Joan Hooley

Joan Hooley was born 13th November, 1936 in Jamaica. She appeared on EastEnders between August 1998 and February 2000 as Mick McFarlane's mother Josie McFarlane. She landed a job as a barmaid at The Queen Victoria, before becoming a receptionist at Walford Surgery.

In her early career, she appeared in No Hiding Place and Taxi! before landing the role of Dr. Louise Mahler in ITV hospital soap opera Emergency - Ward 10, a role she played throughout 1964, during her time on the show it is thought to be that a kiss shared between her and another character was the first interracial kiss on television. After leaving Emergency - Ward 10, Hooley went on to appear in many other productions such as Melissa before landing her EastEnders role.

In November 1999, Hooley's character was dropped by executive producer, Matthew Robinson. Since leaving the soap, Hooley has publicly accused EastEnders and the BBC of racism and tokenism, for giving her character no significant storylines, and using her as a prop.

Following this dilemma, Hooley has only had minor roles in shows Off Their Rockers and Doctors. In 2015, Hooley appeared in the documentary The Brave New World of the 60s, a documentary based on nineteen sixties television and shock of the new channels, tribes and nudists.