EastEnders character Pat Butcher is to make a return as part of the soap’s ongoing dementia storyline involving Nigel Bates.
Pam St Clement will reprise her role as the feisty matriarch, known for her bright outfits and eccentric earrings, across scenes that take Nigel (Paul Bradley) back to the 1990s as his memory falters.
The special episode, transmitting in December, will see Pat returning to The Queen Vic pub to help Nigel as his dementia symptoms intensify following an emotional evening at his festive film screening.
The character, who later took the name Pat Evans, died of cancer on New Year’s Day in 2012 but made a return to Albert Square in May 2016 as a figment of Peggy’s (Barbara Windsor) imagination on the night of her death.
St Clement, 83, said: “I was both surprised and excited to be asked back to tread the streets of Walford once again and to be involved in Nigel’s touching dementia storyline.
“It was lovely to be welcomed back by those with whom I had worked for so long. It was just like coming home.”
Ben Wadey, EastEnders executive producer, said: “It’s an honour and a privilege to welcome Pam St Clement back to EastEnders for a special episode in Nigel’s ongoing dementia storyline.
“Pat Evans is one of the most cherished and iconic characters to have graced the streets of Walford, and I know I speak on behalf of everyone when I say what a delight it was to see Pat and Pam back in The Queen Vic as she helps Nigel in his time of need.”
The soap has worked with Dementia UK for the ongoing storyline, which has seen Nigel reveal his diagnosis with young onset dementia.
Dementia is described as “young onset” when symptoms of the neurological condition develop before the age of 65, according to the charity.
