Joel Nash

Infobox soap character
name = Joel Nash
series = Home and Away
portrayer = David Woodley
first = February 18, 1998
Episode 2323
last = 2000]
cause =
creator =


caption1 =
nickname =
gender = Male
born =
death =
age =
occupation = (formerly)Schoolteacher, police officer
title =
residence = Queensland
parents = Jack Nash(father, deceased)
siblings = Travis Nash(brother)
David Andrews(half-brother, deceased)
Claire Andrews(half-sister)
spouse = Natalie Nash
romances =
children = Tom Nash(son)
Gypsy Nash(daughter)
grandchildren = Lily Smith(granddaughter)
Rachel McGregor (adopted granddaughter)
grandparents =
aunts/uncles =
nieces/nephews =
cousins =
relatives =
color = Television colour|Home and Away
color text =

Joel Nash was a fictional character in the Australian soap opera "Home and Away".Portrayed by David Woodley, he was a regular on the show from early 1998 until late 2000.

Character's background

Joel returned to Summer Bay in early 1998 after an absence of sixteen years with his wife Natalie and teenaged children Tom and Gypsy.He had an uncomfortable reunion with his younger brother Travis, who had never understood why Joel had suddenly disappeared one day.Joel eventually explained to Travis that he had discovered their father had been sexually harassing Natalie while working as her swimming coach.The two brothers then began rebuilding their relationship.

Joel had been working as a police officer in Hong Kong but on arriving in Summer Bay he took a job as a PE teacher at Summer Bay High.He wasn't entirely happy when Gypsy started seeing Will Smith and when the pair stayed out all night he attempted to ground Gypsy, even though he had no objection to Tom having a girlfriend.He eventually accepted his double standard and even took Will under his wing at school, encouraging him to join the school javelin team. Despite having old-fashioned views at time, he found himself, much to his surprise, defending Travis and his wife Rebecca when the town objected to them letting their foster daughter have her boyfriend stay over, saying that although he wouldn't have done it it was ultimately their decision.However, he wasn't comfortable as a schoolteacher and ended up handing in his resignation to Don Fisher.He then applied to join the local police force.

Joel proved his credentials before he had even been accepted when he and Don teamed up to help Don's wife Marilyn after she began receiving letters and phone calls demanding money with menaces, eventually exposing her friend Chantel and her boyfriend as being behind everything.He had a less salubrious encounter with the police after going on a fishing trip with Don, Travis and Alf Stewart.On discovering that an apparent prowler was actually Vinnie Patterson, who had followed them, they managed to convince him there was a genuine prowler.However, Vinnie then called the police and the foursome were left answering some awkward questions.

After being accepted by the police, one of Joel's first actions was to book Alf for letting a blind woman, Catherine Clements, drive his car.His superior, Mike Carter, told him that although his actions were correct being a policeman in a small town sometimes meant being flexible.

When Natalie suggested having another baby, Joel agreed and a family vote on the subject saw Tom support them.However, when they failed to conceive, Natalie suggested they have tests and Joel learned he had a low sperm count, making it unlikely he would have more children.

Joel and Natalie employed one Robert Perez as a tutor for Gypsy, with Joel unaware that he was actually an old acquaintance, David DiAngelo.Joel had tried to pull DiAngelo over for a traffic violation in Hong Kong, unaware he was a wanted criminal.Thinking he'd been recognised, DiAngelo had instigated a police chase and crashed, leading to him being recognised and arrested.Wanting revenge on Joel, DiAngelo kidnapped Gypsy and although she was rescued DiAngelo was still at large.He tricked his girlfriend Rhonda into luring Joel away from the house then, after stranding him in the middle of the bush, set fire to the place.Joel arrived to find his family had survived the blaze but DiAngelo had abducted Natalie. Fortunately, he and Travis overheard a phone call she had made and managed to finally apprehend DiAngelo.

With their house gone, Joel and his family moved in with Travis and Rebecca at the caravan park.Their hopes of buying a new place were dashed when they learned DiAngelo had impersonated Joel and emptied their bank accounts.Joel showed signs of extreme stress in the aftermath of the incident, being too hard on a heckler at a cricket match and almost hitting Tom.He ended up being accused of deliberately braking a young thief's arm and was suspended from work although an enquiry soon showed the boy's injuries weren't consistent with his account of what happened and Joel was cleared.

When Travis learned that their father had had another family, Joel didn't seem too interested in meeting his half-sister Claire and after she stole from Travis he insisted on calling the police.Travis however claimed he'd given the items to her and let her go.

Joel and Natalie finally gained a permanent home when Travis and Rebecca decided to leave the area and asked them to take over the caravan park.They also decided to become accredited foster parents and take responsibility for the couple's two foster daughters, Justine Welles and Peta Janossi.Later, when Pippa Ross decided to sell the caravan park, Joel and Natalie formed a partnership with Alf and Colleen Smart to buy it.

Joel had another encounter with DiAngelo when he escaped from jail and returned to town, looking for the money he'd stolen from Joel. Ironically Joel ended up saving DiAngelo's life when he nearly fell to his death.DiAngelo thanked him by hitting himself with a rock and claiming Joel had assaulted him but his allegations were soon dismissed.

Joel found himself in a dangerous situation when he discovered Jesse McGregor and an associate, Mick, involved in a stolen car racket.After a high speed chase left both cars trashed, Jesse pulled Joel from his burning car and handcuffed Mick, who had almost been responsible for a hit and run.Joel was unable to bring himself to shoot Jesse and had been too badly injured to chase him so was forced to let him go.Ironically he and Natalie ended up taking in Jesse's daughter Rachel.He was angry when he later learned Natalie had concealed information about Jesse's whereabouts, although he got a roasting himself from Tom, whose car he had been driving during the smash.

Joel seemed to have lost some of his by the book approach:when he saw Ken Smith punch Brian Rodgers, who had been sexually harassing his daughter Hayley, he quietly warned Brian that any complaint would reveal things he'd want hidden.When Natalie became pregnant, rumours began circulating that Joel wasn't the father because of his earlier problems.Joel defended her vigorously until he learned the rumours were true: Natalie had had an affair with an old friend, Glen Tanner, on a trip to see her mother in Queensland.The couple tried to move past it but during an attempted reconciliated dinner Natalie felt the baby kick and Joel reacted badly.Natalie decided Joel would never accept her or the baby and moved away to Queensland.

Joel began to feel increasingly isolated as Tom moved away as well and his relationship with Gypsy hit an all-time low.When she was involved in a car accident where her secret boyfriend Charlie Nicholas, who had been drinking, was killed, Joel blamed everyone else, including Justine and Peta who had known about Charlie, before Gypsy took responsibility since she'd known Charlie had had a drink problem.Joel found it difficult to relate to her and didn't even notice when Kieran Fletcher started harassing her.Needing to sell the caravan park because of his split with Natalie, he and Gypsy moved into his old family home, which Travis still owned and which Vinnie was renting.

Joel and Gypsy's relationship continued to deteriorate, partly because of his mistrust of her friendship with Harry Reynolds, which proved correct when the pair started dating.Joel himself began seeing Judith Ackroyd and decided to move in with her to give Gypsy some space.Things went well between them until Judith suggested having a child together.Joel made it clear he didn't think unmarried couples should have children and was even more aghast when Judith offered to bring up the child alone.When someone started stalking Gypsy, he quickly used it as an excuse to move back in with her and Harry.

Immediately after helping catch the culprit(Kirsten, Charlie's old girlfriend), Joel was one of the first on the scene when it was learned Alf's house had been buried in a landslide and his wife Ailsa and son Duncan, together with Shauna Bradley and Jade Sutherland, were trapped inside.Joel helped with the rescue but had his leg crushed during a partial collapse.

Joel was hospitalised, his police career seemingly over when he was told he would never gain full mobility.He asked Gypsy and Harry if he could stay with them when he came out, since the stairs at Judith's made it impractical.However, he then received a visit from Natalie, who offered to care for him in Queensland.Joel rejected her offer and made arrangements to stay with Judith instead.Judith picked him up from the hospital...and then drove him round to see Natalie, knowing that was where his heart really was.The pair reconciled and he moved back to Queensland with her.