Joe Ferabbee is a character appearing in the episode Send in the Clowns of the ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders.
Joe was the son of William Farabbee, a World War II soldier & farmer with his wife Mrs. Farabbee, and the brother of Curtis Ferabbee. Growing up as kids, they did not have a very good childhood as their father was very "commanding" and he often beat their mother. One night, when Billy goes "too far," Joe runs away from home and is followed by Curtis to a circus in the middle of nowhere where he is mesmerized by the magical acts being performed in front of him. When the ringmaster steps into the alleyway of the bleachers, Joe hides behind the bench and picks up the hat that the ringmaster put down, adorning it on top of his head; setting up his aspirations for the future as Joe blocked out the negative parts of his childhood to join the circus and eventually set up his own enterprise, Ferabbees Circus, which was a huge success in the town of Swynton Magna for years (they may have also went on worldwide tours as in one scene, Joe reminisces of a show they held in Germany). Though behind it all, there was several behind-the-scenes drama in both the circus and his life. For starters, he left his brother behind to fend for himself in their abusive household and when his father died, Curtis inherited the farm. Though because of their father not finishing his last will & testament, the full land was never given to Curtis and was split to Joe who used it for his circus. This lead to a legal battle between the two that carried on for many years with both sides often reaching a stalemate. While audiences may have been enchanted by his personality onstage, backstage was a whole other story as his workers and son were often subject to his true colours. He was often rude, defiant, often prone to stress whenever the situation got dire, and was very egotistical as he insisted was everything was about his vision. For example, during the "magic box" trick, no matter what crowd, he always rigged the volunteering to be in his favour. Whenever his circus became the subject of controversy, he did everything he could to save face for public relations and falsify evidence; like what happened after the death of his performer Elsa Bellini as he made her sister retire and work as the box-office lady for then on out. Whatever friends he did have, whether it be sponsor Ashley Denton, Mostyn Cartwright, who was his biggest customer; or even his own son, turned out to be conspiring with Curtis to get rid of the circus. Though all negativity aside, Joe Ferabbee was a magnificent showman and knew how to provide entertainment with his only flaws being his massive ego and inability to learn from his past mistakes.
The first time we are properly introduced to Joe (the identity of the kid running to the circus is kept secret until Act 6) is when he's giving a media interview to local press of the Ferabbees Circus act that returned to Swynton. Before the first show begins, he goes to his brother's farm where he pleads with him to keep the show going, though Curtis tells him to put a stop to this thing once and for all. While Joe observes the clown show from behind the curtains, his son, Harry, drops in to deliver him a letter regarding the residency's declining lease and that he should listen to some ideas he has planned. Though Joe ignores him as he steps out to introduce the next act. At midnight, Joe walks in on a heated argument between Daniella and her husband Terry Bellini, the latter of whom wants to leave Ferabee's because his boss is not him paying him well and warns Joe that tomorrow will be his "last performance" before transferring to Geronimo's; which Joe can only object to that they would have to change the advertising due to him being one of the "top-billing" stars.
On the day of the second performance, Ashley stops by the circus to meet with Joe inquiring a charity foundation they're making called Denton Trust and decides to stick around for the show; along with John Barnaby who came to see it with his family and suffers from coulrophobia. After Raoul Delgado finishes his magic trick, Joe introduces the "Groucho & Oucho act which plays out the same as usual until the very end when Oucho's gun, much more realistic than the previous prop, seemingly kills Terry as he falls dead upon impact; much to the horror of Farabbee. As his body is taken away and Les is arrested on suspicion of killing him, Jamie Winter informs Joe that the circus will be temporarily closed until further notice while Barnaby asks him what drove Oucho to do it. Joe explains that he was told of Terry's attempted departure and that it made him lose his mind, along with Les' designated duty as the propsman.
While Joe frets about the circus' sudden hiatus and that everyone is conspiring against him, Harry chimes in to pitch a new idea he has for a "Gothic extravaganza" attraction in an effort to keep his father's business fresh. Not one to give up what he created, Joe protests that the circus is about letting people escape from the "grim realities of life" and insists its about his vision; which is exactly what's hurting his brand as his son points out. When the circus is allowed to have one show amidst the investigation, Ferabbee brings over Denton to discuss their sponsorship as he presumably promised a "sold-out" crowd; contrary to what Ashley saw as very small. He defends that its mainly due to the paranoia surrounding the murder and that they need to build up confidence in more attendance. Denton considers pulling out at that moment as the circus is already doing enough PR damage to his business, though Ferabbee persuades him to participate in the first act for the local press to see; with the promise that it will make it to front pages ("Any publicity is good publicity."). Denton agrees to do it, though he warns the ringmaster that after tonight, from here on out, he's all on his own. The show officially begins with Ferabbee thanking those that came to tonight's show and a quick shout-out to Ashley & their charity foundation. Starting with the "magic box" trick, Joe "asks" for volunteers in the audience and upon getting no answer, he seemingly steps forward to do it like he always does until all of a sudden, Ashley chimes in that he will participate. Upon being locked inside, the act goes fine and swell until Raoul places the fourth and final sword that somehow, slices through Denton's abdominal aorta. Joe rushes to his friend's side, though he immediately passes away. While definitely a calculated death, Ashley's death was accidental as the sharpened blade was intended for Joe by Daniella because of the role he played in covering up Elsa's death.
While investigating the crime next day, Harry tips off the cops that it was Joe's idea of making Ashley do the trick he normally rigged because of publicity and leads them to his father, who denies to killing his best friend; despite Winter brining up Denton's sudden urge to abandon his sponsorship, and that he just wanted to give him a chance in the spotlight. When asked if he wanted to wish harm on any of his enemies, Joe states that if his brother truly wanted to kill him, he would've done it years ago. Meanwhile at the station, Winter discredits an early motif on Joe being the "alleged arsonist" as part of an insurance scheme; due to the current police lapsing, though they do find information on his father's unfinished last will and Denton's plans to betray him. They also earlier entertained the idea of him arch-manipulating both of Terry and Ashley's death as part of revenge. Back at the circus, Ferabbee witnesses Sophia Bellini practicing some gymnastics on an aerial hoop and upon coming down, showers her with applauses and compares her style to what Elsa used to do. He tries pushing to the next level by making her attempt the "Silken Noose," which she objects to at first, but practices long enough for her shocked mother to see. Joe defends that she is ready and that the act is "proven safe," though Daniella predicts that "it" will happen again while he angrily reminds them who their boss is. He then finds Harry and asks him where he's been, along with chewing him out for snitching him to the cops. He responds that he is done listening to him, leading Joe to respond that he wants to destroy everything he's ever built. Enraged, Harry snaps back that he did it all to himself, despite wanting to help, and that he is moving on with his idea that his uncle will happily fund; much to Joe's shock. Harry leaves just in time for Winter and Barnaby to discuss the motif of wanting to kill Ashley over the land dispute. While confirming his awareness of Curtis' crusade, he had no idea that the Parish Council was on his side and that his friend would betray him like that. Joe projects that he is the real victim of a hate campaign against him that the DCI should investigate when Harry walks in to give him a letter, written by Mostyn in pig's blood that reads "GO NOW OR UR NEXT".
After the accidental murder of Curtis Ferabbee, his solicitor reverses the land deal in Joe's favour; meaning he gets to keep the circus. Though this is merely a pyrrhic victory for him as upon getting that ransom note, Joe valued Harry's safety more than anything else and considered letting his brother have the land after all. Upon hearing of his death, Joe drops by the farmhouse to pay respect to Freya with some flowers he brought. Though since she's not in the house, he instead goes down to the basement that's full of clown memorabilia and plays a miniature musical carousel; which attracts the attention of Winter and Barnaby while discovering the then-missing murder rifle. Following the tune downstairs, they find a solemn Ferabbee sitting down as he faces a dressing-room mirror. When they bring up the possibility of him profiting off his brother's death, he explains his sudden change of heart, their tragic backstory, and that Curtis secretly loved the circus as much as Joe did while weeping that he'll never be able to apologize for all the hurt he caused him. When Daniella is caught as being the killer and runs up to the aerial platform, this attracts the attention of Joe where she hears him confess to Terry's death and is shocked to learn that the sword that fell upon Ashley was intended for Ferabbee. When Barnaby calls him out for falsifying the records to protect his staff, Joe defends that he did it to save his circus from going under. He gets especially angry and sad at Daniella when confessing to the accidental death of Curtis as, despite all the times argued, it denied him the chance of ever making amends. When Daniella gives herself up and climbs down upon performing the "Silken Noose," she tries one last ditch effort to maim/hurt/kill Joe who fights her off before the both of them are hauled away by police. The disgraced Joe exchanges one last look at his son before he is hauled away from the circus he fought so hard to keep running.