Joe was introduced as the father of Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan), and made his first appearance on-screen during the episode that aired in the UK on 26 May 2008.
Known for his bad luck, Joe died whilst trying to fake his own death in order to claim insurance money.
It was revealed on 5 July 2009 that although the producers offered him a pay rise to keep his character with the show, Dinsdale had quit to avoid being a typecast actor.
Tina and David are not pleased when they learn that their parents are dating, when they walk into No.8 and catch Gail and Joe kissing.
Shortly afterwards, David steals money from the Windass family, who refused to pay for a kitchen Joe had fitted.
In revenge, Gary Windass (Mikey North) and his uncle Len (Conor Ryan) steal Joe's tools so Tina, David and Graeme Proctor (Craig Gazey) rip out the Windass' kitchen and set it on fire but their plan backfires as Gary and Len tear out Gail's kitchen.
Joe goes to great expense to build her a new one and also buys Gail a golden watch, despite being in a lot of debt from the failure of his business.
In January 2009, he gets a job with local builder Bill Webster (Peter Armitage) but asks him to say that he is fitting kitchens for him.
On the run up to Gary's trial, Joe receives a phone call from someone needing nineteen new kitchens for a building development.
Joe takes out a loan to pay for the supplies for the job and whilst shaking hands with Len over the contract agreement, David walks in and angrily asks what's going on.
Following his back injury, it becomes increasingly clear that Joe is becoming dependent on prescription drugs, even going as far as to vandalise the kitchen when he cannot find the medication.
Later, when his concerned doctor refuses to give him another prescription, a desperate Joe asks Graeme if he could obtain some painkillers for him until his back is better.
Graeme agrees to speak to his contact, and gets Joe the painkillers, as promised, but tells him it is a one-off favour.
David helps Joe as a supposed apology for his behaviour but whilst they're burning some unneeded supplies, David finds Graeme's supply of pills in the van and, after secretly emptying the pills and putting them in his pocket, throws the packet in the fire.
Thinking he has no other option, Joe steals keys from Gail's bag to get into the medical centre in order to obtain painkillers but sets the alarm off and is arrested on suspicion of burglary.
After taking Gail to work, Joe arrives home and is greeted by a man called Rick Neelan (Greg Wood).
Panicking, he is forced to confess to Gail about his problem, though he lies that he owes money to a bank instead of a loan shark.
When Audrey can't get through to her, she later contacts her other son Nick (Ben Price) to talk some sense into Gail.
Reluctantly, Joe asks to borrows £4,000 from Gail's father Ted Page (Michael Byrne), lying that it's a deposit for a flat.
Upon their return, Joe is anxious for a sale of the house so that he can pay back Rick and when David sabotages viewings as he can't afford somewhere else to live; he contacts a company about a quick-sale.
Gail unexpectedly arrives home whilst Joe is showing the quick-sale company around and angrily asks them to leave.
She then confronts Joe and reveals that she has decided to take the house off the market and find another way to solve the debt, as she feels sorry for David.
Joe eventually begs for forgiveness and confesses that the person he owes money to is a loan shark, and that he has threatened his family.
Jason is furious that Joe has fled to save his own skin and left his daughter in danger, whilst Tina is worried about her father.
Eventually, he makes it but cannot survive the freezing cold water, his hands slip off the side of the boat and he drowns.
In August 2009, praise was given to Coronation Street producers by doctors for the soap's painkiller storyline when Joe became addicted.
Experts at The Priory Group, which operates drug and alcohol treatment centres across the country, backed the programme's decision to tackle the issue on screen.