Pam St. Clement as Pat Butcher
(Picture: BBC)It looks like Aberdeen is the place to be, as the same day footage emerged of cabinet minister Michael Gove busting some moves in a nightclub in the city, pictures surfaced of a wall painting dedicated to EastEnders legend, Pat Butcher.
Different estimates have been given around the height of the mural itself, with one Twitter user saying it’s 12ft, while MyLondon reports that the artwork of the long-serving Albert Square character – played by Pam St Clement from 1986 to 2012, when she was killed off, states that it is around 15ft.
Butcher and her recognisable earrings later returned to the soap for special appearances, including in a hallucination scene when friend Peggy Mitchell – played by the late Barbara Windsor – died on the soap in May 2016.
And if Gove didn’t do enough to draw attention to the Scottish city, then the appearance of Ms Butcher many miles away from her East London home has got both EastEnders fans and local residents talking:
Aberdeen's been screaming out for a Pat Butcher mural for years. Well played everyone involved https://t.co/7vSXBgH0Eo
— Pat Butcher (@CocoOrd83) August 30, 2021
Between the Pat Butcher mural and Michael Gove rave, I honestly feel like aberdeen is just going through a really weird fever dream right now
— Sammy Dey (@_sammydeyx_) August 29, 2021
Possibly the most exciting thing that’s ever happened in Aberdeen https://t.co/ZSPDdsHvLi
— Angry People in Local Newspapers (@angrypiln) August 29, 2021
The massive Pat Butcher mural in Aberdeen is my favourite news for ages.
— Ern Malley (@GeoffShadbold) August 29, 2021
brilliant! https://t.co/tILdX0LYCx
— harrie "glorious being of light & miracles"💉💉😷 (@harriekd) August 29, 2021
Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not?https://t.co/iI07iQsOIf
— 📚 Peggy Hughes 👟 🌱 (@HughesPeg) August 30, 2021
Love it here xhttps://t.co/BDvL3PLjLN
— Kyle 🧍🏻♂️ (@louboutdone) August 29, 2021
Pretty sure this is a Franksy.
— dan barker (@danbarker) August 29, 2021
Pls make a video with an Eastenders doof doof ending with theories on who did this!
— Lindsay the Bruce (@LLBruce) August 29, 2021
For some, a mural of just Pat Butcher isn’t enough:
I love it, do Gail Platt next https://t.co/py72zpTLQK
— Jenna Scott (@Jenna__Scott) August 29, 2021
12ft Pat Butcher has been put up on Hadden St in Aberdeen and I’m obsessed. Kat Slater next please pic.twitter.com/j3wVatXNE7
— Kelly Mackie (@KellyMackie19) August 29, 2021
And given we know a certain politician was in Aberdeen city centre the same day photos first appeared of the mural, others have joked about the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancashire’s whereabouts:
Massive Pat Butcher mural appears in Aberdeen on the same night Michael Gove goes to a rave nearby? Doesn't feel like a coincidence to me. https://t.co/213WZ3g8Vi
— Rob Fuller (@robfuller91) August 29, 2021
🚨 | NEW: We have an update on the giant Pat Butcher discovered in Aberdeen. It wasn't Michael Gove. Probably. https://t.co/bt9fZ0ysda
— Craig Munro (@crunro) August 30, 2021
Now am not saying it WAS Michael Gove who done the Pat Butcher mural but funny how both appeared in Aberdeen this weekend. Coincidence, I think not.
— Kirst (@KirstyHutcho) August 29, 2021
There’s already been some suggestions as to which mystery artist is behind the mural, though, given another piece displaying Pam St Clement’s character appeared in Birmingham earlier this year.
Often drawing comparisons to fellow anonymous street artist Banksy, the person behind the Brum painting was an individual known by the alias, Fokawolf.
As for the Aberdeen version, it appears as though Fokawolf has struck again, with a festival Twitter account confirming the artist created the piece.
“Pat Butcher from our ‘Stuck Up’ project with paste up by @fokawolf. Riiiiiiicky,” Nuart Aberdeen tweeted.
