List of East Enders Characters (1986) - Pat Butcher

Pat Butcher

Pat Evans (occasionally referred to in the British media as Fat Pat) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Pam St. Clement from 12 June 1986 to 1 January 2012. 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 first 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. The character of Pat was conceived 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: " 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, was a vicious shrew... divorced and married Kathy when he was 24...His two sons by his first marriage are nineteen and twenty and he hardly sees them..." On 7 July 2011, it was announced that St. Clement had quit EastEnders. The actress revealed that she wanted to try other things, saying "I have enjoyed 25 and a half wonderful years in EastEnders creating the character of Pat but feel it's time to hang up her earrings. Leaving the EastEnders 'family' will be akin to a bereavement. But I'm looking forward to the other work and life opportunities that I will have the time to pursue." Pat will leave later in the year and executive producer Bryan Kirkwood said her departure would be a "fitting" storyline. Pat's son David Wicks (Michael French) will return for her departure.