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Joan Norton was Martin's aunt and the sister of Christopher Ellingham, Martin's father. She and Christopher inherited Haven farm, which was left to the both of them by their uncle Dick, and Christopher gave it to Joan and her husband as a wedding present. She and Phil also played host to Martin during his childhood holidays but that ended when Christopher discovered she was having an affair with John Slater, and she and Martin were separated. At some point, her husband died of Motor Neurone disease, and left Joan a widow for 25 years. In 2004, when Martin moved to Portwenn to become a GP, she reunited with him. She provided Martin with emotional support and loved him like a mother.

Joan continued to be very close to Martin but even she became exasperated by his extreme bluntness and apparent thoughtlessness (“I sometimes wonder if you have a sensitive bone in your body, Martin”). She lived at Haven Farm, which is organically certified, that she inherited from her Uncle Dick. The farm was left to both Joan and Christopher but Martin bought out his father by selling his flat in Kensington, London to pay for the debt that Joan owned. It was revealed she died of a heart attack in Preserve the Romance, and she never got to meet her great nephew James, at the end of Series 4, after hearing the whole situation over the phone via Pauline. She was later replaced by another character (Ruth Ellingham)

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