Frank Butcher

Name: Frank Butcher
First Appeared: 8th September 1987
Last Appeared: 9th December 2005
Played by: Mike Reid

Frank Butcher was born Francis Aloysius Butcher on 27th March 1940 to George and Mo Butcher in the East End. Frank kicked off his career as a used-car salesman, a fitting start for a man who’d later become one of Albert Square’s most memorable characters.

In 1958, Frank met Pat Harris at Butlins in Clacton. Though he was on holiday with his girlfriend June Simmonds, Frank couldn’t resist Pat’s charms. Their affair was rekindled numerous times over the years, but Frank never left June, who gave birth to their four children: Clare, Ricky, Diane, and Janine. When June passed away from cancer in 1987, Frank was left a widower and his children motherless.

Frank reappeared in Pat’s life in September 1987, determined to rekindle their romance. Despite her initial resistance, Pat eventually gave in, and by March 1988, they were back together. They took over The Queen Vic and Frank opened a car lot on the Square. The couple married in June 1989, and Pat became stepmother to Ricky, Diane, and Janine, who wasn’t thrilled about it. Life was tumultuous, with family upsets and Frank nearly smothering his mother Mo when she developed dementia. He couldn’t go through with it and sent her to live with his sister instead.

Financial troubles plagued Frank, and by 1992, a huge tax demand and VAT bill forced him to sell their B&B and move the family to a small flat. Pat started PatCabs, but tragedy struck when she ran over a teenage girl, resulting in a six-month prison sentence. Desperation led Frank to ask Phil Mitchell to set fire to the car lot for insurance money in 1994. The fire inadvertently caused the death of a homeless man, and Frank, riddled with guilt, left Walford in April 1994 without a word.

Pat moved on with Roy Evans, but Frank’s return on Christmas Day 1995 threw a spanner in the works. Frank wanted his old life back, but after a tumultuous few months and a brief fling with Pat, he left Walford again in March 1996. He returned for various family events, including Ricky’s wedding to Bianca and to console Ricky after a tragic loss. In 1998, Frank fell for Peggy Mitchell, leading to a relationship and an engagement, despite lingering jealousy from Roy. After several dramatic moments and a revelation about a son he fathered in Manchester, Frank and Peggy married in 1999.

However, Frank’s heart remained with Pat, leading to an affair in 2000. When their plan to elope was exposed by Peggy, Frank left Walford amidst public shame. Thought to have died in a car crash in Spain in 2002, Frank reappeared, having faked his death in a scam gone wrong. Peggy took pity on him but refused to rekindle their relationship. In his final years, Frank manipulated Pat into changing her testimony in court to help Janine, but was left heartbroken when Janine fled without him.

Frank’s final exit came in March 2008 when Diane and Ricky revealed he had died of throat cancer in France. His funeral brought closure to his tumultuous life, and his ashes were scattered in Albert Square’s flowerbeds. Pat commemorated him with a plaque, capturing the essence of Frank Butcher: “Husband, Father, Pilchard.”