Pat Butcher

Pat Butcher (also Harris, Wicks and Evans) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Pam St Clement from 12 June 1986, just over a year after the show first aired, until her departure on 1 January 2012. Pat was also portrayed by Emma Cooke in a soap 'bubble', Pat and Mo: Ashes to Ashes, delving into her past with sister-in-law Mo Harris (Laila Morse), which aired in 2004. The character was killed-off on 1 January 2012, shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her funeral was on 13 January 2012. Pat was one of the longest serving characters on the show, appearing for 25 years and six months. She returned, along with other women from Ian Beale's (Adam Woodyatt) past, in a concussion-related dream sequence for a Children in Need special on 14 November 2014. She also made a return as a spirit for Peggy Mitchell's (Barbara Windsor) suicide on 17 May 2016. On 13 November 2025, it was announced that St Clement would reprise the role of Pat for a one-off special episode as part of Nigel Bates' (Paul Bradley) dementia storyline. She returned on 22 December as a hallucination to Nigel, alongside Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) and Debbie Bates (Nicola Duffett), and departed in the following episode.