Pat Butcher

This article is about the EastEnders chararacter. For the Texan mayor, see Pat Evans (mayor).

Pat Evans
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Pam St. Clement Emma Cooke (flashback)
Duration	1986—
First appearance	12 June 1986
Classification	Present; regular
Created by	Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith
Pat as she appeared in EastEnders: Pat and Mo, played by Emma Cooke.
In-universe information Other names Pat Harris (birth name) Pat Beale (married name) Pat Wicks (married name) Pat Butcher (married name) Pat Evans (married name) Fat Pat (British media) Occupation Prostitute (1959–61, 1986) Barmaid (1986–90, 2010) Pub landlady (1988–90) B&B landlady (1990–93) Cleaner (1993–95, 2003) Bookkeeper (1996–2001) Café waitress (2002–04) Bookmaker (2004–07) Retired (since 2007) Businesswoman (2008–10) Mother Lydia Harris Brothers Jimmy Harris Geoff Harris Sisters Joan Harris Husband Pete Beale (1961–66) Brian Wicks (1966–89) Frank Butcher (1989–96) Roy Evans (1996–2003) Sons David Wicks Simon Wicks Grandsons Joe Wicks Steven Beale Granddaughters Bianca Jackson Karen Wicks Aunts Mabel Nephews Billy Harris Nieces Jean Harris

Patricia Louise "Pat" Evans (née Harris; previously Beale, Wicks and Butcher, and occasionally referred to in the British media as Fat Pat) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She has been played by Pam St. Clement since 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired. Pat is also played by Emma Cooke in a soap 'bubble' Pat and Mo: Ashes to Ashes, delving into her past with sister-in-law Mo Harris, which aired in 2004.

Pat is the second longest running character in the soap, coming after Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), who has featured in the soap since it first aired.

Character creation

The character of Pat was conceptualised by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, in 1984. Although not one of the serial's original protagonists, Pat is referred to in the character outline of Pete Beale, who appeared on-screen in EastEnders' first episode, as written by Smith and Holland in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story: "[Pete] married very young to Pat — it turned out to be a total disaster. They were too young, rushing into a difficult life for all the wrong reasons, and truthfully, [Pat] was a vicious shrew...[Pete] divorced [Pat] and married Kathy when he was 24...His two sons by his first marriage are nineteen and twenty and he hardly sees them..."

Pat was first seen on-screen in June 1986, over a year after the show debuted. The character's introduction was the result of a deliberate policy "to add an extra edge of toughness to the show." Prior to this point, Holland and Smith had begun to feel that EastEnders was starting to get "a bit soft". During a meeting with scriptwriters, the programme makers decided to try and recapture some of the soap's "original grittiness that seemed to be getting lost in its own success". Thus the character of Pat was introduced to "add a new hardness to the atmosphere."

File:Pat1986.jpg

Pat as she appeared in 1986.

Pat, played by actress Pam St. Clement, was initially introduced on a three-episode trial basis. She was given an extensive backstory, heavily intertwined with various focal characters within the serial, including all of the Beale and Fowler family who mostly disliked her, particularly her ex-husband Pete Beale (Peter Dean), her son Simon Wicks (Nick Berry), and Pete's mother Lou Beale (Anna Wing). In addition, she was an old friend of Angie Watts (Anita Dobson), a former girlfriend of Angie's husband Den (Leslie Grantham) and, as a supposed former resident of Walford, she was known to most of the other regular characters such as Dot Cotton (June Brown) and Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin).

The character's initial three-episode stint marked the beginning of what has been described as one of the soap's most complicated storylines, the paternity of Simon Wicks. Pat immediately "threw a spanner in the works" by telling Pete that he was not Simon's biological father, as she had previously claimed. After causing havoc Pat then disappeared; however, she was reintroduced later in the year, returning as a regular character, barmaid of The Queen Victoria public house. St. Clement had reservations about returning to the soap. In 1995 she told The Independent, "I couldn't envisage how this character, who creates absolute havoc everywhere she goes and is not at home with herself or with anybody else in the Square, could possibly fit in". However she was persuaded to continue by producer Julia Smith, who said: "'We've only seen one layer of the onion skin—the defensiveness—now we'll start to peel away more and get to the vulnerability that lies behind it'."

Storylines

Backstory

Pat, the youngest of four children, was born in Walford to Lydia Harris. Her elder sister Joan had Down's syndrome, and was sent to a mental institute when Pat was four. Joan married a man named Michael who also had Down's. Ashamed, Lydia disowned Joan and claimed she died at the age of 22, refusing to allow Pat to attend her funeral.

After leaving school, Pat unsuccessfully tried to become a model. Later she entered a beauty contest in Clacton at the age of 16, winning the title of 'Miss Butlins'. There she met Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), who was holidaying with his girlfriend, June. Frank was besotted with Pat, and they slept together. Frank was the first of what would be many lovers in Pat's life, and so began a love affair; however, June became pregnant with Frank's child, so Frank married her, breaking Pat's heart. Pat and Frank would meet up from time to time, and on each occasion the affair would be rekindled, but Frank wouldn't leave June.

Pat began working for the shady club owner, Tony Cattani, who got her involved in prostitution. This shamed her family, particularly her brother Jimmy and their relationship suffered. When Pat discovered that Jimmy's wife and her best friend, Mo Harris (Laila Morse), had slept with Tony, she informed her brother; Mo denied it, and Jimmy subsequently disowned Pat. Whilst working as a prostitute, Pat was offered more money to work for up-and-coming gangster Johnny Allen (Billy Murray). Pat then worked as a well known woman of the underworld for many years.

Pat embarked on numerous relationships. She had flings with Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and Kenny Beale (Michael Attwell) — both restless men, unwilling to settle down with her. Kenny's younger brother Pete (Peter Dean) proved more reliable; he married Pat in the early 1960s, when he thought she was pregnant with his child — a false alarm, which Pete's mother Lou (Anna Wing) believed was Pat's ploy to trap her son. While they were together, Pat had two sons, David (Michael French) and Simon (Nick Berry), who Pete believed to be his. Yet Pat couldn't settle down and embarked on an affair with Brian Wicks (Leslie Schofield). Pete eventually left her and they divorced in 1966. Soon after, Pat married Brian and he took on responsibility of her two sons. Pat stayed with Brian until 1986, when he started abusing her.

1986–94

Pat comes to Walford in June 1986, to tell Pete that he is not Simon's father. Many arguments erupt, but Lou is quick to step in and she convinces a devastated Pete that Simon is his. Later in the year however, when Pat starts work as barmaid in The Queen Vic, it emerges that Lou thinks Simon is the product of an affair Pat had with Kenny. Lou is adamant that Pat should keep this secret and not upset her close-knit family. However, Pete's sister Pauline (Wendy Richard) overhears and tells Pete everything.

File:Pete pat.jpg

Pat and Pete argue, in one of her first appearances.

Pat lives up to her promiscuous reputation and, with encouragement from Mehmet Osman (Haluk Bilginer), ends the year prostituting herself. Animosity between Pat and Pete continues. When Pat is assaulted in February 1987 — left unconscious and close to death in the middle of the Square — Pete is prime suspect in the police investigation. He is later cleared when the real culprit, the Walford attacker, is caught.

The arrival of Kenny Beale in 1988 brings the question of Simon's parentage to the fore once again. Pat informs Simon and the Beale brothers that she doesn't know which of them is the real father, adding further confusion. She also says that Den Watts is a possibility. Pat later rules Den out, but demands that he sleep with her, or she will tell people that he is the father. In July that year, a dying Lou pleads with Pat to finally come clean to Simon. Pat reveals that Brian Wicks, the man that Simon had believed to be his stepfather, is actually his biological father.. Following Lou's death, Pat forms a close friendship with her former foe, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Pete's second wife. Both find they had a common bond, with the dominance of Lou and Pete in their lives.

Frank comes back into Pat's life in 1987. June has died and he and Pat reunite, taking over tenancy of The Queen Vic public house. Pat struggles as stepmother to Frank's children, particularly Janine, who hates Pat. On 22 June 1989, Pat and Frank marry in cockney style, driving out of Albert Square in a horse drawn cart. By the end of the year, the Butchers have moved from The Vic to the B&B across the Square, which Pat runs while Frank opens a used car-lot. Despite family and marital problems, Frank and Pat are happy until 1992, when they begin to struggle financially, forcing them to sell the B&B. Pat tries to turn their fortunes around by starting her own cab firm, PatCabs. However, disaster strikes on Christmas eve that year, when Pat — whilst doing a short run for a regular customer — hits a teenage girl with her car. When breathalysed, she is found to be just over the limit.

File:Pat&Frank000.jpg

Pat and Frank.

On New Year's Eve, Pat is devastated when the girl dies and finds it hard to cope with the guilt, particularly when she is confronted by the girl's grieving mother. When Pat appears in court, she is given a 6 month prison sentence. In the autumn Pat returns, but by then the Butchers are in financial ruin. In desperation, Frank pays Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to torch the car-lot in an insurance scam. When this goes wrong and a homeless boy dies, Frank has a breakdown, and in April 1994, he leaves the Square, abandoning Pat and his children without warning, leaving Pat destitute and heartbroken. Eventually, Frank's daughter Diane (Sophie Lawrence) brings news that Frank is alive and has merely run away, so Pat begins getting on with her life.

1995–2006

Car-dealer Roy Evans (Tony Caunter) is attracted to Pat, but early attempts to woo her get him nothing but refusals. Pat later softens and goes on a cruise with him, although she makes it quite clear that sex is not on offer. Her carnal abstinence turns out to be blessing for Roy, as he later admits he is impotent and can offer nothing more than platonic love. Pat is relieved to discover that, for once, a man wants something from her other than sex. In November 1995, Roy moves in with Pat, but in December Frank returns to reclaim his wife. Pat finds it hard to contain her rage and emotion upon seeing her estranged husband, but despite him stirring up old feelings, she opts to remain with Roy. Roy and Pat marry in 1996. Pat and Roy weather money problems, Roy's ill-health and depression, brought on by his jealousy of Pat and Frank's shared past, which almost makes him commit suicide in 1999. Pat finally convinces Roy that it was him she wants, although she finds it hard to let go of Frank completely. Frank goes on to marry Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor), but he begins to have second thoughts in 2000 after realising that he still loves Pat. Whilst the Butchers and the Evanses are holidaying in Spain, Frank seduces Pat and they sleep together. Pat tries to end the affair upon their return, but when Frank turns up on her doorstep naked (apart from a comedy bow-tie), she realises that she had never stopped loving him either. Their affair continues and they eventually decide to elope to Manchester.

File:PATFRANKPEGGY.jpg

Peggy finds out about Pat and Frank's affair.

They are due to depart on Guy Fawkes Night in November 2000, but Pat starts to have second thoughts. It is too late however, as Peggy has already discovered Frank's dear John letter. Peggy shames the cheating duo by reading the letter to the entire pub, and then slaps both Frank and Pat in full view of everyone. Peggy throws Frank out and he leaves Walford without Pat. Roy evicts Pat, leaving her penniless and homeless. Roy later asks Pat for a divorce, but when she decides to emigrate to New Zealand, he relents and takes her back, despite objections from his son Barry (Shaun Williamson). Grateful that Roy has given her a second chance, Pat is adamant that she will not mess things up a second time. However, in 2003, Roy discovers that Pat had been covering an affair between Barry's wife, Natalie (Lucy Speed), and Frank's son, Ricky (Sid Owen). Roy believes that Pat has again chosen Frank over him, because she decided to help Frank's offspring over his own. The stress leads to Roy's second and fatal heart attack. Roy dies intestate, leaving Pat bereft and homeless, as Barry — beneficiary of Roy's estate — evicts her.

Pat moves into a bedsit. Frank's daughter, Janine, marries Barry and plans to con him out of all of his money and possessions. The day after the wedding, Janine confesses everything to her new husband, and pushes Barry down a cliff to his death. She later brags about it to a disgusted Pat, whilst in control of the Evanses' former house and business. Janine starts to bully Pat's friend Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman), and when Laura accidentally falls down the stairs and dies, Janine is arrested on suspicion of murder. Pat, Janine's only alibi, lies to the police, implicating Janine as revenge for Barry's killing. Pat is given a job at the bookies by gangster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs) in 2004. They develop a rapport with each other, and when Andy is murdered in 2005, Pat is stunned to discover that he has left her his house in his will. Pat is summoned to be a witness for the prosecution at Janine's trial in December 2005, where she once again meets Frank who has returned after almost five years. Once again, Pat sleeps with Frank, but she soon realises that his primary motive is to convince her to alter her testimony at Janine's trial. Pat refuses, but after a subsequent talk with Laura's mother, Edwina Dunn, Pat realises that Janine being wrongly imprisoned for Laura's death would be an injustice, so she changes her testimony and Janine goes free.

In February 2006, Pat, who is missing the company of a man in her life, begins flirting with Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker). Despite being married, Patrick cant resist the opportunity of a casual fling with Pat. However, they are seen together by Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) who informs Patrick's wife Yolande (Angela Wynter), which ends the affair and ignites a feud between Pat and Yolande.

2007—

In August 2007, Pat is contacted by the mental institute where her sister, Joan, who had Down's syndrome, had lived. With the help of a stranger, Len Harker (Christopher Ellison), Pat retrieves Joan's belongings from the institute after security refuses to let her in. Pat discovers that her mother had been lying about the date of Joan's death, but that she had died some years earlier and married. Pat is touched to discover that Joan had often spoken of Pat and how much she loved her.

In March 2008, Pat announces that she is leaving Walford for Spain. However, Pat then receives news that Frank has died of cancer. She is devastated, and despite initial feuding, she and Peggy manage to support each other through Frank's funeral. Pat opts to remain in Walford when her granddaughter Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) turns to her for help soon after, moving her four children in. Having reconciled with one grandchild, Pat severs her bond with another, when she discovers Steven Beale is purposefully hiding the whereabouts of his runaway sister, Lucy. Pat threatens to tell Lucy's father Ian (Adam Woodyatt) the truth and is hit by Roxy Mitchell's (Rita Simons) car whilst trying to apprehend Steven. She spends time in hospital, where Steven attempts to smother her to death before she can tell Ian the truth. His plan fails, and Lucy returns to Ian.

In 2009 Pat proves to be a tower of strength for her family after Bianca's stepdaughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) reveals that Tony King (Chris Coghill), Bianca's fiance, has been grooming her from the age of 12. She also proved to be a strong ally for Peggy in the wake of her wedding nightmare to Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) and also alleviated some of the Mitchell family's financial burdens, due to Peggy's daughter Sam (Danniella Westbrook) skipping bail, by buying Mitchell Autocar Repairs from Phil (Steve McFadden). In December 2009 Pat received a phone call from Simon, whom she had not seen in almost three years, and left for New Zealand after he informed her that his girlfriend Miriam was about to have their baby.

Pat returned in January 2010 to learn that Ricky and Bianca were engaged, and also that Archie had been murdered. After Ian was arrested for Archie's murder, Pat vowed to get justice for Ian and tried to convince Janine to tell the truth about Ian to the police. An argument then insued resulting in Janine slapping Pat after she accused her of murder, followed by Pat's revelation that she is planning to emigrate to New Zealand to live with Simon and his family. As Janine and Bianca argue over her Pat becomes increasingly unwell and collapses, suffering from a heart attack. It is revealed that she has an underlying condition, and requires a pacemaker but refuses to have the operation. Janine tries to get her to see sense, but it causes Pat to hyperventilate. After Pat has a pacemaker fitted, Janine tells her she wants to look after her and moves Pat into her flat. However, Pat tires of Janine's constant fussing and after receiving a visit from Peggy behind Janine's back, Janine throws her out and she moves back home. Pat makes a full recovery.

After being disgusted with the state of the Square and learning that a councillor has stood down, Peggy and Pat both decide to run for council and are interviewed by journalist Harvey Freeman (Martin Jarvis). Eventually they both pull out of the election, but Harvey hears of this and individually invites them both out for drinks. They soon discover that Harvey has been seeing them both in secret and end their respective relationships. However, Pat stays in touch with Harvey, not knowing that Peggy is as well. They both finally discover his two-timing ways again, and humiliate him in punishment. Celebrating their friendship, Pat and Peggy go on holiday together. When Pat returns, she decides to move in with Peggy at The Queen Victoria. Pat takes an interest in Janine's romance with Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott), and encourages Janine to commit to the relationship. When the couple announce that they intend to marry, Pat helps with the wedding preparations and organises a hen party for Janine at R&R nightclub. She also persuades Peggy to hold a reception for the newly-weds at the Queen Victoria. On the night of the wedding, a fire destroys The Queen Victoria and Pat moves back into her old house. The following day, Peggy leaves Walford without telling Pat, and Pat is devastated when she finds out that she has lost her best friend.

Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) approaches Pat and asks her to sell the garage back to Phil. Pat refuses, saying that she wants to leave a legacy to Ricky. However, Shirley gets hold of the business books, and shows Pat that Ricky is not taking care of the business. Pat then reluctantly sells the garage to Phil and Shirley. After Bianca's half brother Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson) is found dead after his birthday party, Pat offers to look after Bianca's children and to deal with the police. When Bianca finds out that Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) tried to drunkenly kiss Carol, Pat follows Bianca to R&R to stop her fighting with him, but Billy insults Pat and Pat, Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner), Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace), Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Janine all get arrested for fighting, though are later released with a caution.

Pat tries to reassure Janine that Ryan is devoted to her, despite Janine suspecting that he is having an affair with Stacey. However, Pat then spots Ryan kissing Stacey. After wrestling with her feelings, she tells Janine about the kiss, and tries to comfort her. Janine reacts angrily, despite Pat making her swear that she will not do anything reckless. Pat then cancels a planned holiday to New Zealand as she suspects that Janine will need her support.

In popular culture

The character of Pat Evans has been spoofed in the cartoon sketch show 2DTV. The impressionist who provides the voice is Jan Ravens.

Ravens has not only provided the voice of Pat, she has also acted the part on-screen in several episodes of BBC's Big Impression, which devoted a regular sketch to various EastEnders characters and she also played Pat in the other impressionist show Dead Ringers.

She is also the frequent target of jokes in Harry Hill's TV Burp, usually alluding to her former prostitution and alleged sexual promiscuity.

Comedian Lee Evans had once used Pat as one of his jokes in his latest tour Live at the O2 Arena.

In the first episode of Series 3 of The Inbetweeners, Jay gets his ears pierced with large, round ear rings and is mocked by his friend Simon Cooper, who calls it the "Pat Butcher look".

External links

• Pat Butcher at BBC Online