EastEnders’s Pam St Clement – aka Pat Butcher – reveals why she REALLY returned

Pam admitted on Loose Women her scenes with Dame Barbara Windsor were very emotional

Pam St Clement Loose Women EastEnders return

by Francesca Battson |
Published on

Pam St Clement appeared on EastEnders as Pat Butcher from 1986 to 2012, making her one of the soap’s longest serving cast members.

Her character has been a part of many great storylines throughout the years, many of which involved her love-hate relationship with Peggy Mitchell (Dame Barbara Windsor).

Who could forget this?

And although Pam left Walford after almost 26 years on the BBC One soap, the actress couldn’t resist one last return to send off her real-life best friend Barbara.

Speaking on Loose Women the 74 year old revealed that she couldn’t turn down the opportunity, and that it “wouldn’t be right” for Peggy’s son Phil (Steve McFadden) to have helped her die.

Viewers saw Peggy recently return to Albert Sqaure to tell her family that her cancer had come back, and that this time it was terminal.

In Peggy Mitchell fashion however, she wasn’t going to let the disease take over her and in Barbara’s emotional final episode as the iconic character, fans saw the former Queen Vic landlady take her own life.

After previously asking Phil to help, her son couldn’t go through with the thought of his mum leaving forever, so Peggy enlisted the help of Pat Butcher.

Pam revealed on the ITV daytime show: "Barbara wanted to go out with a bang.

"[Then executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins] thought: ‘To give her the strength [to take her own life] she can actually visualise an old friend.

On being asked whether she found the scenes emotional, Pam admitted the pair both had a tear in their eye.

Watch some of her interview here:

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