Joanne Francis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| EastEnders character | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Joanne Francis | |
| Portrayed by | Pamela Salem |
| Duration | 1988–1989 |
| Marital status | Widowed |
| Occupation | Manageress/Gangster |
Joanne Francis was a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Pamela Salem.
[edit] History
Joanne was first seen in Albert Square in June 1988. She was a member of the gangster organisation known as The Firm, and she had been sent to Walford by Mr Vinnicombe (The Firm's boss) to manage Strokes Winebar, which was actually a facade for an illegal gambling den. Her arrival upset Den Watts, as he had previously thought that he was being given managerial status. Despite initial hostility, Joanne and Den proved to be a good team and built up a strong working rapport with each other.
Den however, proved to be a live wire, and after his friend, Kathy Beale, was raped by the rival wine-bar owner, James Willmott-Brown, he went against The Firm's orders and instigated a revenge attack without their approval. With the help of another member of The Firm, Brad Williams, he had Willmott-Brown's winebar torched. This led to a police investigation in the Square, putting Strokes under surveillance and The Firm in the frame for the deed. In order to put the police off their scent, The Firm decided that Den had to take the blame for the arson. Den wasn't keen on this, but after heavy pressure from Joanne he decided to take the rap and go into hiding to avoid arrest. However, The Firm's real agenda was to lure Den into a false sense of security before killing him, thus stopping him implicating them for their heinous crimes. Realising this, Den managed to escape The Firm's clutches and went on the run, but when The Firm traced him to his hideout, he was eventually forced to turn himself into the police in order to avoid being killed by their heavies. Den was sent to Dickins Hill prison, leaving Joanne and the rest of The Firm to assume that it would only be a matter of time before Den divulged his knowledge about their criminal antics. In actual fact, Den had no intention of 'grassing', but the investigating officer, D.I. West, decided to play up to The Firm's fears, spreading rumours that Den was on the verge of implicating them. Gregory Mantel (a superior member of The Firm) made plans to have Den eradicated from within prison. Joanne did not believe that Den was a grass and she tried to do everything she could to stop her associates from setting up a hit on him, even going above Mantel's head and relaying her doubts to Mr Vinnicombe, which earned her the wrath of Mantel, but managed to spare Den his life temporarily.
Joanne moved into a flat in Albert Square and continued running Strokes, but her position was put in jeopardy when a new Detective Inspector, Bob Ashley, started to take humbrage with her presence in Walford. He began putting pressure on Brad Williams to stitch up The Firm, threatening him with a spell in prison unless he obliged. Brad then divulged the whereabouts of evidence that would show Joanne's criminal dealings and enable him to get rid of her and close down Strokes. Sensing her imminent downfall, Joanne considered resigning from The Firm. This did not please Mantel, and he reminded her not to 'rock the boat' or else she would meet the same fate as her late husband. It turned out that Joanne's husband had also been employed by The Firm, and his association had led to his untimely demise. After this Joanne decided to do a runner, stealing thousands of pounds of The Firm's money in the process. Her exit was nearly halted by a speeding car, driven by Brad, who had been instructed by Mantel to eliminate her. Brad missed his target and she managed to escape in her car unharmed. Her last appearance was in January 1989. Strokes closed down soon after.
