It seems that the character of Pat Butcher in Eastenders, who has been around for many years now, is coming to an end with confirmation that the character will be leaving the show over the next few weeks. There is speculation as to how exactly she will leave the show but tonight we will see her returning from hospital without a diagnosis after her collapse earlier this week.

There is no doubt that Pat Butcher has been one of the more controversial and the more popular characters in Eastenders for some time now and Pam St Clement’s certainly appears to have enjoyed her role as the hotheaded and volatile character. We will now take a look at some of the more controversial storylines in which Pat Butcher has appeared over the years: –

Love triangle

Pat and Peggy were for many years involved in a love triangle with Frank Butcher which eventually led to Frank leaving the show despite his love for Pat. Pat and Peggy became friends after the love triangle but things were never the same again with an underlying current very visible.

Drink-driving

Pat Butcher was also involved in a drink-driving incident which ended in the death of a pedestrian. She served time in prison but returned to the show later to retake her role as one of the main characters and she has attracted more than her fair share of storylines in the past.

Roy Evans

Roy Evans was a big part of Pat’s life for sometime despite the fact they could not have a full relationship due to medical issues. While the two of them married back in 1996 this did not last very long after Frank returned to “reclaim” the love of his life. This caused massive problems for all parties involved and was a very controversial and a long-running storyline for the show.

Financial problems

After Pat returned from prison, her six-month sentence for killing a pedestrian while drink-driving, she found out that her family were literally in financial ruin. She became embroiled in an insurance scam in which Frank and Phil decided to torch the car lot only to find out they had actually killed a homeless man who was sleeping in one of the cars.

Keeping the family together

Pat has been battled in recent times to keep together her family which includes Bianca, Ricky and their children and many people believe it is the added stress of this particular situation which has seen her struggle of late. It will be interesting to see how the family cope when Pat eventually leaves the show although we will not tell you exactly how she leaves so as not to spoil your viewing.

Conclusion

While Pam St Clement has played Pat for some time it must certainly be a wrench for the actress to leave the show after such a long time. She has certainly been involved in some of the more controversial and more eye-catching storylines, some of which we have covered above. Pat may well be leaving but she will certainly not be forgotten!