Frank Butcher

Francis Aloysius "Frank" Butcher started out as a used car-salesman. He met Pat Harris at Butlins in Clacton in 1958 and although he was holidaying with his girlfriend June, he became infatuated with Pat. They began an affair, but then June fell pregnant with Frank's child, so he married her and broke Pat's heart. Frank and Pat would meet up from time to time, and on each occasion the affair would be rekindled. But Frank wouldn't leave June, and Pat eventually married and had children of her own.

Frank and June had four children, Clare, Ricky, Diane and the youngest Janine. However June died of cancer in 1987, leaving Frank bereft and his children motherless. In September 1987 Frank decided to get in contact with Pat once again. They met briefly in Greenwich and Frank informed her of his wife's death, told her that he wanted to reignite their romance and also wanted her to be the mother of his children. He even offered her the chance of a quick romp in a nearby hotel, which deeply offended Pat and she stormed off.

Frank came in search of Pat for a second time in January 1988. Pat was still resistant but on a Frank's third appearance in March he finally managed to convince her to make another go of things and suggested that they take over tenancy at The Queen Vic since Den and Angie Watts were considering moving on. In order to be granted the lease Frank and Pat were forced to bribe the brewery manager Reg Sparrow. After successfully winning tenancy Frank moved his children Ricky and Diane into the Vic, whilst Janine was put in the care of his eldest daughter Clare away from Walford. The Butchers also inherited a new dog from Den, Roly the poodle. By the end of the year Frank's domineering mother, Mo, also moved to the Square and attempted to run her son's life. In March 2008, Frank died of throat cancer, and in 2012, Pat died of pancreatic cancer.

Diamond geezer Frank Butcher was the iconic leading man of Albert Square, but for all his twinkly-eyed cockney charm some might say that he was little more than a second-rate conmerchant. Frank Butcher His smooth-talking nature proved a hit with the ladies, and when the love-rat rolled into town to pick up the pieces with his teenage sweetheart Pat, he managed to break her cast-iron heart. His hands-off attitude to parenting and frequent absences from Ricky and Janine's lives arguably led Janine on her attention-seeking, destructive path. Domineering mother Mo tried to put him on the straight and narrow, but failed. And like Pat before her, poor Peggy Mitchell fell under the dodgy car dealer's spell. Frank won her heart, cheated on her and conned her out of a great deal of money, even faking his own death. But there will only ever be one Frank Butcher. No matter what he did, neither Pat nor Peggy could stay angry at Frank for long (and after seeing the scene where he bewitched Pat in nothing but a dickie bow and a smile, we can see why). In spring 2008, Frank died for real from cancer. His body was returned to Walford to be cremated. Thankfully, Phil didn't light the fire this time.