first floor window while trying to apprehend a hysterical Dot.
website, in a fictional magazine article about aliens.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by Ray Brooks. He made his first appearance on 19 August 2005 and left the show on 26 January 2007.
Storylines
Joe was widowed in 1982, and has two daughters, Megan and Shelly, from his first marriage. Joe met Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
, a dancing companion at their salsa dance
Salsa (dance)
Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...
club, and they became good friends. Joe fell in love with Pauline and proposed to her once in a crowded The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
. 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
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
; 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
Arthur Fowler
Arthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Bill Treacher.The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man, but he made some foolish choices and he always ended up paying dearly for them, also being bossed to the brink of insanity by...
. 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 life-long 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
Sonia Fowler
Sonia Ann Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on 21 December 1993 and she made her final appearance on 2 February 2007...
.
In December 2006, as Pauline's behaviour became increasingly erratic, Joe reluctantly joined with Pauline's son Martin
Martin Fowler (EastEnders)
Martin Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by James Alexandrou from 1996 to 2007.The role was previously played by Jon Peyton Price from early life as a baby in 1985 to 1996, just before Martin's teenage years began.-Storylines:Martin is the younger son...
, Sonia, and neighbours Dot
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
and Jim Branning
Jim Branning
James Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999 and has remained in the series right up to 2011....
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
Mark Fowler
Mark Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. Mark was an original regular character in the series starting February 1985 but became a semi-regular after his original portrayer David Scarboro was written out of the role in April 1985. Scarboro made...
("diseased") and her daughter Michelle
Michelle Fowler
Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actress Susan Tully.Although she was one of the brighter people in Walford, that didn't stop Michelle making some huge mistakes during her time in Albert Square...
("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 [Joe] 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.
Character creation and development
The character Joe Macer, played by Ray Brooks, was introduced in August 2005 as a love interest for the long running character, Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
(Wendy Richard
Wendy Richard
Wendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...
). The characters were shown to meet at salsa classes, a relationship was quickly developed and despite Pauline's initial trepidation the year 2006 saw her marrying Joe after almost a decade since the death of her first husband, Arthur Fowler
Arthur Fowler
Arthur George Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Bill Treacher.The father of the Fowler family, Arthur was essentially a good man, but he made some foolish choices and he always ended up paying dearly for them, also being bossed to the brink of insanity by...
. Their marriage was an attempt to give the character Pauline a "new lease of life" and her wedding day was screened to coincide with EastEnders 21st anniversary. Richard was openly opposed to her character remarrying, but she was eventually convinced by the executive producer and battled—successfully—for Pauline to keep her surname, Fowler.
In July 2006 however, Wendy Richard announced that she would be leaving the show. She said she made the decision to leave when the producers of EastEnders revealed that Pauline was to remarry. Richard thought it was "disloyal" of Pauline to her beloved first husband Arthur, commenting: "I think it's the most terrible shame, I really do. I thought in my heart of hearts it was wrong." Richard felt that she did not have the same chemistry with Ray Brooks, who played Joe, as she did with Bill Treacher
Bill Treacher
Bill Treacher is an English actor. Most famous for playing Arthur Fowler on the BBC soap opera EastEnders, for 11 years, from 1985-1996.-Early life:Treacher grew up in the East End of London...
, who played Arthur. She rejected producers' opinions that Pauline and Joe "looked good together" and felt that she and Brooks had to work very hard to turn them into a "realistic-looking couple."
Following Richard's announcement that she was quitting, the BBC announced that actor Ray Brooks was being axed from the soap in September 2006, with one insider commenting "With Pauline going, there’s not much more we could do with Ray’s character...it’s going to be a dramatic exit." Brooks was said to be "fine with the decision" having endured a "challenging working relationship with unhappy EastEnders legend Wendy Richard."
The destruction of Pauline and Joe's marriage was part of the build-up to the exits of both characters. Pauline was killed off in a "shocking" and dramatic storyline, which saw her collapsing and dying in the middle of Albert Square, leaving both characters and viewers in uncertainty about the cause of her demise. The storyline—dubbed "who killed Pauline?" by the British press—continued through 2007, as first Pauline's funeral was interrupted by the police in order to perform an autopsy on her body, and then Pauline's former daughter-in-law Sonia Fowler
Sonia Fowler
Sonia Ann Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Natalie Cassidy. Her first appearance was on 21 December 1993 and she made her final appearance on 2 February 2007...
was arrested for the murder. Following the screening of the suspected murder, bookmaker Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
listed odds on the suspects with Sonia being favourite at 2/1, Joe Macer and Pauline's son Martin
Martin Fowler (EastEnders)
Martin Albert Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by James Alexandrou from 1996 to 2007.The role was previously played by Jon Peyton Price from early life as a baby in 1985 to 1996, just before Martin's teenage years began.-Storylines:Martin is the younger son...
both at 3/1 and outsiders Peggy Mitchell
Peggy Mitchell
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in the series on a recurring basis over several weeks. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast and was then played by...
at 10/1, and Dot Branning at 20/1.
However, Sonia's arrest proved to be a "red herring" and it was later revealed that the killing blow had actually come from Pauline's husband Joe, who broke down and confessed to Dot Branning
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
that he had rowed with Pauline on Christmas Day (off-screen) and, in a fury, struck her across the head with a frying pan, causing a brain haemorrhage that claimed her life. The plot's eventual climax in February 2007 led to the exits of several established characters connected with Pauline. This included Martin, Sonia and Joe, who was dramatically killed off after confessing to Pauline's murder—he fell out of the Fowlers' first floor window while trying to apprehend a hysterical Dot.
In popular culture
A promotional picture of Pauline and Joe was used on the official TorchwoodTorchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
website, in a fictional magazine article about aliens.