Patricia Ruth "Pat" Sugden (also Harker and Merrick) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'', played by actresses
Lynn Dalby
Lynn Dalby (born 17 February 1947) is an English actress.
Dalby was born in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Career
She trained at the Corona Theatre School with future ''Emmerdale'' co-star Frazer Hines.
Her first TV appeara ...
and Helen Weir.
Development
Pat is characterised as a "passionate and strong minded" female. Pat easily settles into farm life and contributes by taking over control of
Sam Pearson Sam Pearson may refer to:
* Sam Pearson (Emmerdale)
* Sam Pearson (footballer)
See also
* Samuel Pearson, English entrepreneur and founder of Pearson plc
{{hndis, Pearson, Sam ...
's (
Toke Townley
John Antony Townley (6 November 1912 – 27 September 1984), known professionally as Toke Townley, was an English actor.
Biography
Townley was born on 6 November 1912 at Great Dunmow, Essex; his father was a vicar. His first name, "John", was c ...
) vegetable garden.
Writers developed a marriage between Pat and
Jack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1973 with a brief return in 1976, when the actor left for Italy to write a book. ...
(
Clive Hornby
Clive William Hornby (20 October 1944 – 3 July 2008) was an English actor, best known for his role as Jack Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. He first appeared in the programme (then named ''Emmerdale Farm'') in 1980, and remained in ...
). They portrayed the Sugden marriage in stark contrast to the ideal marriage between
Matt (
Frederick Pyne
Frederick Pyne (born 30 December 1936) is an English actor best known for his role as original character Matt Skilbeck on the ITV soap ''Emmerdale Farm'' from 1972 to 1989.
Biography
Pyne attended Holloway County Grammar School (now Holloway S ...
) and
Dolly Skilbeck
Dolly Skilbeck (also Acaster) is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British television soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Dolly made her first on-screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 22 February 1977. The char ...
(Jean Rogers). Pat's strong mindset often leads to arguments with Jack but they appear to enjoy this. Unlike the Skilbecks, Pat and Jack would be bored with a tranquil life and "enjoy the stimulation of pitting their wits against each other."
[
When Pat was originally featured in the series, Jack left her and moved away. This left Pat on the rebound and she marries ]Tom Merrick
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
(Dave Hill
David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle.
Early life
B ...
).[ They later divorced and when she was reintroduced into the series she married Jack. Writers continued to give them a turbulent marriage and Jack has an affair with Karen Moore (]Annie Hulley
Annie Hulley (born 23 October 1955 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English television and stage actress who has appeared in the British soap-operas ''Emmerdale'' as Karen Moore and ''Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is ...
).[ His affair makes Pat question whether or not she made the correct decision marrying Jack. Another issue writers explored was Jack's relationship with Pat's children, including ]Sandie Merrick Sandie may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist
* Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player
* Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer
* Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (1879 ...
(Jane Hutcheson), which causes more friction.[
]
Storylines
In September 1980, Ruth, now calling herself Pat, returned to Beckindale with Jackie and Sandie to stay with her aunt Elsie after she left Tom for good. But Elsie would not take them in as her children would make a lot of noise. Ny Estates found her a home in a grotty, stuffy caravan
Caravan or caravans may refer to:
Transport and travel
*Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together
**Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop
*Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals
*Convoy, a group of veh ...
.
Later that year Tom came back to town but by this time Pat had started dating Jack again. Tom tried to frame Jack in an arson attack of which Jack had an alibi. Seth Armstrong found out the truth and told Tom to leave Beckindale with threats of disclosure.
In 1982, Pat and Jack married with Matt as best man and Sandie as bridesmaid. Pat and Jack were happy for quite a while until in 1984 when Jack had an affair with reporter Karen Moore. The couple split up for a while but later got back together. In 1985, Pat learned she was pregnant and gave birth to a son, Robert Jacob Sugden, in April 1986, which brought her and Jack closer together. However, that August tragedy struck when Pat died after her car crashed down a hillside when she swerved to avoid a flock of sheep. She had been returning home from dropping her sister Janie off at the train station after a visit. Pat's funeral was held on 2 September 1986 and she was buried in the village churchyard. Jack was left to bring up Robert alone, who grew up with no memories of his mother.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugden, Pat
Emmerdale characters
Television characters introduced in 1972
Female characters in television