Joyce Murray made her first appearance on 19 May 2017. She is portrayed by Maggie Steed. Her character was killed off on the 29 March 2018.
Backstory[]
Joyce was born in April 1937, and Joyce wed Ted Murray when she was 21. Ted was also 21 at the time. Joyce moved out of her flat with her husband, Ted Murray, due to a rowdy family next door consisting of Karen Taylor, Keanu Taylor, Bernadette Taylor, Riley Taylor, Chatham Taylor and their dog Bronson, only to find they were their new flat mates.
Storylines[]
Ted and Joyce are a married couple, who arrive in Albert Square after being rehoused. They finish packing up their flat at Walford Towers and arrive at their new home. Ted tells Joyce that Dot Branning is their neighbour, who they already know, and Ted mentions that Dot's son Nick Cotton used to be friends with their son, Alan. Joyce is upset that Ted has brought a box with them after agreeing to "keep the past in the past". Joyce instructs Ted to keep it out of her way and he opens the box, which has a gun inside. Ted and Joyce meet up with a friend, Joan Murfield, and talk about a family they describe as being "neighbours from hell" who nearly killed Joan. Ted and Joyce decide they like their new home as it is peaceful but are then horrified to discover that Karen Taylor and her children have moved in above them, as Karen is the woman who caused Joan's nervous breakdown.
Ted later applies for a vacancy at the local The Queen Victoria public house as a potman. Although the landlord Mick Carter chooses Ted, he agrees that both Ted and Patrick Trueman should share the job on a part-time basis. Ted and Joyce find that they have been burgled and Ted blames the Taylors and the police question them. Keanu Taylor insists to Ted and Joyce that they played no part in the break-in and Joyce is grateful when Keanu offers to board up their window.
When a gas tank explodes outside the couple's flat, it smashes their windows and debris flies through. Ted panics, convinced that someone is trying to harm him and Joyce, who tries to calm him down. Ted arms himself with his gun and when someone checks on the couple, Ted accidentally shoots Johnny Carter. Joyce calls the emergency services and she is arrested after taking the blame to protect Ted. When Joyce visits Johnny in hospital and he realises Ted was the person who shot him, Johnny's mother Linda Carter decides to confront Joyce who promises Ted that she will still take the blame for him. Joyce and Ted later receive community service and a suspended sentence respectively, thanks to Ted's psychiatric report and a letter Johnny wrote in their defence.
Joyce is supportive of Ted when he begins teaching Bernadette Taylor how to play chess, but is frustrated when doing so consumes most of Ted's time. On Alan's birthday, Bernadette is scheduled to play in a chess tournament and asks Ted to support her. Joyce is upset that Ted intends to miss a Skype call with their son for the tournament and argues with him, berating him for giving Bernadette the time and affection that he never gave his own children. When Bernadette panics at the tournament, Joyce relents and allows Ted to go to her, realising the importance for both of them. When Ted returns he is greeted to a note saying Joyce had gone to bed early so Ted poked his head into the room to say goodnight, only Joyce had died from a Cardiac arrest in her sleep. Found by Ted as well as Bernadette and Tiffany.