Pam St Clement, the beloved EastEnders actress who portrayed Pat Butcher, is reportedly making a television comeback with a "saucy" new role in the second series of Rivals, a Disney+ drama based on Jilly Cooper's bonkbuster novel. The 83-year-old star has filmed a scene that promises to delight fans of both shows.
Pam St Clement's Saucy Rivals Cameo
The second series of Rivals, set in the wealthy county of Rutshire during the 1980s, focuses on the steamy love lives of its affluent residents. The show, which stars Danny Dyer, David Tennant, and Aidan Turner, returns to the streaming service on May 15. According to insiders, Pam St Clement's character encounters a naked Aidan Turner, who plays television star Declan O'Hara.
A source revealed: "Pam's character comes face to face with a naked Aidan Turner, who plays telly star Declan O'Hara. She thinks she recognises him as a famous Irish TV interviewer and, because the show is set in the 1980s, she does a double take and asks: 'Is that Terry Wogan?' It's a moment that will delight fans of Rivals as well as devotees of EastEnders."
Behind the Scenes: Producer's Influence
It was Rivals producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins who persuaded Pam to join the project. Treadwell-Collins served as executive producer on EastEnders from 2013 to 2016 and previously worked as a senior story editor and producer on the soap.
Pam originally played Pat Butcher from 1986 until the character's death in 2012. She made a brief return in 2016 as a ghost during Peggy Mitchell's death and again over Christmas 2025 as a figment of Nigel Bates' imagination amid his dementia storyline.
Reflections on Returning as Pat Butcher
When asked about reprising her iconic role more than a decade after being killed off, Pam admitted: "Coming back to jump into those clothes and make-up again was strangely difficult. I thought it was going to be much easier, but I think I've probably been through the point in my life, having played her, where I had divested myself of her. Her accoutrement, her clothes, her make-up and everything else, and I thought I had, but the strange thing is that the public don't because it's so fresh. That's probably because there are a lot of repeats that go on, on television, like EastEnders classics and things like that."
The actress confessed to being "bewildered" when asked back to Albert Square by executive producer Ben Wadey. She said: "I think I was a bit bewildered, and a bit bowled over. I have to say, to get into Pat's character, is obviously much harder today than we've been filming, but I would say that the key to the whole ensemble must be the earrings."
Wadey described it as an "honour" to welcome Pat back to Walford. He stated: "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."
