Joshua Peacock was born on 8th April 2002 at the Weatherfield General and was the result of a fling between Maxine Peacock and Matt Ramsden. At first it was believed that Maxine's husband Ashley Peacock was Joshua's father, until it was revealed that Maxine had a one-night stand with Matt. Ashley was listed as the father on the birth certificate and decided to bring the child up as his own, despite the question over Joshua's paternity. Maxine was killed by Richard Hillman when Joshua was just nine months old. This prompted Ashley to take a DNA test to determine whether or not he was Joshua's biological father, and the results of the test proved that he was in fact not.