Aberdeen locals and visitors have been left baffled after a massive portrait of Pat Butcher appeared on a wall in the city centre.
The street art – around 15ft tall, according to pictures on social media – reportedly appeared on Friday night.
It can be found on the wall of Aberdeen Indoor Market, at the junction of Hadden Street and Stirling Street, beside Jetpack Dinosaur’s whale street art from 2018.
There is no apparent connection between the EastEnders icon, played by Pam St Clement, and the Granite City, leading to some confusion from Twitter and Facebook users who shared their own photos of the pasted picture.
Adam Swift, a Bath native who is visiting Aberdeen with two friends for the bank holiday weekend, wrote on Twitter: “Don’t have a clue what is going on here…..”
Can anyone explain to me why Pat Butchers fizzer is plastered on a wall in Aberdeen ?? 😕😕😕 pic.twitter.com/mfoOuDBTVc
— JJ 🏴🇪🇺🍀 (@SuperSonicCelt) August 28, 2021
Over on Facebook, one commenter expressed his frustration at the portrait, saying: “Don’t like program canny get away from it, can switch off TV can’t switch off that.”
Soap legend
New Year’s Day 2022 will mark the tenth anniversary of Pat Butcher’s death from pancreatic cancer.
The character had been one of the most recognisable and long-lasting on EastEnders, having first appeared in 1986, just over a year after the BBC soap opera first aired.
Pam St Clement’s portrayal of Pat, known for her marriage to Mike Reid’s Frank Butcher and friendship with Barbara Windsor’s Peggy Mitchell, won her a lifetime achievement award from the British Soap Awards in 2012.
It is unclear whether the artist wanted to pay tribute a decade after the character’s death, or whether they are simply a fan.
Despite the picture’s proximity to the ‘Stone Cold Kriller’ painted door, it does not appear to be connected to any official initiative such as the Nuart festival which took place earlier this summer.
Those wanting to visit the monster-sized Pat Butcher may need to go before it’s too late – Aberdeen City Council took over the empty market building at the start of this month, and it is understood it may be demolished by Christmas.