| Joey Henderson | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shortland Street character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Johnny Barker | ||||||
| Introduced by | Jason Daniel | ||||||
| Duration | 2007–08 | ||||||
| First appearance | 18 June 2007 episode 3756 |
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| Last appearance | 2 December 2008 episode 4137 |
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| Classification | Former; recurring | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Alias | The Ferndale Strangler | ||||||
| Date of birth | 1982 | ||||||
| Date of death | March 5, 2008 | ||||||
| Residence | El Rancho | ||||||
| Occupation | E.D Nurse at Shortland Street Hospital | ||||||
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Joseph James "Joey" Henderson[1] (also known as The Ferndale Strangler) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Arriving in June 2007 as a potential love interest for established character - Claire Solomon (Emily Robins), Joey went on to be revealed as a serial killer responsible for the death of Claire and four other women in a year long, highly successful storyline.
Since the characters departure in 2008, Joey has picked up an icon status as one of the most sinister villains in the long running soap.
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With the fall of ratings in the 2006 cliffhanger[2], producers decided to start a storyline arc that would draw the viewer into staying tuned for a period of months to work up to the big cliffhanger at the end of the year. The producers came up with the idea of a serial killer plaguing the street and killing off much loved characters. To keep viewers enthralled, many characters were introduced or cast shadow over so there was a wide scope of potential killers. To make matters more secret, none of the cast or crew except some producers were told as to who was the killer until October 2007. The suspects introduced included Joey, Scotty, Luke Durville, Kieran Mitchell, Gavin Capper and Steve Roberts. At first the character of Joey was displayed as a possible love interest for Claire Solomon until she becomes the first victim. As the year goes by Joey has minor storylines and though a suspect, the likes of Kieran, Scotty, Mark and Luke seem to be of higher risk. The scent was put off Joey when false videos were released none of which contained Joey.
Johnny Barker auditioned for the role after playing Jed Farris for two months in 2000. While auditioning, Johnny was asked to act nice then show a very dark side which puzzled Johnny as he was not told the character was the killer. Johnny was told the character was part of a huge storyline and had a big mystery about him and as soon as Claire was murdered, Johnny knew that Joey was involved. Johnny was informed after the murder of Brenda Holloway that his character was the Ferndale Strangler. To practice for the role, Barker channeled J.D. from the TV series Scrubs and after the killer reveal, he channeled Dexter Morgan from the TV series Dexter[3] Harry McNaughton who went on to play Gerald Tippett, auditioned for the role.
In May 2007 it was announced that Joey would be arriving the following month, he was described as "roficient and eager - some would say over-eager - newbie nurse. Enthusiastic and co-operative, Joey is hungry for approval. He is less confident socially, but sure to be a hit with the ladies of Shortland Street."[4] Barker enjoyed taking on the role, stating; "He's a little socially inept in not being able to communicate publicly - kind of like me".[5] He made his first appearance on 18 June 2007 with his first line being: "The thing is I really want to be a doctor".
In January 2008 it was announced that Joey would be written out of the soap later in the year.[6][7] Joey featured in a three part episode that aired in March 2008, that featured the death of his character.[6][8] Joey's final scene aired on 5 March 2008 with his final lines being: "I am Joseph James Henderson. Gone but never forgotten."
Joey arrives in June 2007 as a newbie nurse who had spent several years as a Red Cross nurse in an under-sourced clinic in Port Moresby, where he harbored a secret desire to become a doctor. He quickly makes friends with Shanti Kumari and Alice Piper, who constantly play pranks on nursing manager Scotty. Joey shows romantic interest in Claire Solomon and the two date, however Joey learns Claire used him to make Kieran Mitchell jealous and the two part on bad terms. Joey later hears Claire had been murdered and tells shocked co workers it is likely a staff member who killed her.
Joey is amazed when his idol, ex All Black Buck Shelford arrives at the hospital. While taking Buck to radiology, the lift breaks leaving Joey and Buck stuck in. When Buck goes into cardiac arrest, Joey is forced to resuscitate him himself. This saves Buck's life and Joey is pleased to have earnt the respect of his co workers.
Joey continues to show frustration at the lack of attention he receives from females but is disturbed when Meg Harris hits on him drunkenly. She is also found dead and Joey is shocked to hear that it is the work of a serial killer. Joey strikes up a friendship with Steve Roberts and the two are frequently seen socializing at the IV. Joey applies for a room at the flat Kieran is staying at and after crashing Kieran's motorbike, becomes flatmates with him. Joey is later annoyed when Gerald Tippett becomes a flatmate.
Joey approaches Beth Wilson in the carpark and after scaring her, is severely assaulted. Many begin to suspect that Joey is the killer including detective Lara Wade. Beth is soon found dead. Joey meets new nurse Tracey Morrison and the two start to date, however she also shows romantic interest in Gavin Capper.[9] Joey notices that nurse Tania Jeffries appears jealous at his and Traceys relationship. Joey is at the scene of a car accident and shows initiative when he saves a mans life.[10] Joey is horrified to learn Tracey is an undercover cop and the two break up. Tracey is later discovered barely alive, after suffering at the arms of the killer.
Joey embarks on a relationship with Tania, but she shows little interest. He takes her to a park and sings to her and believes that he has successfully entranced her, however Tania starts a relationship with Kip Denton. A furious Joey overhears Tania call him a child and in December 2007 it is revealed that Joey is the killer when he attempts to murder Tania.
Joey fails at his attempts to murder Tania and in 2008 starts to stalk Shanti. After failing to murder Shanti twice, Joey attacks a drunk stranger. Joeys mother arrives and Joey lashes out at her, scaring Kieran and Gerald. Joey gets placed in a surgical team but is belittled by Alice. Joey goes out clubbing with Alice and kidnaps her, placing her in a storage unit. The whole hospital and the staff realize Joey is the killer but have no evidence to arrest him. Despite turning up for work, Joey escapes and returns to Alice, performing a successful appendectomy on her. Alice escapes however and both Craig and Kieran locate the storage unit. A bleeding Joey, is left to die by Craig but he escapes, making it to the strorage unit roof where he is attacked by Kieran. He then jumps to his death, proclaiming he will never be forgotten.
The following day after his death, a picture of Joey is shown as Joey's locker is cleaned out while a song he has recorded plays, showing several characters react to the murderous months that had preceded. On March 11, 2008, Joey's mother Kath attempts suicide after his funeral. On March 19, Joey appears in a nightmare that Alice Piper has. In December 2008, Alice envisions Joey as a target when she practices shooting with Dr. Ethan Pierce.
"Personally, I always like to see someone come into something that's all lovely and tear the place to shreds, which is what Joey did"
After arriving in 2007, Joey is shown as nervous and socially awkward. However he makes up for this in persistence and loyalty. He makes it clear he is only using nursing as a gateway career to medicine and admires doctor Kip Denton on a professional level. Joey is described as "sweet" and "caring" by Tania Jeffries but is shown not to be sexually appealing to many of the women staff. In August it is made clear that Joey is heavily disapproving of women playing games with men and vents his frustration at Meg Harris. He is also shown to be uncomfortable around Gerald Tippett who he presumes is gay. Joey is shown to be heavily affected by Tracey cheating on him with Gavin.
In 2008 Joey's past personality is shown to be a small portion of his true colours when it is revealed he is highly delusional, threatening, racist, sizest and homophobic.[11] His mental states deteriorates to a state where he finds it hard to socialize in any situation. He is shown to be attracted to old friend Morgan Braithwaite but has trouble becoming sexually aroused. His ego is also shown to be very large as Joey boasts about his kills and status.
After dating Claire Solomon and realizing she was using him, off screen Joey kidnaps and murders a homeless Claire, dumping her body in the hospital skip. She is discovered by a ex lover Mark Weston and TK Samuels.
At Mark's birthday, nurse Meg Harris drunkenly comes on to Joey, making him uncomfortable. She later has sex with Mark, who is married, in the toilets at The IV, a bar owned by lesbian Jay Copeland. Joey strangles Meg and practices intubation on her corpse. On August 13, 2007, Jay finds Meg's naked body in a rubbish skip outside of her bar, and new Detective Lara Wade considers Mark and Joey, the prime suspects. Uncomfortable with Jay's sexuality, Joey strangles her and performs a thoracostomy on her, mere hours before she was meant to leave the country. On August 27, 2007, Dr. Kip Denton and nurse Alice Piper discover Jay's body in a bush.
Lara finds it curious at Joey's apparent lack of respect and understanding towards women. On September 28, Beth Wilson invites Joey into her apartment, and after killing her as well, he takes her body and performs an appendectomy on her corpse. Maia Jeffries discovers that Beth is missing and finds IV tubing on one of her benches. Her body is found on October 5, 2007, near a jogging route used by nurse James Scott. Orderly Steve Roberts, who dated Beth, also becomes a suspect after Detective Wade arrests him for stealing medical supplies, including tubing similar to that used in the murders.
In October Joey begins to use transportation of patients as an alibi to purposely put other patients into cardiac arrest. When recently demoted nurse Brenda Holloway begins investigating the suspicious arrests, she discovers that Joey has been injecting them with suxamethonium chloride. Before she is able to report her findings, Joey attacks her while wearing a Halloween costume and also injects her with the drug. Though a still living Brenda is found by nurse Shanti Kumari, Brenda is unable to be resuscitated and Joey is able to steal her paperwork and delete other evidence from the hospital's mainframe computer. When questioned, Lara Wade finds it strange in Joey's lack of ability to differentiate emotions.
Joey sedates undercover policewoman Tracey Morrison, draws a surgical diagram on her abdomen, and leaves her in the same place as Meg was found. She is discovered by Kieran and TK's nephew Wiremu Potae. Though she is unable to name Joey as her assailant, she does remember her attacker drove a white van. Joey begins to leave a series of notes found by hospital staff equating being a doctor to being God.
In the final week of the year, Joey develops a crush on Tania. The competition is fierce though with Kip also interested in her. Joey takes her to a park where he sings to her and they share a picnic. Joey later overhears Tania saying he is just a boy and she can not date him because of this. Joey is devastated.
On December 14, 2007, the audience learns that Joey is the killer, when he attempts to murder nurse Tania Jeffries.[12][13] In January 2008 it is revealed that due to Tania cutting her finger and later Kip's arrival, Joey is unable to kill her. He continues to follow her, and is enraged when she leaves for Thames. However, Joey has a professional success when Nursing Manager James "Scotty" Scott allows him to join a pre-arrest team at the hospital. He attempts to inject another patient with Suxamethonium chloride, but is interrupted by Shanti, who has been dating Scotty. When he learns that Shanti is in an arranged marriage with new surgical registrar Dinesh Jivani, Joey tells Dinesh about her relationship with Scotty. Joey berates her for sleeping with Scotty, and later picks her up with the intent to kill her when her car breaks down. His plan is thwarted when she reveals the two are together while she talks with Scotty on the phone.
Joey returns to home and Kieran learns that Kip has been encouraging the nurse to study for medical school. Alice Piper notices how much darker Joey's personality has become, and Joey vents his anger on Kieren and Libby Jeffries who are kissing when he arrives home. When Kieran tells him to get a life, a visibly upset Joey retreats to his room and begins practising a cricothyrotomy, a procedure Kip had taught him earlier.
When his old nursing school friend Morgan Braithwaite arrives in Ferndale, the two begin to flirt, while Joey begins plotting Shanti's murder in a garage space he has rented. Scotty again thwarts his plan, when he takes Shanti to dinner. Joey instead attacks a drunken woman named Heather, who he sees leaving a bridal shower alone. She is able to attract a passerby, and a sullen Joey escapes and returns home to Kieran and Gerald, who encourage him to follow his ambitions. At the hospital, Heather recognizes Joey, but he convinces her he was at the bar, though his presence leaves her uncomfortable. While celebrating getting away with his attack on Heather, Joey sees Morgan and Dinesh sharing a drink, and is pleased when Morgan reveals that she is not the maneater everyone thinks she is. Gerald decides to set Morgan and Joey up, but insecure Joey shoots his idea down. Gerald, with Kieran's help, continues with his plan anyway, and Morgan and Joey spend a pleasant day together. She reveals that she moonlights as a graphic novel artist, though she shuts down when Joey attempts to discuss her mother's death. The two are able to reconnect later, when Joey invites her to his home and shows her the medical sketches he has done. Despite an interruption by Kieran and Gerald, the two begin to get intimate, but Joey is ashamed and angry when he is unable to perform sexually.
Joey attempts to correct his anti-social behavior, but reacts angrily when Scotty reveals that the promotion he has hoped for in jeopardy because the other nurses feel he doesn't have enough empathy for patients. Despite Joey's over the top reaction, Scotty promotes him to a level three nurse. His joy is short lived when his mother Kath arrives. Joey berates his mother for coming back into his life, leaving Kieran and Gerald bewildered. While alone, Kath asks him about his previous girlfriends, making Joey angry when she mentions Cindy, who he murdered years before. When the talk turns to Joey's childhood issues, he erupts in anger, advancing on his mother while revealing his grandmother had warned him not to end up like his mother. Kath is saved from his rage when Kieran and Gerald arrive home, and after Joey leaves, she warns them to be careful around him, as she leaves town.
Joey's attitudes towards patients continues to be a problem, and when a delirious patient mistakes him for her son, Joey injects suxamethonium into her IV. Scotty and Dinesh arrive, and are impressed when Joey is able to calmly help revive the woman. Still concerned about Joey's attitude towards patients, Scotty asks Alice to keep an eye on him. Already upset about seeing Alice flirting with Kip, Joey becomes angrier when she stops him from harassing a sex worker and tells him that Scotty has asked her to watch him. When an elderly patient reminds of his grandmother, Alice becomes alarmed at Joey's attachment to her. Alice suggests counseling, and when Kieran and Gerald agree, Joey realizes he must rein in his anger.
Lara Wade has continued to investigate Joey, and Kieran reluctantly tells her about the uncomfortable visit from Joey's mother. Tania decides to play matchmaker for Joey and Morgan, and Lara witnesses him yelling at Tania after she tells him Morgan fancies him. Lara tells Joey she believes he is the serial killer, while Scotty learns that Brenda had been in contact with a nurse in Port Moresby about resuscitation anomalies and begins to suspect Joey as well.
Alice, Tania, Shanti and Morgan invite Joey out for a night of partying, but when Alice is unable to leave immediately, Joey stays behind and abducts her. Craig, Alice's partner, alerts the police to Alice's disappearance. All suspicion falls on Joey, who still turns up to work. The police interview him but he reveals nothing. Lara tells Craig that they can not arrest the suspect until they have some evidence. The police give previous suspect Scotty the job of watching over Joey. Joey manages to escape Scotty's watch however by going toilet. When the police learn that Joey has two storage units, they arrive to arrest him but Joey escapes in a departing ambulance. Joey then arrives back at El Rancho. He strangles Gerald and considers killing him but instead uses him as bait. He gets Gerald to drive around in the van so that police get distracted while Joey goes back to Alice in the storage unit. While holding Alice captive in his storage unit, Joey performs a successful appendectomy while she is restrained. Barker particuarly enjoyed filming the climax scenes, saying; "The Scenes were awesome ... I put on the crazy hat and it was super fun to do that."[11] When Joey releases one of her hands so she can use a bedpan, Alice instead throws it at him and stabs him in the leg with a pair of scissors. She is able to escape the unit, and Joey chases her until Kieran and Craig arrive. After struggling with Kieran on the roof of the storage facility and being cornered by police, Joey jumps to his death on March 5, 2008.
Ultimately, the Ferndale Strangler was revealed to be "nice guy" nurse, Joey Henderson, whom the police had identified but discounted as a suspect, since he appeared to have alibis for the nights in question. However, there were numerous other characters in question that left both police onscreen and the viewers bewildered as to who the killer really was. Joey, Kieran Mitchell, Steve Roberts, Gavin Capper, Luke Durville and James "Scotty" Scott were all introduced as suspects, allowing the mystery to loom over who was the killer. Other already established characters were also cast a shadow over including Mark Weston and Justin Salt. All characters were given motives and it was left to the viewer to decide the killer, with the onscreen police uselessly arresting characters with no evidence. Following Claire's death it appeared as though Kieran was the killer and he was arrested after Meg was killed. However he was soon released and cleared off the investigation due to his brain problems. Steve, who was creepily interested in the killings was also arrested but only charged with burglary. Scotty who had fought with Brenda and whom Beth's body was found on his running track, was arrested in November but his charges were also dropped. Mark Weston became a major suspect after he was missing on the night of Meg's death and the fact he had slept with her the same night. After hours of questioning, Mark is dropped from the investigation. several other suspects were arrested for the murders. Both Gavin Capper and Justin Salt are arrested in December for both the murders and rape but viewers finally learn two days later that Joey is the killer.
In a bid to keep the identity of the serial killer a secret, three alternate reveals were filmed, though each of the fake victims would later be attacked by Joey, the real killer.[14] In the first scenario, Tania Jefferies is strangled to death by Dr. Justine Jones while Dr. Callum McKay holds her down. Callum then quips that he gets to murder the next victim. In the second scenario, Scotty corners Shanti in the supply room and begins to wind a piece of I.V. tubing around his hands. Finally, Alice Piper invites Dr. Luke Durville into her home. As she goes to get them some wine, Luke closes her front door and takes out a piece of I.V. tubing. The speculation surrounding the killer's identity grew so heated that Adam Rickitt (Kieran Mitchell) was attacked by a woman who thought he was really responsible for Claire's death.[15] Eventually, all characters that were attacked in the above three videos, were targeted by Joey throughout his reign. All the intended victims have now left the show.
Before and after the killer reveal, Joey proved to be a highly popular character, being voted "Favourite Male character", "Favourite New character", "Hottest Male character", "Favourite Male actor" and "Best Storyline" in the Throng Shortland Street Fan Awards 2007.[16] The following year Joey won "Best Storyline", "Best Single Episode" and "Best Thing to Happen in the Year".[17] Voters also wished for Joey to return in 2009, either as a ghost, twin or in flashbacks.[17]
The serial killer storyline received a huge surge in viewers with 624,000 tuning in to see Joey revealed as the killer and over 600,000 tuning into the characters demise.[18][19] The accurate portrayal of Joey, led many to fear for Barkers safety and for producer, Jason Daniel to ensure Barker will be kept safe from angry fans.[20] Barker hoped his portrayal would influence viewers, stating; "Grandmothers are going to hate me, kids are going to be scared of me, teenagers are going to think I'm hilarious - hopefully, and all those cynical people who don't like Shortland Street, but have got stuck into watching it, I think they'll appreciate it."[11]
Barker was nominated for the 2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor alongside Kirk Torrance and Tammy Davis.[21] The award was given to Davis for his portrayal of Munter in Outrageous Fortune.[22] Barker was also nominated for the 2009 Best Actor award in the TV Guide Best on the Box Awards 2009 for his work throughout 2008.[23]
Joey's death was specified as one of the targets in the 2008 Suicide Prevention Plan launched by Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton to help accurately depict suicide on television.[24][25]
Shane Cortese who played killer Dominic Thompson on the show for 2 years, praised Barker for his portrayal and stated: "I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's the start of big stuff for Johnny as he will always be remembered as the Shortland Street serial killer and it will do wonders for his career."[26] Chris Brush the deputy editor of the New Zealand TV Guide, compared Joey to Coronation Street villain Richard Hillman, stating the two were both great characters and ratings wonders.[27]