Joy Aston



Joy Aston works as a midwife in Bristol, Avon.

Characterization
She teaches ante-natal to parents-to-be, but covers all-too-often the painful and violent sides of giving birth. Her secret is that she treats a practice baby doll as if it is her real child, whom she calls Freddy ("Freddy Fruitcake" is credited as playing himself in the series).

Her husband George Aston is forced into caring for Freddy as if he were real. Joy is seen stealing blood from the hospital blood bank and putting it in a baby bottle for Freddie in episode two. In the third episode George refuses to continue with the charade of pretending that Freddy is a real child, but Freddy appears to have thrown his dish of baby food onto the floor and Joy is delighted that her actions with the blood seem to be bringing him to life. She is useually polite and friendly, but calling Freddy a doll or handling him in a rough manner will send joy into a bezerker rage. When stealing blood for her infant, joy replaces it with fruit juice, suggesting that she has little concern for others.

Series 1
In episode five Freddy seemingly comes to life, beginning a series of violent physical attacks on Joy, culminating in the killing of George. This results in Joy collapsing. However, not only is George not dead, but Freddy is under the control of her work colleague Nicola, with whom George is having an affair. As they believe Joy has died, they dismantle Freddy and leave. However, after they leave, Joy awakens.

She recovers Freddy and rushes him to hospital, but because he's not a real baby, the doctors refuse to treat him. As a result she kidnaps Nicola and drives her to Ravenhill, where Joy attempts to perform an operation to exsanguinate Nicola and transfer her blood to Freddy. As Nicola lies dying on the operating table, Joy reveals that she was driven insane after the death of her real life son Paul, and Freddie was given to her at Ravenhill as part of her therapy. She then hears Michael Fry enter the building.

As others begin to arrive, Joy wanders away from Nicola; unable to attend to the blood drain, it slows and she becomes nearly but not completely dead. Jennifer, Oscar Lomax's new helper, discovers Nicola and tries to escort her out of the building. Joy believes that somehow the blood transfusion has turned Freddy into Jennifer, and begins addressing her as if she were a baby boy. Joy and Nicola are present when the building explodes.

Series 2
At the start of the second series, Joy is wearing a neck brace and is seen to be looking after Jennifer (still referring to her as Freddy), who is now completely disabled and unable to move. George moves out and reveals that Nicola did indeed die from her loss of blood, since the batch they were going to use as an emergency transfusion was contaminated with Vimto that Joy had used.

She is later interviewed by Detective Finney who is extremely interested in Kenchington's locket. She tells him she does not know its whereabouts, but Finney notices Jennifer's left hand move, surmising that she might know something. Upon giving her a pencil and failing to get information out of her, he suddenly stabs Joy in the neck with the pencil and places it in Jennifer's left hand, making it seem like she murdered her and leaves Joy to bleed to death alongside the incapacitated girl.