Ted and Joyce Murray are facing their toughest challenge yet in Walford. With Ted facing five years in prison for accidentally shooting Johnny Carter, the couple make a contingency plan.
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Next week starts off difficult for Joyce as Ted shuts down and doesn’t let his wife know what’s going on in his head. He doesn’t even budge when it becomes obvious how much she’s struggling to cope too.
Patrick Trueman is the one who manages to get Ted to open up – only it doesn’t have quite the desired effect and gives Ted an idea to avoid the charges – and any prison time.
After sharing a painful secret from his past, Ted heads home and makes a surprise announcement to Joyce – he wants them to leave Walford and go to Australia to see their son.
Yes, he suggests they become fugitives.
Joyce is as stunned as we are – at first – but she starts to come round to the idea, knowing that Ted would never cope in prison.
Together, they plot their escape from Albert Square – and even tell Dot Branning to keep Lucky/Dave and give him a good home.
Will anyone be able to stop Ted and Joyce from trying to flee the country – and potentially getting into even more trouble with the law?
Ted shot Johnny when he came to check on his elderly neighbours after the gas explosion in the Square last month.
The noise and all the following chaos sent Ted into some kind of flashback and – believing he had to protect his wife – led to him getting tooled up with his illegal firearm.
When Johnny knocked on their door, it sent Ted over the edge, and he fired at the door, hitting the Carter lad.
Johnny almost lost his life a second time when the ambulance he was travelling in was was hit by a lorry. Luckily Jack Branning was on hand to help save him.
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Joyce initially tried to take the blame for her husband – but their plan came unstuck when forensics led police to believe Ted was the one who fired the gun.
The couple were both arrested – Joyce was charged with perverting the cause of justice, leaving both pensioners facing jail terms.