Inside EastEnders’ Pat Butcher star’s lesbian affair that ended her marriage
EastEnders’ Pan St Clement played the iconic Pat Butcher for 25 years and away from the soap she has led a colourful life - including a lesbian fling behind her husband’s back
Pam St Clement is definitely an icon in the land of showbiz – having played EastEnders’ Pat Butcher for over two decades.
The actress, 81, made her Walford debut back in 1986 and became a firm favourite with fans. And she soon went on to become one of the soap’s most iconic and longest-serving characters.
For 25 years, Pam was a staple on the soap, having been involved in countless dramatic storylines. However, in 2012, the man-eating character hung up her earrings for good.
Fans will recall how she was killed off in January shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pat then made a shock appearance in 2016, for a few minutes during Peggy Mitchell’s (Barbara Windsor) final episode.
Away from the soap though, Pam has lived a rather colourful life. And in 2015, the actress opened up for the first time about an affair she had with a woman.
Pam, who is bisexual, was married to a man in the 1960s called Andrew Gordon – but they later divorced. And it turns out Pam’s lesbian affair behind his back led to the breakdown of their marriage.
In her autobiography The End of The Earring, Pam admitted that the realisation that she was bisexual hit her like a “bombshell.” She then confessed to having an affair with a woman while in Australia.
The veteran star added that the distance between her and Andrew allowed her to put her ailing marriage to the back of her mind. However, Pam went on to admit that she was devastated when she had to leave her new lover behind.
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She revealed: “I fell, not for some bush-whacking hunk, but for a woman. It was a time of discovery and abandon, of excitement and freedom. I wanted to woo and be wooed and felt no guilt.”
Pam went on: “That month in Sydney went all too quickly and we were soon saying our farewells at the airport with promises of reunions back in the UK. I nearly missed the plane, I was so bereft at leaving.”
She eventually embarked on a relationship with a woman called Diana. But Pam admitted in her book that her “tendency to “over-care'” can “smother” romances.
