Joe Donnelli

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Evil-doer
Full Name	Joe Donnelli
Alias	Mr. Donnelli
Origin	Coronation Street
Occupation	Soldier
Powers / Skills	Deception Charisma Intimidation Exceptional intelligence
Hobby	Expressing his violent tendencies.
Goals	Cover-up his true colors in Weatherfield (failed).
Crimes	Assault Murder Perverting the course of justice Kidnapping Unlawful imprisonment Abuse of power Coercion
Type of Villain	Egotistical Murderer

Joe Donnelli is a fictional character and supporting antagonist in the British soap opera Coronation Street. He appeared as a major antagonist from August 1967 to December 1970.

He was portrayed by the late Shane Rimmer.

Personality

Joe is an incredibly volatile and cruel man who cared little for how his actions hurt other and treated everyone awfully, and he had no qualms about physically abusing anyone. Despite this, he did seem to have some self-loathing, as he told Stan he never should have been born.

Biography

Backstory

Joe's dad died when he was young, and his mother married another man afterwards. Joe was resentful of his step-dad, as he felt lonely and all his mam's attention went to him.

Coronation Street

Joe became an army GI and murdered Steve Tanner as he owed money to Steve. There was no evidence to incriminate Joe, and most thought Len Fairclough was the culprit, though some suspected Elsie Tanner. Joe had a history of violence, as he once put a German woman in hospital. When his girlfriend Jean Mosely, who he had previously beaten up, showed up, Joe showed no remorse over how he treated her.

Jean was paid by Joe's friend Greg Flint to keep silent. Joe later lodged with Minnie Caldwell, who he got on with. He dated Irma Ogden and began abusing her. While drunk, he confessed his murder of Steve, but frightened Irma into silence.

Greg realized Joe likely killed Steve, as their friend Gary had given him a false alibi. Joe concocted an escape plan and took Minnie hostage until Stan Ogden traded places with her. Joe psychotically forced Stan to perform Silent Night at gunpoint before turning the gun on himself.

Trivia

• He made a total of 19 appearances throughout his duration on the show.
• Whilst not a regular part of the cast, Joe is possibly the earliest example of a major villain on the show. Villains around that time tended to be one-off or not that threatening in the long-term, whereas Joe was the cause of Steve Tanner's death which wouldn't be resolved in a couple of years, and Joe played a major role near the end of his 1970 appearance. He also had a major exit storyline (involving his suicide after a standoff), something which would be quite recurring to other villains that would follow Joe in the succeeding decades.
• Joe's actor Shane Rimmer would return for another guest appearance as a different character Malcolm Reid in 1988. Malcolm's adoptive son Stephen Reid would later make guest appearances on the show between 1996 to 2007, before then becoming a main antagonist on the show in 2022.