Patricia Joan Spicer was born at St Andrew's Hospital in Bromley-by-Bow, East London,[1] England on 21 November 1935,[2][3] as the younger child[4] to Thomas John "Tom"[3] Spicer (1913–1987),[5][6] a painter,[7] and his wife,[8] Winifred Hermar "Win"[3] (née Chipperfield; 1911–1948),[9][10] a factory worker,[7] who was part of the family who ran Chipperfield's Circus.
[17] Her mother died from rheumatic heart and kidney trouble[18] when her daughter was 12 years old, leaving her as head of the household to look after her father and brother.
[26] Brooker began working in the Tate and Lyle sugar factory in Canning Town shortly after she returned from honeymoon.
[28][29] Brooker and her husband, Charlie, owned The Rising Sun pub at 199 St Leonards Street[30] in Bromley-by-Bow[31] from January 1968[30] until around Christmas in 1970.
[35] Brooker appeared on the final episode in the fifth series of the Channel 4 comedy chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 21 February 2011.
[42] Brooker appeared on the first episode in the sixth series of the ITV2 comedy panel game Celebrity Juice on 1 September 2011, as the "Newerer Magazine Head", during a challenge.
[43] Brooker appeared as a contestant on the final episode in the sixth series of the ITV game show All Star Family Fortunes.
[46] Brooker appeared on four episodes of the ITV breakfast television programme Daybreak, during the run up to the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II through early February 2012.
[46] Brooker wrote Penny Sweets and Cobbled Streets: My East End Childhood (ISBN 9781447218753), her first autobiography, which was published by Pan[47] on 16 August 2012.
[49] Brooker wrote Queen of the Rising Sun: From Landlady of an East End Pub to Essex Nan (ISBN 9781447218784), her second autobiography, which was published by Pan[47] on Valentine's Day 2013.
[52] Brooker appeared on the ITV breakfast television programme Good Morning Britain on 9 October 2015, just over two months prior to her death.
[53] Spicer met her future husband, Charles Thomas "(Big) Charlie" Brooker (born 13 April 1930),[54][55][56][57] a council worker, in the autumn of 1953, when she was 17 and he was 22.
[90] Her death was announced in a statement by the Wright family, reading: "Sadly our amazing, courageous and beautiful Nanny Pat passed away this morning after a short illness.
A spokesperson for The Only Way Is Essex paid tribute, stating: "We are absolutely devastated to hear the sad news about our beloved Nanny Pat.