Frank Butcher
| Frank Butcher | |||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Mike Reid | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1987–2000, 2002, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 268 8 September 1987 |
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| Last appearance | Episode 3059 9 December 2005 |
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| Introduced by | Julia Smith (1987) Mike Gibbon (1988) Corinne Hollingworth (1995) Jane Harris (1997) Matthew Robinson (1998) Louise Berridge (2002) Kate Harwood (2005) |
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| Spin-off appearances |
Dimensions in Time (1993) Perfectly Frank (2003) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Businessman Barman Car salesman Pub landlord |
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| Father | Chike Butcher |
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| Mother | Mo Butcher |
| Sisters | Joan Garwood |
| Wife | June Simmonds (backstory) Pat Butcher (1989–96) Peggy Mitchell (1999–2001) |
| Sons |
Ricky Butcher Danny Butcher |
| Daughters |
Clare Butcher Diane Butcher Janine Butcher |
| Grandsons |
Jacques Butcher Liam Butcher |
| Granddaughters | Tiffany Butcher |
Francis Aloysius "Frank" Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception he is reintroduced in 1988 as a regular. Reid took a long hiatus from EastEnders in 1994. Frank returns as a recurring character from December 1995 to January 1998, and eventually becomes a regular once again from May 1998 to November 2000, when Reid quit. Frank makes three brief reappearances after that, the final one in December 2005. Given the widespread identification of Mike Reid as Frank, Reid's death in July 2007 led to BBC bosses deciding that it would not be possible for the character to return in the future. In November 2007, it was announced that the character would die off-screen and in April 2008 his funeral was screened as part of a special set of episodes, dubbed Frank Week.
Frank is a wheeler-dealer who likes to think of himself as a 'big player' in the business world, but in reality he is little more than a wily conman. He is a smooth-talker and full of charm, but his actions are often thoughtless and he tends to run instead of facing up to his responsibilities, leaving his loved ones to pick up the pieces. His love affair with Pat Harris (Pam St. Clement) stems back to his teens, and he can never quite let her go, always breaking her heart, disappearing, and returning to break it all over again.
Frank started out as a used-car salesman. He met Pat Harris (Pam St. Clement) at Butlins in Clacton in 1958 and despite being on holiday with his girlfriend June he was attracted to Pat. They had an affair but June became pregnant, so he married her and broke Pat's heart. Frank and Pat met up from time to time and on each occasion the affair was rekindled, but Frank wouldn't leave June and Pat eventually married and had children of her own. Frank and June had four children: Clare in 1959, Ricky (Sid Owen) in 1973, Diane (Sophie Lawrence) in 1974, and Janine in 1983. June died of cancer in 1987, leaving Frank bereft and his children motherless.
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