Pastor Clayton

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Evil-doer
Full Name	Gideon Clayton
Alias	Pastor Clayton
Origin	EastEnders
Occupation	Pastor
Powers / Skills	Charisma Deception
Goals	Prevent anyone from discovering that he raped Yolande Trueman (failed).
Crimes	Serial rape Abuse of power Harassment Sexual assault
Type of Villain	Elderly Rapist

“	"We still have a lot of time!"	„
	~ Pastor Clayton's most famous quote as he corners and Yolande in a room and locks the door before raping her.

Pastor Clayton is a fictional character and supporting antagonist in the BBC British soap opera EastEnders. He served as a central character in 2023 and went onto serve as the show's secondary antagonist in 2024.

In his characterization, Pastor Clayton is a pastor of the church in Albert Square who soon became acquainted with local resident Yolande Trueman. At first they bonded up on a friendship level, but then his true nature was revealed when he sexually assaulted Yolande and it transpired that she was one of his many rape victims.

He was portrayed by Howard Saddler.

Biography

Gideon Clayton is known to be a renowned pastor at the church in Albert Square based in Walford, a fictional borough in East London. He is married to a woman named Stella.

In 2024, Pastor Clayton became acquainted with local resident Yolande Trueman and she grew close with him. However, her young relative Denzel Danes grew distrusted of him and they clashed when Pastor Clayton makes a rude comment towards him at a charity fund organizer. Denzel retaliates by throwing curry on his leg and pretending that it was an accident, but Yolande rebukes Denzel and apologizes to Pastor Clayton over the incident.

As time went on, Pastor Clayton and Yolande developed a close bond with each other. This is particularly due to Yolande's spouse, Patrick, being absent in the square for a while and Pastor Clayton soon became the closest friend she had for the next few months. At one point she becomes troubled when Pastor Clayton hugs her and appears to make a sexual remark that leaves her uncomfortable, though he manages to convince her to forgive him for his unusual behaviour. She and him make amends despite Denzel's reservations, as he believes that Pastor Clayton is planning to split her and Patrick up from their relationship.

Soon enough, Pastor Clayton arranges a fundraiser event and invites Yolande to help work on the project. However, he soon begins acting very strange and close with Yolande. In the midst of the event in the church, Yolande goes to a storage room to find something and he follows her. He then locks the door as Yolande asks what he is doing. Pastor Clayton then launches himself at Yolande and rapes her. Shortly afterwards, he finishes the rest of the event and pretends that nothing has happened.

Later on, as Yolande has trouble coming to terms with her rape ordeal, it soon transpires that she was not his first victim. A flashback scene occurs in which Pastor Clayton is revealed to be a serial rapist who had sexually assaulted five other women. They each struggle to come to terms of his predatory actions and reluctantly report him to the authorities, but neither they nor his church superiors have any evidence of what he did. Henceforth, Pastor Clayton has currently gotten away with his rape crimes and Yolande is merely the latest of his victims.

Trivia

• The storyline depicting Pastor Clayton's villainous persona and Yolande's rape ordeal was part of a project where the writers worked with End Violence Against Women Coalition and Hourglass to accurately portray the story. Chris Clenshaw, the show's executive producer, wanted the story to raise awareness about "how women at any age can been groomed by someone in a position of power". Veronica Gray, deputy CEO of Hourglass, called the story "a landmark moment for all older victims of abuse in the UK and beyond". She hoped it would create an open dialogue for the audience around the sexual abuse of older people. Andrea Simon, the director of End Violence Against Women Coalition, praised that marginalised groups were being portrayed in the story and hoped it would "dispel myths and stereotypes about what victims and survivors look like and how perpetrators behave".