Joy Fishwick Joy Elizabeth Fishwick was the pensioner mother of John Stape ’ s old teaching colleague , Colin Fishwick . When Colin had gone to Canada , John stole his identity for the purposes of getting back into the teaching profession as he was barred due to his criminal record . Unfortunately , Colin returned to Weatherfield and found out what John had been up to . In a furious row with John , he collapsed and died , leaving John to bury his body under building works at the Underworld factory . Several months passed and Joy turned up at 5 Coronation Street . Desperate to hear from her son , she had traced him to his last known teaching post in Rochdale ( in reality , the job John had fulfilled ) and the address he gave of Coronation Street . Fiz Stape , who knew of the role impersonation but not Colin ’ s death , listened as Joy told them of her own ill - health and her wish that she see Colin again before she died . Fiz truthfully told Joy that as far as they knew Colin was last known to be working in a bookshop in Manchester . She traced him there and found out that before he had disappeared he had been beaten up by Ben Fielding , the husband of a woman he had had an affair with . Distraught , she came back to the Street , worrying John and Fiz again . To try and get rid of her , John told her several days later he had heard from Colin who had gone back to Canada but that he didn ’ t want to see his mother again . Joy was upset at this news but pleased at least that he was alive and well . When Fiz and John were visiting premature daughter Hope at Weatherfield General , they crossed paths with Joy once again , who announced that she hadn ' t got long to live , only a few weeks . She then asked John for Colin ' s number , but John stated that he had deleted it as Colin " changed " the phone number , which upset Joy . She then gave John her number , and said to call her if Colin was to get back in touch . John was feeling guilt over Colin ’ s death and went to visit the old lady to keep her company and ended up doing odd jobs for her . As they got to know each other , John felt worse and worse for the old lady ’ s grief that she would never see her son again and offered her a lifeline of hope by giving her Colin ’ s supposed mobile phone number for her to leave messages on . In reality , this was his own number . This proved to be John ’ s undoing as she tried Colin ’ s number when John was back at her house carrying out Good Samaritan chores and heard John ’ s own phone ringing . He tried to cover himself again with stories that Colin was returning that day but eventually he decided to come clean and told Joy the unvarnished truth . This brought on her angina and when nosy next - door neighbour Clifford called round , John held his hand over her mouth to stop her crying out in a panic . This action caused the old lady ’ s death . John fled the house but returned later on when he realised that ready meals and soup for two he had bought for the old lady had been left behind . He went back at night but was interrupted by the ever - vigilant Clifford as he looked through the darkened windows . John span another of his tales that he was delivering a package but Clifford wasn ’ t happy to leave the situation alone and breaking down the front door with a recently - learned karate kick , he and John entered the house . While Clifford rang the emergency services , John managed to literally clean the evidence of the second meal and leave the house to continue his “ delivery jobs ” . " Dying in the previous episode , the character was credited on 13th January 2011 as her body was seen . " List of appearances . 2010 2011