Paul "Woody" Joyner
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Paul "Woody" Joyner was a paramedic in the series Casualty. Woody arrived in the series in 2004 to replace the popular character Finlay Newton who had recently died.
Woody was always a fundamentally decent person but as a paramedic lacked competence. His performance and reckless behaviour was a source of constant concern and irritation for his boss Josh Griffiths. In many situations Woody would make crass decisions with near-fatal consequences. On one occasion he attempted to save a child from drowning by jumping into the water, despite knowing he couldn't swim and nearly lost his own life.
Woody was surprised to discover a child he had treated might have been the product of a fling he had enjoyed with the boy's mother. He bonded with the child and even took him joy-riding in the ambulance (a decision which nearly cost him his job). He was devastated when a DNA test eventually revealed the child was not his son after all.
Despite having a lot of storylines and being played by a strong actor, the character failed to strike up a rapport with the viewers and was axed after a year. In the Christmas crossover episode 2005, Woody died in hospital after saving a child's life by picking up a poisonous gas canister and running with it the length of a partially collapsed road tunnel.
