Pat Lynch was an ex-girlfriend of Neil Crossley's who had dated him when he had worked at Gamma Garments' branch in Bolton. There he had exercised his considerable charms on her resulting in her putting off her marriage to another man and allowing him to sponge the considerable sum of £15 off her. When he was moved to the Rosamund Street of Gamma, she tracked him down to Weatherfield to get the money back. When she called into the shop, Neil had just done one of his frequent flits from behind the counter leaving Doreen Lostock alone to serve Martha Longhurst, and to wonder exactly who the new visitor was who was so keen to see the newly-appointed and slightly mysterious manager.
Later on, Martha saw Pat in the Rovers when she popped in there with Ena Sharples and she decided to talk to her and find out who she was. She introduced herself to her, letting on that she thought she was a local girl to get her to admit her true identity, but the wily Pat spotted Martha watching them, realised what Ena was up to, and demanded that she stopped her "vinegar faced pal" haunting her, without letting anything slip as to who she really was. After waiting for several hours, Pat returned to Gamma just as the shop was closing and having spotted Neil's coat on a hanger refused to leave until he came back. Emily Nugent was forced to stay with her but their wait was only a short one. Seeing Pat was there, Neil insisted that Emily leave them alone and she did so, departing work for the night.
Neil claimed to Pat that he had just written to her to advise her of his new address, but she was now too savvy to be taken in by his charms and demanded her £15 back, saying she was now getting married and wouldn't be put off from her intentions again by him. When he reached out to touch her, she pulled away, threatening him with the police with the intention of embarrassing him by getting his face in the papers. Neil saw that he'd pulled all the strokes he could with Pat and his store of charms had been well and truely used up. He emptied his wallet of almost all the major cash he had - £2 - with a promise that he would send her the balance next week. This seemed to change Pat's attitude towards him and she accepted his offer to go for a final drink together in the Rovers, though he had to ask Annie Walker for credit - a request which she refused - and where Ena and Martha watched their conversation with interest until Neil walked Pat back to the railway station for her return trip to Bolton.