Joel Nash
Joel Nash was a main character from February 1998 (Episode 2323) until October 2000 (Episode 2928). He was a member of the Nash family who became the new centrepiece of the show following Pippa Ross's departure. He was married to Natalie and had two children called Tom and Gypsy. He was played by David Woodley.
Backstory[]
Joel grew up in Summer Bay and was Travis Nash's older brother. He abruptly moved away from the area in 1981 without giving any indication of why. He later revealed to Travis that their father sexually harassed Natalie when he was her swimming coach. He and Natalie settled in Hong Kong where he became a policeman.
1998-2000[]
Joel, Natalie and a pregnancy test
Joel returned to Summer Bay in 1998 and after an awkward beginning, revealed to Travis why he'd left Summer Bay all those years before. The brothers agreed to start over. Joel took a job working as a PE teacher at Summer Bay High School. While there, he helped Donald Fisher uncover the identity of his wife Marilyn's blackmailers. It was a short-lived job for Joel because he rejoined the police force. Joel and Natalie unwittingly unleashed problems onto their family when they hired Robert Perez as a maths tutor to help Gypsy. What Joel didn't know was that he'd arrested Robert (real name David D'Angelo) many years previously in Hong Kong. After 15 years in prison, Robert/David was out for revenge. He kidnapped Gypsy and held her hostage for 3 weeks. The situation escalated when Robert kidnapped Joel and tried to burn his house down while Natalie, Tom and Gypsy trapped inside. Everyone was saved and Robert was taken into custody.
With nowhere else to live, the Nashes moved in with Travis and Rebecca at the Caravan Park. They planned to buy another house but to their horror, they learned that Robert had impersonated Joel at the bank and stolen all their savings. In 1999 Travis and Rebecca decided to move to Canada, leaving Joel and Natalie to take over the running of the Caravan Park. They took over the care of Justine Welles and Peta Janossi.
Unexpectedly, Robert escaped and came back to Summer Bay in search of the money he'd stolen. For his troubles, he nearly fell to his death and was rescued by Joel. Not to be deterred, Robert made a bogus assault claim against Joel but was unsuccessful.
Joel uncovered a stolen car scam that Jesse McGregor was involved in. While trying to arrest Jesse and his sidekick Mick, he got involved in a car chase which ended with an accident. Joel arrested Mick but let Jesse escape. Joel and Natalie took in Jesse's young daughter Rachel because there was nobody else to look after her.
When Natalie became pregnant, Colleen Smart started spreading rumours began to circulate that Joel wasn't the father. The Nashes had previously tried to have a baby and had found out that Joel's sperm count was low. The truth eventually came out and it was bad news for Joel. When Natalie was visiting her mother in Queensland, she had had an affair with an old friend, Glen Tanner. Needless to say, this rocked the Nash's marriage to the core and they eventually split up. Natalie returned to Queensland and gave birth to baby Connor.
Joel moved on with his life and began a relationship with Judith Ackroyd who had taken over as headmistress of Summer Bay High. Things went fine for them until they moved in together and started discussing having children. Then, Joel was injured in a mudslide and unexpectedly reconnected with Natalie when he needed help with his recuperation. Joel realised that he still loved Natalie and split up with Judith. He moved to Queensland to live with Natalie and Connor. They remarried a year later.
Memorable info[]
First Line: "Well, this is it."
Although the Nashes were brought in to be the new central family on Home and Away in 1998, they didn't properly take over Summer Bay House and the Caravan Park until 1999.
Family[]
Father Jack Nash
Mother Mrs Nash
Siblings Travis Nash (full), David Andrews, Claire Andrews (half, same father)
Spouse Natalie Collins (c1980-present)
Children Tom Nash (c1981), Gypsy Nash (1982)