EastEnders Iconic Episodes:- Pat & Frank's Affair
Good evening everyone! We're back with a new week and a new iconic EastEnders episode! This week's episode has one of the most memorable scenes in it, which I'm sure you'll all know and recognise. Everything comes to blow when Peggy becomes aware of Pat and Frank's affair! This episode was originally aired 2nd November 2000! Incredible to believe that this episode is almost 20 years old!
I had no idea that this episode was 60 minutes long! This must've been a hour long special episode for Bonfire Night! I don't recall much of this episode to begin with, being born in the 90s, I must've been around 9-10 years of age when this episode aired! Still can't believe I've come to the realisation that I've been watching EastEnders for nearly 20 years! Crazy! Anyway, the episode seems to start with Frank and Peggy already in the Vic, upstairs and Peggy seems to think that Frank is up to something, he's looked very dodgy as if he's trying to hide something! I believe that there is meant to be some kind of letter he has supposed to have written to her? Has that already been written and he has lost it? I'm sure as the episode goes all it'll all be revealed! Frank is looking ever so shifty as Peggy reveals to him that she's had a wasted journey, it looks as if he's terrified that she might know something!
Ahhh so as far as I can make out, Frank is on the edge of ending things with Peggy. It's devastating to know that she literally has no idea at that moment in time! Frank makes his way downstairs and asks Mel whether she had been upstairs and moved something, I am certain that it's the letter to Peggy that Frank has written, because all of sudden something he his wanting seems to be missing! While Frank is being teased by the locals in the pub and sweating because he can't find his letter, it looks as if Pat is waiting at home to hear news from Frank. Barry goes under the stairs and pulls out a suitcase ... are Pat and Frank planning on running away together? Poor gullible Barry seems to think that it's his Dad, Roy and Pat who appear to be going away - even on the plastic bag it says "Second Honeymoon!" even Pat goes along with the story to hide the fact that it's actually Frank she's going away with.
Back at the pub Frank has a word with Little Mo, seeing as she's the cleaner of the Vic, she may know the whereabouts of his letter. She confesses she was cleaning the kitchen and did see an envelope with Peggy's name on it, she might've put it in the bin but she can't be sure, even though Frank is eager to get his hands on the letter, he tells her not to worry. Can I just say how amazing it is seeing all these characters again - Roy, Barry, Frank, Little Mo, Lynne, Janine - the main thing I've enjoyed while watching these classic iconic episodes is seeing the old members of the cast, many who I would love to see return one day! Back at the house, Roy and Barry are persuading Pat to join them for the evening and she agrees - even though she is reluctant to do so!
Back in the Vic upstairs, Frank is rummaging through the bin , desperately trying to find the note - ahhh and Janine comes in! (We know Janine is a bitch, but to tell the truth, I've always loved her character!) She plays all coy with her father, playing her little games again not saying directly whether she had seen or read the letter left for Peggy. She informs him that Phil might have possibly seen it as he was looking for Peggy earlier! I don't recall seeing Phil in this episode, but will he be the one to actually show his Mum the letter?! All the locals are gathering downstairs to celebrate the holiday, Pat and Frank clock eyes on each other from across the bar and they both make an excuse the leave the Vic. Pat states she wants to be with the kids, and Frank dashes after her, claiming to Peggy that he's left his car lights on! I don't know about you lot, but I can already feel the tension in this episode, it's slowly building and building! Frank dashes to Phil's house, but - as far as I can make out - Phil has no idea what Frank is on about or what he's after, he asks why he lied about Janine moving to Manchester and whether he'd been up to something he shouldn't have, obviously Frank starts to squirm as he believes Phil knows!
Meanwhile, Peggy is serving her customers and the Vic is packed full of happy and lively locals. Pat is seen standing beside the bar when Little Mo approaches Peggy and reveals that she actually found Frank's note to her in her cleaning apron. Now Peggy is left in the dark about what the letter is about and who it's from, all she knows is that a letter addressed to her has been found. Pat eyes and ear prick up! She know's that the one which reveals everything! As Peggy is too busy serving her customers, she puts the letter to one side and carries on. Back at Phil's house, it looks as if Frank is almost begging to Phil to give him the letter back, which as us viewers already know, he hasn't got it! But it does also seem to appear that Phil knows about what Frank and Pat have been up to! Frank tries to appeal to Phil saying that he understands considering what he's been through with Sharon, and yet Phil makes the brilliant point that Frank is actually Peggy's husband and Pat is her best friend, which makes the whole situation a lot more worse!
I just love that through-out this episode both Roy and Peggy have no idea what's about to happen and what's actually going on around them. In the Vic, Pat's eyes are firmly on the letter behind the bar, something is telling me that she's needing to go and fetch it before Peggy reads it. She takes it upon herself to make a move and says to Peggy she'll help her behind the bar, but Peggy insists that she stays the other side of the bar and asks her to hand out the sandwiches, much to Pat's disappointment. On the other side of the Square in Phil's gaff, Frank is still pleading to Phil to give him the letter, only after all this discussion, Phil has been toying with him ... he tells him he hasn't got it, Frank's eyes widen with worry, desperation and shock! Poor Peggy back at the Vic is still busy on her feet ... Pat eventually manages to worm her way behind the bar but unfortunately Peggy grabs the letter before she can get to it and claims that she's going upstairs to change, and she takes the letter with her. I'm sure back when this soap was originally aired, the viewers must've been on the edge of their seats. I know I am currently watching it and everything is building and building!! This is truly EastEnders at it's best!!!
Ooooohhhhh and there's the moment everyone has taken a gasp of breath!!! The phone rings while Frank is at Phil's - it's Peggy and she has a piece of paper in her hand, she pleads her son to come and see her straight away! She's left on her own in the kitchen and she tears fall from her face and she collapses in a wail of tears! She's read the letter!!! Phil walks into the Vic ready to console his poor mother, followed by Frank who once again clocks eyes with Pat behind the bar. They both have that silent knowledge and understanding between them that Peggy is about to find out everything and their cover is about to be blown! Upstairs, Phil and Peggy are sat together and Phil gets to see the note for the first time, Phil reveals to his Mum that Frank told him that both he and Pat bottled their plans to run away together. It is then that Phil says a terrific line to his Mum, which I believe kinda stayed with the legendary Peggy until he sad passing: "It's time for make-your-mind-up time, are you a Butcher or a Mitchell?!" ... As long as I can remember, Peggy was always proud of having the Mitchell name and she was always proud of the Mitchell family! It is THAT moment when Phil asks her, that she actually looks and thinks and you can see the look in her face change ... She is Peggy Mitchell!!
Of course both Pat and Frank are frantic downstairs as they both come to the realisation that Peggy has the letter. Frank then pleads to Pat to change her mind about leaving together, it's the only way they'll be able to escape the situation. If they leave, neither of them would have to face Peggy. Pat doesn't know what say, she has her grandchildren and all of her family around her, would she really be able to leave it all behind? I don't know whether it's a way of him getting her to change her mind, but he says to Pat that he can't stay and face the music, he's going whether she decides to join him or not, but he makes it very well known to her that he has always loved her, absolutely tugging at her heart strings. Just as he goes to leave the bar, Peggy makes her appearance all glammed up.
We as viewers know full well that she's toying with Frank, saying how very cross she is with him ... Frank is visibly shaking in his boots ... This is the moment that this episode will always be remembered for ... Peggy rings the bell to make her announcement, both Frank and Pat stood beside her, looking nervous and uncertain to what she's about to do. I absolutely LOVE Barbara Windsor in this scene! Taking centre stage, behind the bar as Peggy Mitchell ... her speech starts very cheerfully to her fellow punters who have taken part in The Best Guy Competition, complementing each one and then making the point that one of them was actually meant to be her husband, Frank. I just LOVE how she's being so professional about her job role, making sure the children enjoy themselves, giving out prizes - while all the time Phil, Frank and Pat are watching her, watching and waiting for her to either finish her speech or see what she does next. As Peggy continues with her speech, she suddenly changes her tone and says there's an extra award to present - to both Pat and Frank, a lifetime achievement award for deceit and wickedness ... (this is when her locals are all looking confused and shocked!) She then brings out the letter to which both Frank and Pat look in dismay and disbelief as she starts to read the letter out aloud to everyone in the pub! The pub falls silent as she reads the words from the small piece of paper, the iconic moment as she says the words "I've never quite been able to stop myself loving Pat!" and how much hatred and power she puts into those words! It's so fantastic and what quite frankly makes the episode so memorable! I feel like this was the moment everyone's jaw dropped to the floor, both Pat and Frank stood beside her cowering in their corners, while the look on poor Roy's face is despair and shock! As she finishes the letter, everyone is in shock and as Peggy says she has the last prizes to hand out - she turns to Frank and whacks him across the face, you can hear his grown on how hard the slap was, she then turns to Pat and whacks her across the face, so hard that her earring falls out and in true Peggy style she leaves them to deal with the revelation on their own!
The Queen Vic empties and Pat and Frank are left behind the bar on their own, as Roy is stood there with Phil watching the two of them. Roy is stood in silence, his eyes fixed on Pat. Frank attempts to explain to Roy that the reason they never left is because Pat decided to choose Roy over him, which I believe is far from the truth, Pat was just scared. She collapses in hysterical crying, so much she's gasping for breath, Roy is badgering her, asking questions such a where and how long! She clearly cant take the pressure anymore and she blares at him that there have been hundreds of times!! Meanwhile, upstairs Phil is consoling his mother, she's made her decision - she's a Mitchell and she's shown them that she is not to be messed with! Frank makes his way into the kitchen and Phil follows, demanding him that he leaves, even then Frank tries to turn it around and blame Phil for stopping him coming over to the Vic to find the letter before Peggy got hold of it ... but of course Phil wasn't to know, so of course he's just looking for excuses and for someone else to take the rap for him, but it is not going to work!
Back downstairs Pat and Roy and talking things through, she's explaining herself to him, but to be honest, she isn't using her words quite cleverly. From what Roy and, the viewers can make out, she's explaining that Frank always makes her feel like she's young and 16 and enjoying life and yet with Roy, she feels as if her life is just passing her by and how with Roy, she'll just be 57! It's a horrible way to describe it to someone I think, I think it's very blunt and quite heartbreaking. I do feel for Roy, as he seems like such a gentleman who has just had his heart ripped out. While Roy and Pat are talking, upstairs, Frank tries to approach Peggy but she doesn't want to hear any of his explanations or excuses. He tries his best to explain himself but she has none of it and calls Phil to get him to leave!
It's sad that even Roy reveals to Pat that he knew he was always second best to her, feeling that everything around him smelt of Frank or had a Frank-vibe to it. He even asks Pat if it was to do with the sex but I don't think her convincing is any good, she can barely look at him in the eye. But she does say that that is something that she doesn't care about anymore, but is she telling the truth? Next minute Janine comes out from behind the bar, wondering what has happened, Pat explains to her that her Dad is upstairs with Peggy and that he'll explain everything to her. As Roy and Pat leave the Vic, Mo, Charlie, Lynne and Little Mo are all talking about Pat, Mo making the statement that Pat used to be a prostitute in her younger days, little did they know that both Pat and Roy could hear every word she was saying, the both ignore the gossip and walk slowly home.
Back at their home, Barry is sat waiting for his Dad. He's shocked to discover that he has come home with Pat in tow. Roy asks him politely to leave them to talk as Pat makes her way into the living room. I feel this was another moment when the jaws dropped for the viewers. Pat appeals to Roy and says that she simply doesn't deserve him, she gives him a hug but he doesn't reciprocate. He demands that if they're going to be happy they need to be honest with each other, she agrees and he starts be making the big and bold statement of never liking her iconic earrings. Now EVERYONE knows that Pat's iconic looks was always with her big earrings, and for someone to declare that they don't like them, is basically a bit punch in the gut for her. She looks at him in shock as he describes them as cheap and vulgar, as she is doing everything in her power to keep her marriage together, she simply removes her earrings in silence.
At the Vic Frank is telling his daughter, Janine that he can't stay any longer. He needs and leave and once Janine is accusing him of being a bad father. He tries to worm his way into her good backs by explaining that she's a strong woman and she'll be able to cope, but she really isn't happy. Janine has always been Daddy's Little Girl, although she'd never admit it, she always loved her Dad deeply. But when he's saying he's leaving and that he's never realised how much he actually loves his daughter, it gives her the feeling that he's abandoning her again. She leaves as they're both in tears, Frank begs her not to leave on such sad terms but she can't bring herself to stay. Back at home Pat is trying to make amends to her husband but as Roy tries to explain to his son that they're going to make changes and try and sort things out, its then when Barry informs Roy about Pat's suitcase, Barry explains to him that she made up a story that she was going to take Roy away, when in fact it's the case she was going to use to run away with Frank. Barry informs his Dad that if he decides to look inside, he wont be happy with what he finds. Without a word, Roy unzips the suitcase and inside finds the bag which says "Second Honeymoon!"
Pat walks in only to deny it all and say it was spur of the moment. Roy pulls out the items in the bag which reveal lingerie and massage oils. It hurts him deeply that she had lied to him when she claimed it wasn't about sex, but all this evidence made it perfectly clear. Pat begs her husband to believe her that it wasn't her idea, but Roy has none of it throws her out! Pat is left in pouring torrential rain, in floods of tears on her knees, her clothes all soaked on the pavement. Frank eventually gathers his things and walks towards his car in the pouring rain ... I remember watching this as a child 9/10 years old ... I know it sounds silly but it kinda frightened me, and i'll explain why ... as the camera follows Frank to his car, Pat is seen sat on Arthur's bench, still drenched in her big coat and crying her eyes out. Frank finds Pat's gloves in his can and quickly decides to take them back to Pat, only to be given another smack in the mouth by Roy! I know a lot of people were happy he did that, he should've done it a lot earlier!
This is the moment that scared me a child, the way I see it now, it's a bit silly, but hopefully you guys will understand. So Frank is walking towards his car, he's looking low, beaten and drenched ... he's shouting out Pat's name ... calling for her, of course he has no idea where she is, it's as if he's calling desperately wanting her to maker herself known! Pat can only hear her soulmates voice calling her name and it breaks her, she covers her face and cries hysterically. He shouts at the top of his lungs "I'm sorry!" and then for the whole Square to hear "I LOVE YOU!" .... it's as if they've both come to the realisation that they can't have each other after everything that has happened. They are both lost souls! Pat calls out his name but it's too late as he already drives away in his car, he's unable to see her in the teaming rain and she watches in pure heartache as his car drives away. For a 9/10 year old, watching two people pretty much lose everything in the worst possible way, was pretty horrific. The last thing Frank sees as he drives out of Walford is his dummy set alight!
Another brilliantly written episode and I can fully understand why it's made into the list of iconic episodes. Fantastic performances from Barbara Windsor, Pam St Clement and Mike Reid, such legends and I can’t applaud them enough! I'm sorry this post is late, but I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next iconic episode is going to be! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week! I'll be back very soon! Goodnight and look after yourselves! xXx
