The Voice of Experience
By By Michael McCarthy
“How can this character (Pat) be watchable long-term? She’s so full of venom that she hates everyone except Angie, and maybe Roly.” – Pam St Clement from Albert Square & Me: The Actors of EastEnders
What does the Greek truth teller Cassandra, The Irish Race and Pat Evans (played by Pam St Clement), all have in common? I’ll give you a minute or two to connect the dots….
What can any of us really do in a minute? But I digress. So, here’s a clue. If we all took the good advice, we hand out so liberally to our family and friends, we would lead happier, less stress-filled lives. Now here’s the rub. We are the living examples, we all have achieved nirvana on earth, so consequently said wise words of wisdom have nothing to do whatsoever with us. No. They are the crumbs of stale bread that we toss to the ducks and other water fowl from the safety of the shore. You just try living on a frozen lake with only a few crumbs to sustain body and soul. I must be bird happy.
No, I’m not saying that Laura Beale, Ian Beale, Steve Owen, Peggy Mitchell, Pauline Fowler and Ricky Butcher, are, or ever have been, in another parallel universe, ducks, pigeons or seagulls.
What they all share is that at one time or another each of these residents of Albert Square have had the benefits of Pat’s years of wisdom that she so selflessly shared to do what she can, to bring her hard-won experiences to friends and neighbours in need of counsel. So just what is the result of all this wisdom free flowing through Pat’s arteries, like a bloody flash flood?
Pat held her peace while knowing that Natalie was on the verge of running off with Ricky Butcher. Pat hoped that Natalie would see the lunacy of running off with the apple that fall not too far from ex-husband Frank Butcher’s tree and alas Natalie, without Ricky, left the Square with her and Barry’s son, Jack. Barry, having lost his father Roy (to a heart attack brought on by Pat’s lying) wife and child all on the same day, turns on Pat, throws her out of her own house, heaping curses upon her head. Does Pat respond in kind, beat Barry to a pulp, change the locks on the front door?
No, Pat identifies with Barry’s pain, and like a good Christian, she forgives him. Would Dot Cotton, so close to God, have done the same? The bookies can work out the odds themselves.
What follows is a kind of highlight reel of Pat’s “I’ve been around the Square so many times that I know each cobblestone by its own name” review. She arrived on the Square in 1988 as Patricia Wicks, mother of Simon, once wife of Pete Beale, brother of Pauline. There was much back and forth about who was Simon’s father. No, it wasn’t Kenny, Pete’s brother. Pat was back in her element, and Albert Square would never be the same. Ftae, in the person of Frank Butcher, Pat’s teenage heartthrob, arrives with his children Diane and Ricky. Frank sweeps her off her feet. Hey marry, become the new owners of the Vic, take over the B&B and down the road a car lot. Frank cheats, their marriage ends, as Frank moves onto Peggy Mitchell.
Pat finds and marries the impotent but loving Roy Evans. Roy and Frank become unlikely partners in the car lot, and even stranger but true, Pat and Peggy become mates. Pat starts her own business, Pat’s cabs, and commits a life-changing DWI that result sin the death of a teenage girl. Frank’s charms remain irresistible, and on a holiday in Spain, Pat let Frank back into her bed. Then you know what hit the fan, culminating in a cat fight with Pat and Peggy, putting their marriages in jeopardy. Pat finally musters the gumption to reject Frank’s wiles, mends fences with Peggy and chooses Roy, a safe, adult relationship.
Pat came on the scene as a tart looking to stir things on the Square. Through the years we watched Pat grow up in years and in wisdom. One of my favourite moments occurred in the Vic in a blackout. Steve Owen was addicted to cocaine, a physical and psychological wreck. Pat urged him to stop, reminding herself about how bad her life once was when she worked the streets.
She is one tough lady, a mom you could lose a bridge on, concealing a soft heart that has taken its share of pain. Survival is the only option for such a proud, courageous and yes, hopeful woman. She’s always present.
It’s hard to separate the character from the actress. Pam St Clement is a force of nature; her choice of earrings never fails to make a fashion statement. Her eyes are so compelling. They seem to shake us, as to say “pay attention to me, learn from my mistakes.” Pat’s life is no carnival cruise, but a wild, always surprising an ever-evolving journey, a tapestry of vivid colours.
Thank you for all the moments in Pat’s always compelling life, and long may we all share these moments in years to come.
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