Johnno began working as a lorry driver with Les Hunter. Generally a friendly, good-natured personality and a devoted family man, Johnno's early storylines see him confront Ellie Hunter about her false testimony that her brother and his daughter Debbie Dean's boyfriend Dan Hunter committed a series of attacks, when the attacker was actually Ellie's husband Toby Mills. Johnno also caught his other daughter Steph Dean physical attacking Dan and Ellie's sister Lisa Hunter and had to pull Steph off her victim, before publicly reprimanding her for her behaviour.