[2] Since leaving the serial, Jamaican-born actress Joan Hooley has publicly accused EastEnders and the BBC of racism and tokenism, for giving her character no significant storylines, and using her as a prop.

Josie arrives in Albert Square in August 1998 to visit her son, Mick McFarlane (Sylvester Williams) whom she believes to be a successful musician.

However, Mick's music career failed and he has ended up selling CD's on a market stall in the Square, as well as running the Bridge Street café's night bistro.

Josie fosters a young girl named Kim (Krystle Williams), whom she claims is a distant relative of Mick's.

When Mick is finally made privy to this information he is extremely shocked and even more surprised to find out that both Josie and Kim plan to stay in Walford instead of returning to Jamaica.

Josie initially gets herself a job as a barmaid at The Queen Victoria public house and she later becomes the receptionist at Fred Fonseca (Jimi Mistry)'s surgery.

She eventually manages to settle down with a lot of coaching from Dr Fonseca, however, yet more problems arise when she discovers that her employer is homosexual.

It takes bigoted remarks by racist Jim Branning (John Bardon) to make Josie realise that she is as prejudiced in her own way as he is, but by then it is too late.

Having forgotten to renew her visa, she is threatened with deportation and is forced to return to Jamaica, leaving Kim in Mick's care.

The character Josie has been described as "well-groomed...confident" and someone who "set high — if not impossible — standards, and inevitably people failed her.

[6] According to a report in the Daily Mirror, actress Joan Hooley was called into Robinson's office "and told her services would no longer be required."

"[6] The character was written out of the serial after she was threatened with deportation for failing to renew her visa, making her last appearance on-screen in February 2000.

Her exit has been described by journalist Danny Buckland as Josie's only decent storyline, but he adds "even this belated plot was unrealistic".

We are not all losers or nobodies so why can't the BBC show that?...I really felt so ineffectual as a character because I had nothing to get my teeth into - there were no great dramatic scenes or relationships.