EastEnders film three versions of Pat Butcher’s exit

EastEnders has reportedly filmed three different versions of Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) exit from the London based soap.

Warning: May contain mild spoilers.

The soap has filmed three different versions of the character’s exit to keep fans guessing as to exactly how the popular character will be written out of the show. Actress Pam St Clement announced earlier this year that she was leaving EastEnders after 25 years in the role and since then the tabloids have been full of articles how about bosses are planning to write the character out.

According to The Mirror the three different versions of Pat’s exit from Albert Square are; a fatal heart attack, dying in a fire or cancer. The character will make her last appearance at Christmas – traditionally a dramatic time for the residents of Albert Square – with bosses using one of the filmed exits. A source told the tabloid newspaper ‘When bosses built a special set for a huge fire in the Square everyone thought that was definitely how Pat was going to go. But now there is talk of a second person dying in the flames. And the two other options can be added in at the last minute. There are even gaps in the scripts being given to cast members so the news can’t leak out.’

Filming alternative scenes to keep fans and the press guessing is nothing new and in fact has become something of a staple for soap bosses keen to keep twists and turns out of the tabloid newspapers. Alternative versions are often filmed when a soap character goes to trial with one version being a guilty verdict and another being not-guilty.

One of the earliest examples of alternative scenes being filmed to keep the press and fans guessing is the exit of Meg Mortimer (Noele Gordon) from midlands soap Crossroads in 1981. The character was written out of the famous Motel soap but when a fire ripped through the building fans were left wondering if the matriarch had survived – scenes showing the character leaving before the fire were filmed but not shown. Scenes of Meg’s daughter Jill (Jane Rossington) at Meg’s grave, surrounded by flowers, were also filmed to fool the press and give the impression the character had been killed when infact she had not.