Traveller TV star Douglas Joyce jailed for horrific attack on "vulnerable 78-year-old" in Manchester pub

A star of a TV documentary about a notorious traveller family - who repeatedly punched a 78-year-old man in a pub row - has been jailed. Douglas Joyce, a cousin of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty, was caught on CCTV landing a number of sickening blows on the pensioner as shocked drinkers looked on.

The court was shown harrowing footage of the 35-year-old attacking his victim after he'd followed him into a back room of a pub. The bareknuckle fighter, and founder and president of 3D Fight Club, was wearing a large gold ring when he punched the man, adding to the injuries inflicted.

He began shouting and pointing, before punching his victim in the face three times and knocking him off his seat into the seats next to him, causing him to bleed, before standing over the victim in a threatening manner and encouraged his father, John Joyce, to hit him too.

After the victim had got to his feet, the footage shows Joyce launching one extremely hard left punch to the his face, causing him to fall backwards over the table and chairs behind him. Still shouting and pointing, Joyce launched one final punch to the victim’s face, while he was helpless on the ground.

Having previously pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, Joyce was jailed for 19 months at Manchester Crown Court. Greater Manchester Police said the victim was seriously injured in the attack, in a pub in Manchester city centre, at around 10pm on October 23 last year. CCTV evidence pointed to Douglas Joyce being primarily responsible for the man’s injuries and he was arrested and charged with assault.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Natalie Hollows, said: "Joyce is an aggressive and violent man who intended to intimidate and inflict pain on a vulnerable 78-year-old man by carrying out this horrendous assault. Joyce was wearing a large gold pyramid-style ring when he punched the man in the face, causing him significant injury due to the size and shape accelerated by force and the series of punches he endured. I’m glad Joyce will now face time behind bars as punishment for his actions and hope he takes this time to reflect on the impact of his actions."

Joyce's father John Joyce, 63, was also handed an 18-month community order for assault causing occasioning actual bodily harm for his involvement in the attack.

The Joyce family is one of the most high profile of the traveller community in the UK. Joyce junior was reported to have turned down a role with his cousin in Channel 4's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding to become 'the next Tyson Fury'. But they feature in The Joyce Family Documentary on Amazon which 'explores the world of the travelling community'.

Joyce tied the knot with wife Holly in an extravagant ceremony at the Gorton Monastery, Manchester, in July 2022. The couple previously told how Holly doesn't go out partying or leave the house at night without Joyce accompanying her.

Holly said last August: "The biggest difference being a traveller's wife is you must respect your husband - what he says goes. He wouldn't want me out at parties without him, we'd always go together.

"He's the man, so he can go out if he wants, but I'm the woman, so I can really only go out with him. I can go to the salon or out to the shops on my own, but he's very protective and worries about my safety if I'm out alone."