EastEnders’s Pam St Clement ‘berated co-star Scott Maslen for accidentally calling her Pat Butcher’

She is known for her ostentatious onscreen persona of Pat Butcher. 

But Pam St Clement reportedly had a stern word with her EastEnders co-star Scott Maslen, who plays Jack Branning, for accidentally confusing her with her Albert Square character.  

Pam, 78, berated Scott, 49, for the mishap – which allegedly happened just after he joined the show in 2007. 

Jake Wood, 48, who play’s Jack’s brother Max, revealed the hilarious gaffe on his Pound for Pound boxing podcast. 

 

He said: ‘She really took offence and gave him a hard time for it. She’s a really lovely lady but she wasn’t too happy. 

‘She looked at him and goes, ”Don’t call me Pat!”’

He went on to talk about how scared and embarrassed Scott was when he realised his mistake. 

Jake continued: ‘Scott was s***ing himself. She talks really posh in real life.’ 

A source told The Sun: ‘Scott apologised twice. He was mortified.’ 

Back in 2015, it was reported that Pam told a railway worker to ‘f*** off’ when he innocently said, ‘Pat Butcher? I thought you were dead’. 

According to the Evening Standard, onlookers told The Sun: ‘He obviously meant absolutely nothing by it. I’d have thought that she got called Pat all the time to be honest, she was on the telly for years.

‘She needs to calm down a bit, maybe she’d had a long day – but the poor guy who asked her looked pretty upset, I thought he might cry.’ 

Pam, who was privately educated, joined the EastEnders cast in 1986 – the year after the soap began. 

She left the soap after her iconic character, Pat, was killed off in 2012 shortly after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  

Filming of the beloved TV soap was halted for a few months because of the coronavirus pandemic but actors are now getting back to Albert Square to continue recording.  

Recording resumed at the beginning of July but it is unclear when new episodes will air. 

Stalwarts including Danny, Adam Woodyatt and Jake Wood have been seen adhering to social distancing guidelines while filming their scenes.

According to Jake, who plays Max Branning, 47, CGI is being used in almost every shot for new episodes. 

The star spoke to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain after his first day back on set on Monday. 

He said: ‘It’s going to take a bit of getting used to. We’re all socially distant so everyone is two metres apart. It’s quite extraordinary the way were shooting it, the way we’re filming it.’

‘They’ve been there for weeks working out the way to do it. We’ve seen some of the stuff they’ve shot, it’s very very clever. You’re not going to notice a difference as a viewer. 

‘Almost every shot has got CGI in it.’    

Those on set now have to follow new social distancing guidelines in accordance with government regulation so that they are able to return safely amid the crisis.   

Fans are anticipating the show returning several weeks down the line, as the programme aired its final episode earlier this month after running out of episodes due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The hit BBC One soap is keeping loyal viewers in suspense as they ended the show with a dramatic Sharon Mitchell cliffhanger.

Production on EastEnders came to a halt in March, when the UK went into lockdown and most people were instructed to stay home, and work from home if possible. 

The  programme is set to return to the BBC with 20-minute episodes, four days a week.     

Until now, only two pre-filmed EastEnders episodes have aired a week to make them last as long as possible. 

EastEnders executive producer Jon Sen said: ‘Resuming production is incredibly exciting and challenging in equal measure.

‘Since we postponed filming we’ve been working non-stop trialling techniques, filming methods and new ways of working so that we can return to screens four times a week – as EastEnders should be.

‘Filming will inevitably be a more complex process now so creating 20-minute episodes will enable us to ensure that when we return, EastEnders will still be the show the audience know and love.’  

Until the new episodes air, the show is plugging the gap with classic EastEnders episodes and a spin-off show that will feature presenter Stacey Dooley. 

Stacey, 33, is now hosting a new show called EastEnders: Secrets From The Square on Monday nights. 

She is presenting the show from the soap’s famous restaurant Walford East and will be joined by two members from the cast. 

The cast members, who will include Letitia Dean (Sharon Watts), Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), Danny Dyer (Mick Carter), Diane Parish (Denise Fox), Tameka Empson (Kim Fox) and Kellie Bright (Linda Carter), will reflect on their time on the show and tease what’s to come when the show returns.  

There will also be an occasional sneak peek behind the scenes in the show, which launched on June 22.