Is Yolande Trueman returning to EastEnders as Patrick pines for her?
Will she be back?
Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) was seen staring longingly at a photo of his ex-wife Yolande (Angela Wynter) in tonight's EastEnders (22nd March), making us wonder whether the former character could be heading back to Walford.
The scene in question occurred when Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) confided in Patrick, who is like a grandfather to her, over her new romance with Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). Chelsea's mum Denise (Diane Parish) had warned her that Ravi is bad news. This is something of an understatement, but that's a whole other story!
When Chelsea spoke to Patrick, he brushed off Denise's words as just rumours, adding that if women had listened to what people said about him, he might never have been married. When left alone again, Patrick removed his trademark hat, and took from it a picture of Yolande.
EastEnders spoilers recently revealed that Patrick will ultimately decide to try and win back Yolande, after winning a bet on a horse which he placed in honour of her 70th birthday. Patrick will plan to pay her a visit, but could this mean that Yolande will be back on our screens?
What happened to Yolande in EastEnders?
Yolande was first seen in Walford back in 2003, after enjoying a holiday romance with Patrick. They met in their homeland of Trinidad, embarking on a passionate affair which tore Yolande away from an unhappy marriage with a man called Victor (Ben Thomas), whose views objectified women. Patrick admitted that he had fallen in love with Yolande, but Victor arrived and tried to pay Patrick £1,000 to let Yolande go. Patrick refused, but there was a misunderstanding when Yolande spotted the two men with the cash. Yolande returned to Trinidad, but eventually came back to Patrick and settled down happily with him.
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After marrying the following year, Patrick and Yolande fostered a little girl called Katie (Parhys-Jai Cato). The couple ran a bed and breakfast, as well as the local Minute Mart. But in 2006, Yolande struck up a feud with Pat Evans (Pam St Clements), which only intensified when Patrick began an affair with Pat. How could we forget that infamous scene which saw just Patrick's head and hat peeking out from the bedcovers!
Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) caught them kissing and told Yolande, resulting in a very public brawl between the two women. Yolande sought to get revenge by propositioning Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels), but she couldn't go through with it and confessed to Patrick, reluctantly giving her husband a second chance. Later that year, it seemed that Yolande had had a fling with an old friend of Patrick's, Aubrey Valentine (Joseph Marcell). Patrick threw his wife out, but Aubrey admitted to making the whole thing up and the couple were reconciled once more.
In 2008, Patrick accidentally turned off the chiller at the Minute Mart, and after selling the unrefrigerated food, he unwittingly gave their customers food poisoning. A staff member from head office arrived for an inspection, and was so impressed with Yolande's efforts to get the shop back up to standard that they offered her a job at the HQ in Birmingham. Yolande was thrilled, but Patrick wasn't keen to move, and Yolande subsequently departed Walford alone. Patrick promised to sell up and join her at a later date, but he couldn't being himself to leave and he and Yolande were divorced the following year.
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In 2017, Yolande reappeared during a disciplinary meeting, where she tried to ensure that Minute Mark employee Denise kept her job. But Denise ended up quitting when Yolande's colleague tried to order her on a training course. A few months later, Yolande returned once more to inform another employee, Derek Harkinson (Ian Lavender), that he would be removed from the back to work scheme if he failed to explain his criminal record. Yolande paid a visit to Patrick, and they shared a dance and looked back on past memories before she returned to Birmingham.
Will Yolande return to EastEnders?
While there has been no word yet as to whether we'll be seeing Yolande once more, she certainly has enough history to make a full time return totally worthwhile. The character has a friendship with Denise, history with Patrick and an association with other locals, such as former Minute Mart employee Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton), there are plenty more residents around who will remember the strong-willed Yolande.
As her most recent appearance tells us, Yolande is one of the good ones, and would be a welcome addition to the current cast. Walford's local shop is now run by the formidable Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), and it would be great to see her come face to face with Yolande. It's also about time Patrick had some more happiness in his life, after his most recent marriage to Sheree Trueman (Suzette Llewellyn) ended with her conning him out of his business when he refused to move to Trinidad with her.
So, will Yolande be popping back to the Square anytime soon? We'll keep this page updated if any more details some to light, but for now, it looks like all eyes are on Patrick!
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