Pat Evans
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- This article is about the EastEnders chararacter. For the Texan mayor, see Pat Evans (mayor).
EastEnders character | |
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Pat Evans | |
Portrayed by | Pam St. Clement |
Duration | 1986— |
First appearance | 12 June 1986 |
Date of birth | 28 December 1942 |
Marital status | Widowed |
Home | 31 Albert Square |
Occupation | Bookies manager |
Family | David, Simon, Jimmy |
Patricia "Pat" Evans (née Harris; previously Beale, Wicks and Butcher) is a fictional character in the popular 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 was also played by Emma Cooke in a soap 'bubble' Pat and Mo: Ashes to Ashes, delving into the her past with Mo Harris, which aired in 2004.
Pat is a tough enemy, a good friend, a straight talker and a woman who won't be messed with. She's had a rough life and made many mistakes, but she's a survivor and she refuses to let her past grind her down. She's mellowed a bit in recent years, but there are still not many who'd care to get on her wrong side. Pat has been married four times, making her the most-married character in the whole of EastEnders.
Contents |
[edit] History
Born and bred in Walford, Pat Harris emerged as a looker in her early teens, and at the age of sixteen she won the Miss Butlins title in Clacton. Here she met a young Frank Butcher, who was holidaying with his girlfriend, June, soon to become the first Mrs Butcher. After the contest Frank became besotted with Pat, and it wasn't long before he'd coaxed her into his bed. Frank was the first of what would be many lovers in Pat's life, and so began a love affair, that has continued, on and off, ever since. Soon after, June became pregnant, Frank married her and a heartbroken Pat began playing the field.
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 severely suffered as a result. She and Frank would meet up from time to time, and on each occasion the affair would be rekindled. But Frank wouldn't leave June, and Pat lost count of the men she slept with trying to rediscover the rapture she'd found with him. It was as her time as a prostitute for Tony Cattani, that Pat was offered more money to work for Up and Coming Gangster Johnny Allen. it is from her days as one of his Women he pimped that Pat knows of Johnny and how dangerous he really is. Pat worked as a well known woman of the underworld for many years however longed for her happiness with Frank.
The nearest she got to it was with Den Watts, but he was chasing Angie even then, and Kenny Beale - both of them restless men, unwilling to settle down with her. Kenny's younger brother, Pete, proved more reliable and he married Pat in the early 60s, when he thought she was pregnant with his child. It later proved to be a false alarm, but his mother Lou Beale always believed it was a ploy to trap Pete. While they were together, they had two sons, David and Simon, who Pete believed to be his. Yet Pat couldn't settle down and embarked on an affair with another man named Brian Wicks. Pete eventually left her, there was a messy divorce in 1966 and soon after, Pat married Brian and he took on responsibility of her two sons. Neither Pat nor her children had any further contact with Pete, until 1985, when Simon moved to Walford to be near his supposed father. Pat stayed with Brian until 1986, when he started knocking her about [1].
[edit] Paternity of Simon Wicks
Pat was first seen on screen in June 1986. She came back to Walford to maliciously inform her ex-husband that Simon wasn't actually his son. Many rows erupted, but Pat's old sparring partner, Lou, was quick to to step in, and she managed to convince a devastated Pete that Wicksy was his. Later in the year however, when Pat came back to the Square to work in The Queen Vic, it was divulged that Lou also believed Pat to be telling the truth. Lou thought Simon was the product of a secret affair Pat had with Pete's older brother Kenny. A viscous row erupted between Pat and Lou, with Lou adamant that Pat should keep her sordid affair a secret and not upset her closeknit family. However, Pete's sister, Pauline, overheard the showdown and told her twin brother everything!
Pat revelled in the trouble she'd caused for the Beales and spent the rest of the year rubbing Pete's nose in it. She lived up to her promiscuous reputation by dressing flamboyantly, making a play for men such as James Willmott-Brown and Charlie Cotton, and ending the year hiring herself out as a prostitute - proving that old habits die hard. Pat was brash and fiesty, and gave little consideration to what anyone thought of her behaviour, even her own son. Pat, who was being pimped by Mehmet Osman, convinced the young mother, Mary Smith, to take up prostitution.
In February 1987 Pat was assaulted by a man known as the Walford attacker, leaving her unconscious and close to death in the middle of the Square. At the time it was not immediately clear whether Pat had been assaulted by the mysterious attacker, or someone else. Because of their past animosity, Pete became prime suspect and during an interview with the police, he lost his temper and ended up assaulting an officer. Pete was later cleared of any wrongdoing when the real culprit was caught attacking Debbie Wilkins.
The arrival of Kenny Beale in 1988 brought the question of Wicksy's parantage to the fore once again. Kenny was extremely shocked to find out that Simon might be his, and was furious with both Pat and Lou for keeping it from him. Meanwhile, Pete was furious with Kenny for betraying him with his ex-wife, whilst Pat on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the commotion that she'd caused. Thinking that he now had a son, Kenny attempted to bond with Simon, but this frightened Pat and she began to fear she would lose him. She then informed Simon and the Beale brothers that she was unsure which of them was the real father, adding further confusion. It seemed Pat had orchestrated the entire situation just to get at her arch-nemesis, Lou, as she later went to gloat to her about masterminding the whole plot to bring down the mighty Beales. Lou was forced to accept defeat.
Just when the matter seemed closed, Pat revealed that not only were Kenny and Pete possible candidates for Simon's father, but Den Watts, who Pat had also been sleeping with at the time, was also in the running. Pat later ruled him out, but then cryptically demanded that he sleep with her, or it would be spread around that he was the father!
It seemed that that the identity of Simon's real father would never be discovered. However, in July that year, a dying Lou pleaded with Pat to finally come clean to Simon. Pat did this and in a shocking turn of events she revealed that neither Pete nor Kenny were his real father, and that it was, in actual fact, the man he had called step-father all his life - Brian Wicks, who she had also been sleeping with at the time [2].
[edit] Pat and Frank
The only man Pat ever loved, Frank, came back into her life in 1987 when they accidentally bumped into each other in London. His first wife had died and in 1988 he came in search of Pat again to see if the old spark was still there between them. It was, and later that year the reunited couple took over tenancy of The Queen Vic pub. Frank soon moved his two children Ricky and Diane in, and before long his mother, Mo, had also moved to the Square too.
Pat had never been the world's best mother, and she found it difficult to cope with Frank's unruly children. To make matters worse, Pat regularly clashed with Mo, who couldn't and wouldn't keep her nose out of her business, and constantly let Pat know that she wasn't good enough for her precious son.
In June 1989 Pat and Frank married in true cockney style (her third husband), driving out of Albert Square in a horse drawn cart. It was a brief moment of hapiness as within a month Pat had acquired a new step-daughter, Janine, the child from hell. Janine was a bed-wetter, a sleepwalker, a compulsive liar and self-harmer, and to top it off she hated Pat. Pat forced Frank to take her in family therapy, which eased her troublesome behaviour slightly. By the end of the year the Butcher's had moved out of The Vic and bought the B&B across the Square, which Pat ran, whilst Frank opened a used car-lot.
The Butcher's remained fairly happy for a while, but in 1992 that all changed. The year began with a huge tax demand, which was swiftly followed by a large VAT bill. This forced them to sell the B&B. Pat however, tried to turn things around for them by starting her own cab firm, PatCabs, which started to make them some real money again. However, disaster struck on Christmas eve that year, when Pat, whilst doing a short run for a regular customer, had a motor accident when she hit a teenage girl. When breathalysed, she was found to be just over the limit. On New Years Eve, against legal advice, Pat tried to find out how the girl was, and was devastated to learn that she had died. Pat found it hard to cope with the guilt and the situation was made worse when the girl's mother confronted Pat after her appearance at the Magistrates court (at which the case was referred to the crown court). When Pat finally appeared in Court later that year she was given a prison sentence, and forced to serve 6 months inside. In the Autumn Pat returned, but by then the Butcher's were in financial ruin. In desperation, Frank arranged for Phil Mitchell to torch the car-lot in an insurance scam. When this went wrong - and a homeless boy died - Frank had a breakdown, and in April 1994, he left the Square, abandoning both Pat and his children without warning. For Pat, not knowing where Frank was, or even if he was still alive, was a nightmare. Desperate for money, Pat began stealing from her employers and even borrowed money from Ian Beale, who was having a spell as a loan shark. She finally broke down when Sharon Watts caught her stealing from her purse, and Sharon heroically bailed her out of her debts. Eventually Diane brought news that her father was alive and well and had merely run away, and so Pat slowly began getting on with her life. Ricky and her newly returned son, David, teamed up to reopen the car-lot under the new name, Deals for Wheels [3].
During these years, Pat would form an unlikely friendship with Pete's second wife Kathy Beale. Kathy and Pat had initially been at each others throats when Pat first turned up in Walford, but Kathy's rape and the death of Lou Beale pushed them together as friends (as both found they had a common bond, with the dominance of Lou in their lives). Pat and Kathy would eventually become each other's closest friend and confidante over the years, despite the ominous presence of Cindy Beale (who had affairs with both Simon and David whilist married to Kathy's son Ian).
[edit] Pat and Roy
It wasn't long before a new man had began sniffing around Pat. The successful car-dealer, Roy Evans, was a business associate of David's and took to Pat straight away. Early attempts to win Pat's favours got him nothing but refusals, but Pat later softened and even went on an all paid for cruise with him, although she made it quite clear that sex was not on the cards.
Her carnal absitence turned out to be blessing for Roy, as he later admitted he was impotent and could offer nothing more than platonic love. Pat it seemed, was relieved to discover that, for once, a man wanted something from her other than sex. In November 1995 Roy moved in with Pat, but their happiness was short lived, as soon after Frank decided to return to Walford to reclaim his wife. Pat found it hard to contain her rage and emotion upon seeing her estranged husband, but despite him stirring up old feelings, she sent him packing and opted to remain with Roy instead.
Roy and Pat married in 1996 (her fourth husband). Despite money problems, caused by Roy's buffoon of a son, Barry, and a botched attempt to buy blackmarket viagra (which nearly cost Roy his life), they remained happy for a while. Pat even managed to bury the past and make up with Frank, although she never could quite let go of him, and she wasn't exactly thrilled when he married Peggy Mitchell in 1999.
Pat and Frank's shared past was always an issue for Roy and he was right to be pessimistic, as in 2000, Frank begn to have second thoughts about marrying Peggy and realised that he still loved Pat. Whilst the couples were on a joint holiday in Spain that year, Frank seduced Pat and the pair ended up in bed together. Pat tried to call it off upon their return, but when Frank turned up on her doorstep naked (apart from a comedy bow-tie), she realised that she had never stopped loving him either. Their affair continued for months and they eventually decided to elope to Manchester. They were due to depart on Guy Fawkes Night in November that year, but suddenly Pat started to have second thoughts. It was too late however, as Peggy had already got her hands on Frank's dear John letter. Peggy shamed the cheating duo by reading the letter to the entire pub, and then famously slapped both Frank and Pat in full view of everyone, including Roy. Peggy threw Frank out and he left Walford without Pat. Roy also chucked Pat out onto the street, leaving her penniless and homeless. Roy later asked Pat for a divorce, but when she decided to emigrate to New Zealand, he relented and took her back, despite objections from his son Barry.
Roy was very much in control of their relationship after Pat's betrayal. Gone was the fiesty, domineering Pat of years gone by, the new Pat was far more passive and obedient. Realising how lucky she was that Roy gave her a second chance, she was adamant that she wouldn't mess things up a second time. However, in 2003, Roy discovered that Pat had been covering an affair between his son's wife, Natalie, and Frank's son, Ricky. Roy believed that Pat had again chose Frank over him, because she decided to help Frank's offspring over his own. This unfortunately led to Roy's second and fatal heart attack. Roy died intestate, leaving Pat not only bereft but homeless, since Barry kicked her out before his body was buried.
[edit] Picking up the pieces
Pat ended up living in a grotty bedsit with hardly any money. Frank's daughter, Janine, married Barry, despite continuing an affair with Paul Trueman and both planned to con Barry out of all of his money and possessions. The day after the wedding, Janine confessed everything to her new husband, and pushed him down a cliff. She later bragged about it to a disgusted Pat. She played the victim and the grieving widow, now in control of the Evans familoes former house and business. Paul, by this point, had realised that Janine had murdered Barry, and dumped her. Janine started to bully Laura Beale, Ian's estranged wife; she lived in the bedsit above Pat, they had become friends, and Pat often baby-sat Laura's son, Bobby. Pat and Laura were in a similar situation, but Janine and Laura's long-term feud had resurfaced, leading to deadly consequences. After several public fights, Janine was seen heading to Laura's flat in anger. They scrapped, but Janine left, and soon after Laura fell down the stairs and died. Her body was found by Pat. Janine was arrested on suspicion of murder, and Pat was her only alibi (she had seen Janine leave the flat before Laura's death); despite Janine's pleadings, Pat told the police that she hadn't seen Janine leave the house as she wanted revenge for Barry's killing. Janine was sent to prison for murder.
Pat gained a job at the bookies, under the thumb of Andy Hunter, who now owned Pat's former home. In 2004, Pat got into a spot of bother when Den Watts talked her into stamping a blank betting slip that he was going to complete with the name of a winning horse after the end of a race. Andy found out about it and foiled the plot; however, he did keep Pat on at the bookies after she promised never to do it again. When Andy died, Pat was stunned that he had left her his house in his will.
In 2005 Billy Mitchell was staying as a lodger with Pat and she got drawn into a feud between Johnny Allen and Peggy Mitchell, after Peggy arrived back in The Square, homeless, and Pat allowed her to stay. Initially Peggy couldn't accept that Pat owned the house that had previously belonged to Phil Mitchell, and started to suggest some 'improvements' that could be made to the decor in the living room that were firmly resisted, including getting rid of the cocktail bar and changing the pictures on the walls. When Ruby Allen moved out of her home because she could no longer stand her father's behaviour, Peggy suggested that she could stay at Pat's house. Then Grant Mitchell, who had been living in Rio for six years, and Phil Mitchell, who had been in jail, arrived back in the Square and also moved in with Pat. After a number of confrontations between Johnny and Peggy, the situation was resolved when Ruby was reconciled with her father and moved back home, and subsequently the Mitchells got back the ownership of the The Vic and moved in there.
Pat was summoned to be a witness for the prosecution at Janine's trial in December 2005, where she once again met Frank who had returned after almost five years. Once again, Pat ended up in bed with Frank, but she soon realised that his primary motive was to convince her to alter her testimony in Janine's trial, which she flatly refused to do. However, after a subsequent talk with Laura's mother, Edwina, Pat realised that Janine being wrongly imprisoned for Laura's death would be an injustice, so she decided to change her testimony and Janine went free.
In January 2006, Pat's former great nephew, Deano Wicks, turned up on her doorstep and now lives with her. He was closely followed by his dad Kevin and sister Carly. Pat had a short fling with Patrick Trueman, which was discovered by his wife Yolande at Pauline and Joe's wedding reception.
Pat was the first to realise that Billy and Honey's newborn baby, Petal had Down's syndrome. She later told Peggy, who was organising a surprise party for Petal, as she felt it was inappropriate.
On 29 September 2006, Denise Fox, Kevin's girlfriend, and her daughters Chelsea and Libby came to live with Pat, Kevin, Deano and Carly.
On October 16th, When Johnny Allen died, Pat realized that Ruby was vulnerable and not at all as strong as her father. She told Ruby to be wary of people who may take advantage. After Johnnys funeral she boldly warned Sean not to mess with Ruby, cos Pats got her eye on him.
[edit] Family
- Mother: Lydia Harris
- Brothers: Jimmy Harris (deceased), Geoff Harris
- Sons: David Wicks, Simon Wicks
- Grandsons: Steven Beale, Joe Wicks
- Granddaughters: Bianca Jackson, Karen Wicks (deceased)
- Great grandson: Liam Butcher
- Nephew: Billy Harris
- Niece: Jean Harris
[edit] Trivia
Pam St. Clement has 125 pairs of earrings from which to choose and fans still send her earrings, which she sometimes wears in the programme.
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Further reading on EastEnders, The EastEnders Handbook by Hilary Kingsley, ISBN 0-563-36292-8
- ^ Further reading on EastEnders, EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration by Colin Brake, ISBN 0-563-37057-2
- ^ Further reading on EastEnders, EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square by Rupert Smith, ISBN 0-563-52165-1
[edit] External links
- EastEnders character profile
- Pat celebrates 20 years in Walford
- Cast cards: [1][2][3][4][5]
- Pat coming to terms with killing Stephanie Watson at YouTube
Preceded by: Den and Angie Watts |
Landlady of The Queen Vic 1988 - 1990 |
Succeeded by: Eddie Royle |