Still was attending the Scottish Youth Theatre when Lime Pictures presented the establishment with a casting opportunity for Hollyoaks.

Joel was originally introduced as a "mysterious newcomer" who is hiding a secret, with it being revealed that he is the long-lost son of established character Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas).

Lomas had already announced his intention to leave the series and Joel played a role in Warren's departure storyline.

Joel was later given further connections to characters within the show, such as Brendan Brady (Emmett J. Scanlan), who gives him a "criminal education", and Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter), who he begins a relationship with.

Upon the character returning to the show in 2016, his storylines haveincluded reuniting with his father, training to become a priest, being targeted by Sienna Blake (Anna Passey) as part of her revenge for her daughter's presumed death, being revealed as responsible for his aunt Katy Fox's (Hannah Tointon) death from a drug overdose and his relationship and later abandoned engagement to Cleo McQueen (Nadine Mulkerrin).

Anthony D. Langford from AfterElton opined that Joel was a "scrawny teenage boy" and that his storyline with Brendan was "quite laughable".

But a columnist from TV Choice said that Joel's stabbing was a "shockingly violent turn", and Laura Morgan from All About Soap branded the scenes "gruesome and dramatic".

[7] He said that his ideal scene to represent Joel in the opening titles would be him "ironing his leather jacket, the inside of it, making it all nice for his day".

[1] On 15 November 2011, Digital Spy's Kilkelly reported that Maddie would attempt to use Joel by flirting to make Callum Kane (Laurie Duncan) jealous.

[8] It was later announced that Joel's reason for coming to the village is Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas), who he believes to be his father.

[10] Sill stated that Joel is a great character because he is characterised as a "mysterious bad boy" who arrives "not really having any direction and is looking for his father".

[11] In December 2011, series producer Emma Smithwick said that she thought Joel was "great and so dynamic" and that she was enjoying his on-screen presence.

Scanlan told a reporter from What's on TV that his character uses Joel "as a pawn" by "befriending the kid and winning his trust".

Still told Kilkelly that when Joel first arrived "he wasn't getting any answers at all", so he chose to befriend Brendan in attempt to discover more about Warren.

He is brought to the realisation that Warren and Mitzeee's situation "mirrors his family life back home" and Joel finds it "hard" to deal with.

[17] In April 2012, a writer from Inside Soap reported that "bad boy" Joel would force Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke) to grow cannabis plants.

Still told a writer from What's on TV that Joel is desperate to impress Brendan because he is "young and naive and he's grown up without a male role model".

[23] In June 2012, Scanlan announced that Joel would feature in the fifth series of Hollyoaks Later alongside the characters of Brendan, Walker and Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh).

[25] In scenes from episode 6250, originally broadcast on 22 November 2023, it was revealed that Joel and Leela Lomax (Kirsty-Leigh Porter) had conceived.

Joel reveals that he spent time in a young offender's prison after he assaulted his violent stepfather who would abuse his mother.

Police officer Ryan Knight (Duncan James) questions Joel (now played by Rory Douglas Speed) about Warren's role in the murder investigation of Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield).

Using a false name, Sienna tells him that she wants revenge on an abusive boyfriend who was responsible for her daughter's death, visiting the church regularly and growing closer to Joel.

Sienna apologizes and tries to help Joel when his former friend from prison, Shane Sweeney (Lanre Malaolu) starts blackmailing him.

It is revealed that Shane has a video of Joel, alongside Bart, giving his aunt Katy Fox (Hannah Tointon) drugs which resulted in an overdose that killed her.

Joel starts working with Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) to get rid of Shane for good.

Joel becomes concerned when Sienna tries to set him up with Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) and she tells them that she wants them to be parents to Sebastian when she is gone.

"[36] While a columnist from TV Choice revisited their sentiments that Joel was "out of his depth" - but this time with Walker and added that his stabbing was a "shockingly violent turn".

[38][39] The writer gave praise to Hollyoaks for making the "gruesome scenes so dramatic" because it left her feeling as though she was viewing "a proper gangster movie".

[39] Anthony D. Langford from AfterElton said that the show was not being credible expecting viewers to believe that "this scrawny teenage boy" is a "worthy opponent for Brendan".

I guess they had planned to make him a nemesis for Brendan, but the actor simply didn't have what it took to go up against someone with the caliber of Emmett Scanlan.