Patrick Doyle (Shaun Scott) 2002-2003

First Regular Appearance: 5.22 (#250) Changing Places  Sunday 24th February 2002

Last Regular Appearance: 6.32 (#292) Just The Ticket  Sunday 18th May 2003

Duration: EP: 250 - 292  |  SE: 5.22 – 6.32

Position: Manager (2002-2003)

Last Seen: Shot to death in the Dragon's Lair toilets while fleeing the heavies from his bet.

With sly and cunning traits masked by charm and intelligence, Patrick Doyle was proficient enough to oversee a successful run as a football manager in the highest leagues, and renowned for having a respected relationship with his players. Patrick's prestigious career in football management saw him travel the world, spending a good deal of time particularly in New Zealand where his son Taylor was raised. Taylor followed his father into the 'family business' of football and became an agent, accompanying Patrick across all his clubs and becoming his loyal sidekick.

Before returning to England, Doyle's previous position saw him in France managing Paris Saint-Germain. He oversaw a successful period at the club, including a record 7–1 European win against KAA Gent in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2001. Patrick's first dealings with Harchester United came when Ray Wyatt and Lynda Block came in for Monday Bandele, followed with his own striker Curtis Alexander arranging a contract for his brother at the club. A month after Linton Alexander signed for Harchester, Sam Irving appoints Patrick as the club's new permanent manager taking over from Monday, who had been acting as caretaker for the previous couple of months. Doyle leaves PSG in a comfortable position, and takes the reigns at United, determined to see the club through to the finals of the UEFA Cup and their first European trophy win.

Although getting his players in line is something he has to contend with almost immediately. When a bitter Andrei Belanov goes public on Sky Sports accusing Doyle's now assistant Monday of assault, Patrick wastes no time offloading the defender with a little help from Taylor. Then there's the fiery history between Linton and Stevie Shaw. Patrick brings in sports psychologist (and his secret lover) Gemma McKenzie to work with the team, but it backfires when she tells Patrick to keep her authority they must stop seeing each other. The team win their place for the UEFA Cup Final in Amsterdam, but on the way to the airport the coach crashes leaving three of Patrick's players dead. The game still goes ahead, but with a weakened side made up mostly of reserve players the Dragon's lose admirably to AC Milan. Shortly after the crash Taylor departs leaving Patrick solo in his schemes.

Patrick wants further control of Harchester beyond managerial status for the new season, and with Jeff they set up a consortium in which to buy the club from Irving. They are shocked however when he sells to a bidder offering an extra £3M, a lottery winning plumber called Phil Wallis. Having brought his former players Curtis Alexander and Marcel Sabatier across from PSG, Patrick, now unable to own the club shows his most ruthless streak - placing a half-million pound bet on Harchester being relegated. The work begins on Doyle's side immediately, and he kills two birds with one stone in selling Monday to accommodate Phil's desire to have Scott Lucas back at the club. Patrick deliberately won't play Scott in his preferred position as striker, so he backs out of the deal and Harchester are a striker down.

Doyle also sees off new Real Madrid signing Roberto Mendoza on his debut session, causing a career-ending injury when he knew he wasn't fit to train. Jacqui Wallis learns what Patrick has done, and plans to take him down but having learnt her husband used the last of their lottery money to buy the ultimately useless Mendoza, a bitter Jacqui goes renegade and joins Patrick in his bet... followed by his bed. As Harchester's form slips dramatically and a fight for survival looks ever more likely, Jacqui begins to feel guilty, and finds herself pregnant with Doyle's baby, but the stress of the bet gets too much for her and she miscarries the child.

Patrick slips up though, with his misjudgement that Fletch would join the bet due to the severity of his money troubles, and Karl shows his true commitment to the club by taking on the rogue manager. In order to discredit Fletch on all accounts, Patrick spikes him with cocaine before a random drugs test, which Karl narrowly passes. Patrick's sacking by Phil following Jacqui's revealing of everything leads Fletch to discover he wasn't the only player aware of the bet. Troubled goalkeeper Jamie Parker had fallen under Doyle's control, paid to throw games even after Patrick is dismissed from the club. When returning manager Alan Rothman drops him from the final, and most crucial game of survival against Everton, Jamie well and truly loses it. Doyle hands Jamie a gun to kill himself with, but Jamie takes the whole team hostage in the dressing room at half time. The end of the siege sees Jamie shot dead.

With Patrick exposed, the gangsters he owes money to from the bet are out to get him. He is released from prison into the custody of Phil, whom he has to stay with for his own safety! Phil takes Patrick to Jamie's grave, and forces his face into the dirt to say sorry for the death he caused. Patrick is forced to go with Phil to the club for the final replay which will decide Harchester's fate, which, ironically, they survive. Two thugs from the syndicate get inside the club and chase down Patrick, where he is found hiding inside the toilets and executed. Doyle's body is found by an unfortunate cleaner and it is later revealed the two killers were in police custody.