Patrick Trueman
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| EastEnders character | ||||||||||
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| Patrick Trueman | ||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Rudolph Walker | |||||||||
| Introduced by | John Yorke | |||||||||
| Duration | 2001— | |||||||||
| First appearance | 13 September 2001 | |||||||||
| Profile | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 June 1940 | |||||||||
| Status | Married | |||||||||
| Home | 18 Albert Square | |||||||||
| Occupation | Shopkeeper | |||||||||
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Patrick Neville Loftus Alfonso Trueman is a fictional character in the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. He is played by Rudolph Walker, and made his first appearance on 13 September 2001.
History
Patrick arrived in Albert Square for his estranged wife, Audrey's, funeral, as the long-lost father of Paul and Anthony, who had left when the two brothers were young. Paul, especially, found it difficult to adjust to the sudden appearance of the man who had betrayed him all those years ago, but eventually grew a strong bond with him.
Paul began to suspect that Patrick was an imposter when all of his stories didn't match up chronologically. He shared his doubts with his doctor brother, Anthony, and he collected Patrick's DNA from a bloody tissue to be lab tested with his and Anthony's own blood. Although Paul and Anthony both had strong differences on who Patrick really was, they were both stunned when the results showed Patrick to be Anthony's biological father but not Paul's. However, Patrick and Paul grew closer, and thought of each other nothing less than father and son.
Patrick was devastated when Anthony lost his job in the health industry in 2003 after he prescribed the wrong medicine to a pregnant woman, which resulted in her death. As a result, Anthony left Walford to travel the world.
While on holiday in his native Trinidad, Patrick met married Jamaican woman Yolande Duke, to whom he pretended that he wrote love letters (it was actually his friend Jim Branning who had the poetic streak). He enjoyed his saucy fling and was less than thrilled when Yolande arrived on his doorstep, having left her husband. Patrick eventually warmed to the idea and grew to love Yolande deeply. Her husband, Victor, a strict Christian, appeared in Walford to take her back to Trinidad. He was convinced that Patrick was a ne'er-do-well and thought that Yolande should return to her life of being a good housewife, although she made it clear that it was his strict, boring, and old-fashioned way of thinking that drove her away from him in the first place. Victor offered a tempted Patrick £15,000 to dump Yolande, however he refused, and Victor lumped the money in Patrick's hands as Yolande walked in, and succeeded in fooling her that Patrick accepted the offer. She was about to leave when Patrick convinced Victor to admit the truth and he went back to Trinidad. In time, Patrick proposed to Yolande and they married in 2004, with Anthony returning for the ceremony.
They briefly fostered a young girl and were devastated when her mother appeared and took her back. Soon after, it became evident that Paul had something on his mind and was in trouble. In reality, he had become involved with dealing drugs and decided to grass on his boss, Andy Hunter, after cutting ties with the scam. He revealed the truth to the police and it wasn't long after when on of Andy's henchmen pursued Paul outside of the bed and breakfast. He packed his things and told Patrick and Yolande that he needed to go away for a while to clear his head. He called a taxi and was driving through the Square when he asked the driver to 'make it quick'. A camera shot went to the car mirror, wherein the driver's eyes were revealed to the viewers, indicating that he was the same man who was pursuing Paul earlier that day. He responded: "Trust me", which left the viewers wondering whether Paul knew who the taxi driver was, and whether he was asking to make his fate quick, or the ride.
Patrick and Yolande discovered that Paul's bank account hadn't been touched since he supposedly left, and realised that there was more than met the eye. They reported him as missing, and his murdered body was found by the canal. Patrick almost crumbled, but he and Yolande ultimately became stronger through each other's support.
Later on in 2005, Yolande suspected Patrick of cheating on her and hired a honey trap to catch him out, but the trap failed and she realised he wasn't having an affair at all and so apologised. Patrick decided to start up another new business (in addition to the B&B and the shop) so he rented the car lot from the Mitchells. He employed Pat Evans to help him with the business and started having an exciting fling with her behind Yolande's back. It was nothing serious, and both enjoyed the fun the affair provoked. Shop worker Stacey Slater discovered the affair after spotting them kissing. A few days later, Patrick decided to call of the affair after he realised how much he loved his wife. They both agreed and mentioned how much fun they'd had, and parted on good terms. Stacey couldn't bear to see her boss being mistreated behind her back and decided to tell Yolande about the affair in a packed Queen Vic at Joe Macer and Pauline Fowler's wedding reception. Yolande slapped Patrick and confronted Pat about how she dared sleep with her so-called best friend's husband. Pat responded that she couldn't remember them doing much sleeping and also got slapped, although she retaliated in exactly the same way. Yolande prepared to leave for good despite Patrick's begs, and she eventually gave in, telling him to cut all ties with Pat (and quitting partnership in the car lot), and to rebuild their marriage.
Patrick was excited when his friend, and former bandmate in The Five Hectors, Cedric Lucas was due to visit, Patrick told Jim that Cedric was a 'party animal'. When Cedric and his wife Joy arrived, Cedric had turned into a frail old man, and declined any offer Patrick made to have fun. Patrick was disappointed, and Cedric went on to tell Patrick that he was dying, and to enjoy life while he still had it. Patrick was sad after Cedric and Joy left, but Yolande told him to stop moping, and danced with him.
Denise Fox later revealed to Yolande that she had never known her father but she knew he was in a band called The Five Hectors. It was therefore possible that Patrick was her father. Patrick took a DNA test but the results revealed he was not the father of Denise Wicks. However when Denise's daughter Libby excitedly asked him what the results were he lied and said he is her grandfather. However, things eventually got too much for Patrick, and he told Denise the truth on 4 December 2006.
On 6 August 2007, he was hit over the head in the Minute Mart by an unseen attacker. He was found by Chelsea Fox and Deano Wicks, who then gave statements saying that Sean Slater was the attacker. Sean was eventually charged with attempted murder. Sean's girlfriend Carly began to protest his innocence which angered Patrick. He made a speech in a crowded Vic and thanked Chelsea and Deano for their help. Since the attack Patrick has suffered from isolated and crowded places but he has slowly overcome his fear. He went missing when Yolande pressured him to get back into his routine. He hid in the Minute Mart and was found by Libby, who encouraged him to be brave.
On 31 August 2007, Patrick's attacker was revealed to be Craig Dixon. Deano had taken the CCTV footage showing the attacker so that they could set up Sean. The tape eventually got in the hands of Kevin who played it and saw Craig hit Patrick over the head with a monkey wrench.
