October saw the introduction of Lindy (Nimmy March), the mother of established character Ruby Haswell (Alicya Eyo), and former Coronation Street actor Bill Ward as James Barton.
Harriet Finch (Katherine Dow Blyton) and Gil Keane (David Easter) debuted in November, while Pete, played by Hollyoaks star Anthony Quinlan, and Finn Barton (Joe Gill) arrived in December.
Beattie Dixon, portrayed by Eileen O'Brien[1] is the grandmother of Alex Moss (Kurtis Stacey), who first appears on 3 January 2013 unbeknownst that he was murdered by Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) on Christmas Day 2012.
It transpires that Joanie is living on a very rough council estate, after her long deceased husband never paid the taxes before he died, leading to her losing her house and Social Services trying to take Kyle away from her, however they were unsuccessful.
She moves in with Cain's father and stepmother, Zak (Steve Halliwell) and Lisa (Jane Cox), after being harshly turned away by a volatile Val and Eric.
In August 2015, Joanie is injured in a helicopter crash during Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) and Pete Barton's (Anthony Quinlan) wedding reception.
She is pulled from the rubble by Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) and Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller), and is hysterical when she realises that Kyle is still trapped in the wreckage.
Detective Sergeant Shields, played by Jayne Ashbourne[8] was one of the police officers who investigated the discovery of Alex Moss (Kurtis Stacey)'s body on the Home Farm estate.
She appeared on a recurring basis between August and October 2013 after Katie Macey (Sammy Winward) anonymously reported that a body had been discovered on the site of a new glamping site that belonged to her husband Declan Macey (Jason Merrells), which he had paid the workers including Neil Gutterson (Cameron Stuart) and Thomas Hillam (Peter Toon) to cover up.
When the police searched their home Butler's Farm, Moira's boyfriend Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) distracted them so Adam could make an escape.
Detective Constable Andrew Flanagan, played by Tom Roberts,[8] was one of the police officers who investigated the discovery of Alex Moss (Kurtis Stacey)'s body on the Home Farm estate.
When the police searched their home Butler's Farm, Moira's boyfriend Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) distracted them so Adam could make an escape.
This led to him returning to the village and holding many villagers including Debbie and Chas along with Debbie's grandfather Zak Dingle (Steve Halliwell), her son Jack Sugden, her cousin Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), as well as Alicia Gallagher (Natalie Anderson), Ruby Haswell (Alicya Eyo), Dan Spencer (Liam Fox), Diane Sugden (Elizabeth Estensen), Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles), Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler), David Metcalfe (Matthew Wolfenden) and Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade) in a storyline known as The Woolpack Siege.
In 2014, Flanagan was contacted by Debbie after learning about Claire's Law, being a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme and asked if he could do a background check on new boyfriend, Pete Barton (Anthony Quinlan) to make sure he wasn't like Cameron.
Debbie's daughter Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) told Flanagan that her mother paid Simon McManus to attack Ross.
Ruby initially agrees to Lindy's offer, but changes her mind after talking with Ali's son Sean Spencer (Luke Roskell).
"[11] Series producer Kate Oates commented that she was "delighted" to welcome Ward to the show and added that the arrival of his character would mark a new era for the popular Barton family.
After Moira splits up from her husband Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) following the death of her daughter Holly Barton (Sophie Powles), she and James have sex, despite him now being engaged to Emma.
This causes a huge pile up, involving fellow villagers Aaron, Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson), Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) and Pierce Harris (Jonathan Wrather).
However, James succumbs to his injuries, and dies from major trauma in a similar fashion to that of his late brother, John, with his family watching devastated from afar.
In October 2017, James returns as an apparition appearing to Emma after she accidentally shoots and kills Finn, and steals Moira's newborn baby.
"[15] Harriet is a relative of established character Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox) and will become a rival for Ashley Thomas (John Middleton), who wants to be the vicar of St Mary's church again.
After growing closer to Moira, who was married to his uncle John Barton and had a son with his father James, Pete makes a rejected pass at her.
He gave Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) a letter from Gordon Livesy (Gary Mavers) to his son Aaron (Danny Miller).
[22] Finn made a previously unannounced departure from the serial on 5 October 2017, where the character was killed off after being accidentally shot by his own mother Emma Barton (Gillian Kearney).
At first, things are awkward but a bond soon forms between Emma and Finn, and he desperately tries to convince the rest of his family to accept her back into the fold.
In a video she recorded during her bout with pneumonia, Val calls Finn her favourite and jokes that she wants him to tattoo her name over his heart with her ashes mixed in the ink.
However, Finn, undertaking dares such as wearing a dress, waxing his thighs, and drinking a blended English breakfast, appears to show no mercy to these challenges, making Jimmy nervous.
Finn discovers the truth about James' death after finding Emma unconscious in the river following a fight with Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham).
Emma, who is on the run with Moira's newborn baby, hears of Finn's death on the radio, and after battling with her guilt, commits suicide by throwing herself from a viaduct.