Joanie Dingle

Joanie Wright is the adoptive grandmother of Amy Wyatt and Cain Dingle's son Kyle Winchester.

2013: Karen's death and getting to know Amy
Joanie's daughter Karen Winchester and her husband Tom adopt Kyle but they sadley died in August 2013 leaving Joanie to raise Kyle herself. Amy attends Karen and Tom's funeral and at the wake she sees Joanie and Kyle and befriends her claiming to be an old friend of Karen. Amy begins babysitting Kyle regularly but it stops when Amy's foster father Eric Pollard visits Joanie and lets slip that Amy is Kyle's biological mother. Joanie bars Amy from seeing Kyle. In November Amy sets off the fire alarm of a community centre where Joanie and Kyle attend a mother and toddler group and takes Kyle in the confusion. She intends to board a ferry to Ireland but Cain stops Amy at the docks and takes Kyle back to Joanie.

2015: Moving to the village
By June 2015, Joanie is living in a bedsit with Kyle after she lost her house and all her money due to her late husband not paying his tax. She contacts Cain to ask him for a loan so she can put down a deposit on a flat that she and Kyle would be safe in. He gives her the money, on the condition that he does not see her or Kyle again. The following day Joanie come's to the village after being mugged. She asks Eric and his wife Val to take her and Kyle in, but Val says Kyle is welcome, but she is not. Cain spots her at the bus stop and refuses to give her more money but Cain's father Zak Dingle and step-mother Lisa, agree to allow Joanie and Kyle stay at Wishing Well Cottage until she gets herself on her feet. Joanie begins to tutor Belle Dingle. Whilst walking in the village, Amy's mother Kerry Wyatt is surprised to see her grandson but Joanie bans her from seeing him, as she nearly lost Kyle because of Kerry and Amy. She changes her mind and allows Kerry to see Kyle supervised and agrees to let her see Kyle again. Whilst Kerry is looking after Kyle he wanders off and Joanie finds him by the river. Kerry makes excuses but Joanie see through them and Kerry goes to get drunk. Kerry's partner Dan Spencer tries to persuade Joanie to allow Kerry to see Kyle. Belle invited Joanie and Kyle to Cain's daughter Debbie's wedding to Pete Barton and asked Cain's wife Moira to persuade Cain to let Joanie and Kyle come. Cain did not want Kyle or Joanie there but his sister Chas allowed them to attend. Whilst at the reception a helicopter came crashing down on the village hall. Joanie was pulled to safety but nobody could find Kyle. April Windsor mentioned that she saw Kyle hiding under the kitchen sink before the crash. Cain went back into the building and managed to coax Kyle out. Cain and Kyle were still in the building when it blew up, leaving Joanie fearing the worse, but Cain manages to escape with Kyle in his arms.

In late September, Joanie falls off a wall whilst trying to get a mobile signal, Zak finds her and she goes to hospital, where she is informed that she has broken her leg. The doctor insists that she must take it easy so the Dingle's draw up a rota to help with looking after Kyle. Whilst Cain's wife Moira is with Kyle in the village, he spots Joanie and runs across the road to see her, unaware that a speeding car is coming round the corner. The driver breaks in time and Kyle is unharmed, but Joanie gives Kyle a smack. Cain is furious that Joanie slapped Kyle, as he himself was reguarlly beaten by Shadrach growing up. Cain threatens Joanie that she will have him to deal with if she ever hits Kyle again, but he still insists that he wants not hing to do with Kyle. The following day, Kerry lets it slip to Kyle that Cain is his dad.

Trivia

 * Joanie's first boyfriend was a cross dresser.