Ethel Skinner
Encyclopedia
Ethel May Skinner is a fictional character
from the British
soap opera
EastEnders
, played by the late Gretchen Franklin
. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War
, where the character is played by Alison Bettles
.
Ethel was an EastEnders original character and in the early years she could always be found wandering the square with her adored pug Willy. She and Dot Cotton were lifelong friends and although they wound each other up no end, they were completely dependent on each other. In fact Ethel trusted Dot so much that she even asked her to help her die in 2000, after she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.
Ethel Skinner was one of the original characters that appeared in the first episode of EastEnders in 1985 and her early history has been depicted in EastEnders spin-off 'Civvy Street'.
Ethel lived in Albert Square
for most of her life, remaining there through the Second World War
, and even witnessing the death of her entire family, who were wiped out by a doodlebug
. This tragic event had sent a young Ethel into shock and had subsequently turned her slightly loopy. She began dressing outrageously, wearing garish make-up, flirting with anyone in trousers, and knocking back Gin
- traits that lasted well into her old-age.
Ethel was a widow
, her husband William Skinner had died and she never really recovered from it - she even named her pug
dog after him, 'Willy
', or "my little Willy" as she would often call him. Ethel had never had children, a fact that she regretted in her old-age and so Willy had become her surrogate child, and she loved him dearly. Willy went everywhere that Ethel went and so she was devastated when he was kidnapped in 1986. She searched for him everywhere and even held a seance
to see if she could contact him, but Willy was nowhere to be found. Detective Roy Quick worked on the case and eventually found Willy in the possession of an old Latvia
n refugee
, who had renamed him Rasputin. Willy was returned to an overjoyed Ethel, although she had to pay the man in order to get him to relinquish ownership.
Ethel had been life-long friends with Lou Beale
and Dot Cotton and the trio had remained close in their old-age. They could often be found reminiscing or gossiping in The Queen Vic, where Ethel would also regularly thrill the punters with her repartee, her version of the cancan, or her plain sense of fun. Out of the three Ethel was the most light-hearted and she was never frightened to stand up to the over-bearing Lou and interfering Dot. She had her run-ins with both over the years, and yet their friendship endured right to the last.
Ethel lived above Doctor Legg's surgery and worked as the cleaner in the Queen Vic
. She was somewhat of a troublemaker and would often spread the most insane rumours about and get her words mixed up with hilarious consequences. She was famous for her questionable ability to read-palms and tea-leaves, once even earning a living from it.
After Lou's death in 1988 Ethel and Dot became an inseparable double-act and although the two used to argue constantly, they actually depended on each other a great deal. Despite the fact that Ethel appeared totally barmy, she could be quite astute when she wanted and she was always the first to point out the malicious ways of Dot's villainous son, Nick Cotton
. Ethel was never afraid to stand up to Nick, even kneeing him in the groin once when he attempted to mug her. She also correctly figured out that Nick was trying to poison Dot to get at her money, and she refused to back down, despite Dot falling out with her because of her accusations.
Following several falls and a broken hip, Ethel was persuaded to move out of her residence above the surgery and into sheltered housing
in 1988. Although she was strongly opposed to this initially, she eventually came to enjoy her new home and would show up in Albert Square regularly.
Ethel had several romances with senior bachelors on Albert Square. Her old boyfriend from the war years, Ernie Mears, returned to Albert Square in 1985 and proposed to her. However, the offer was conditional. Ernie was allergic to dogs and Williy, Ethel's constant companion for the past 9 years, would have to go. Ethel seriously considered Ernie's offer but gently declined. In 1988 she found romance again with a friend of Dr. Legg's, Benny Bloom. Dot loathed Benny and did everything she could to talk Ethel out of dating him. Ethel and Benny discussed marriage, which Ethel agreed to, mainly to spite Dot, who called her a silly fool for wanting to re-marry at her time of life. However, after discovering pets weren't allowed in the manor where Benny lived, Ethel couldn't consider parting with her pug Willy so the engagement was called off. A few months later Ethel heard news that Benny had died and had left her £2000 in his will, although his daughter did try to contest the will for a while.
In August 1989 Ethel met a new love interest named Reggie Thompson. He invited her to go on a coach trip to Clacton for a dancing competition. Ethel was so excited that she showed Reggie a saucy nightie she bought for the trip. When Dot, Marge Green
and Mo Butcher
found out about the trip, they decided to go as well. Reggie arranged dancing partners for them and the girls practised hard at the community centre for months before the trip. But upon arriving Ethel grew disappointed in Reggie when he started to show interest in another woman named Gladys. On the night of the dancing competition, Ethel found that Reggie had run off with Gladys and she had no partner in the grand ballroom except for her 'little Willy'.
In 1992 Ethel's adored pug Willy succumbed to old-age and she had to make the heart-breaking decision to put him down
. The Vic regulars clubbed together to buy Ethel a new dog, but she wouldn't accept it, saying Willy was irreplaceable.
By the mid 90s Ethel was seen much less frequently. She did turn up in Walford occasionally however, usually when a big event was occurring or to celebrate Christmas
and New Year with her old friends on the Square. After 1997 Ethel was not seen in Walford for three years, although she was mentioned often, particularly by Dot, who would often visit her off-screen in her sheltered housing.
's house. Ethel had run away from her retirement village and had decided that she was going to come back to the square, to live in the place she loved with her old friends. Ethel was now restricted to a wheelchair
and it was left to Dot to cater for her every need, which often left her exhausted. Ethel appeared to have lost none of her zest for life, despite her considerable age, so it was a huge shock to Dot when Ethel revealed that she was suffering from terminal cancer and was not going to live much longer.
Ethel revealed that she had come home to the square to die, but instead of waiting to die in agony, she wanted to choose her final moments so she could die with dignity. She had been storing her morphine
tablets for many weeks and it was her plan to take an overdose before the pain became too unbearable, but before being able to execute her plan she had already become too weak and was now unable to administer the drugs without Dot's assistance. Dot was devastated and initially refused to help Ethel, as to help another take their own life went completely against her strict Christian
principles. Dot spent many agonising weeks wrestling with her conscience, but she eventually agreed to grant her old friend's final wish. On the night of her 85th birthday (it was actually her 86th, but she'd always lied about her age), after a celebratory party at The Vic, Ethel decided that this was to be her last night. After blowing out the candles of her birthday cake and bidding Dot an emotional farewell, Ethel took her pills, aided by Dot, and died peacefully in her sleep. Ethel's last appearance was in September 2000.
Gretchen Franklin, the actress who played Ethel Skinner, died on 11 July 2005 at the age of 94, almost five years after her character was killed off.
and Julia Smith
. Ethel was based on an elderly woman that Smith had encountered in a pub in Hackney
. She had bright ginger hair, a face plied with make-up, she laughed a lot and was obviously "the life and soul of the party". She also had a little dog
, Willie, who she dressed in a red ribbon, tied in a neat bow on its head. Smith felt that a character like this would be an excellent inclusion to the show.
Ethel's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story
.
Gretchen Franklin
was the first actress that Smith and Holland had in mind for the role. An experienced actress with a long career in show-business, Franklin was considered to be ideal casting, so she was offered the part.
Ethel became a popular and well-loved character from very early on in the series. Ethel was a gossip who did not always get her facts right, and this was often used for comic effect, as was her use of malapropisms. She became famous for owning a pug
named Willy
. Ethel's famous lines being either, "Where's my Willy?" or, in a double entendre
, "Has anyone seen my Willy". It was originally intended for Ethel's dog to be a Yorkshire Terrier
, but as no suitable Yorkie could be found, a pug was used instead. Over the seven years they worked together Willy (the actor) and Franklin became very attached to each other. So much so that Franklin even tried to buy Willy at one stage, commenting: "I tried to buy him from the BBC but he's too valuable now, he earns a bomb in personal appearances." Franklin was heart-broken in 1992 when the producers made the decision to retire Willy. On-screen Willy became ill and had to be put down. However just over two weeks after his last appearance on the programme the dog who played Willy died. Franklin has commented: "A woman stopped me in the street and said: 'It was like him committing suicide. When he knew he wasn't wanted on that programme no more, he just turned over and died.'"
Ethel's friendship with Dot Cotton was another enduring relationship that lasted throughout the characters time in the show and today they are remembered fondly by fans as being an incomparable double-act. Their arguing and obvious differences were often used for comic effect in many scenes. However in episode 248 of the show the audience were shown a different side to Ethel and Dot's friendship in the soaps second two-hander episode. The episode was aired in July 1987 and featured just the two old ladies (although Dot was Ethel's junior by twenty years or so), and was scripted as a mini-play about nostalgia and growing old. Some viewers found it too unusual, but many others were charmed by the change of pace. The episode gave Franklin and June Brown
(Dot) the opportunity to show the sadness behind the often comical characters of Ethel and Dot. The episode was written by Charlie Humphreys and directed by Mike Gibbon, a future producer of the show.
The character of Ethel initially remained on the show for 12 years, although her appearances towards the end became more widely spaced and she only returned to the show intermittently. Off-screen Gretchen Franklin retired, however 3 years after her last brief appearance Ethel was reintroduced to the show for one final and highly controversial storyline. The storyline involved her old friend Dot helping her to commit suicide. When Ethel Skinner became ill in September 2000, she asked Dot to help her when the time finally came for her to pass away. Dot had to make a decision that went against her moral and religious beliefs. In the end Dot decided that friendship was more important and so she helped Ethel die peacefully. Written by Simon Ashton and directed by Francesca Joseph the episode ended with a touching scene in which Ethel tells a weeping Dot "you're the best friend I ever had". The finishing touch was the use of an alternative end title music, replacing the dramatic drum beats with a war time orchestral piece. The ramifications of this storyline were immense for the character of Dot, and the consequences of her actions were examined in detail - which included a crisis of faith. Such was the controversy surrounding this storyline that the University of Glamorgan
uses the plot as part of their new approach to the study of British criminal law. Part of the law foundation course involves studying the soap opera and giving students the chance to decide if Dot Cotton's character is guilty of murder.
Ethel's euthanasia
is considered to be one of the most moving storylines ever featured in EastEnders and it was voted the most emotional soap death in a Radio Times poll of over 4,000 readers." 16.2 million viewers tuned in to see Ethel's final appearance in the show and 15 million viewers watched her funeral.
). Ethel died on what she claimed was the night of her 86th birthday in September 2000, and although Dot knew very well her birthday was in February, she organised a party at Ethel's request to give her one last 'birthday' before she died. February 19 is also the day that EastEnders was first broadcast.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, played by the late Gretchen Franklin
Gretchen Franklin
Gretchen Franklin was an English actress with a career in showbusiness that spanned over eighty years.She was born in Covent Garden, west London, a cousin of the actor Clive Dunn. She was best known for playing the character of Ethel Skinner in the long running BBC One, soap opera, EastEnders...
. Ethel Skinner also features in a 1988 EastEnders special, entitled Civvy Street, set on Albert Square during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, where the character is played by Alison Bettles
Alison Bettles
Alison Bettles is an English television actress. She is best known for playing Fay Lucas in BBC's Grange Hill for six series .- Career :...
.
Ethel was an EastEnders original character and in the early years she could always be found wandering the square with her adored pug Willy. She and Dot Cotton were lifelong friends and although they wound each other up no end, they were completely dependent on each other. In fact Ethel trusted Dot so much that she even asked her to help her die in 2000, after she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.
Early years
Ethel lived in Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
for most of her life, remaining there through the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and even witnessing the death of her entire family, who were wiped out by a doodlebug
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
. This tragic event had sent a young Ethel into shock and had subsequently turned her slightly loopy. She began dressing outrageously, wearing garish make-up, flirting with anyone in trousers, and knocking back Gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
- traits that lasted well into her old-age.
Ethel was a widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
, her husband William Skinner had died and she never really recovered from it - she even named her pug
Pug
The pug is a "toy" breed of dog with a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, and a compact square body with well-developed muscle. They have been described as multum in parvo , referring to the pug's personality and...
dog after him, 'Willy
Willy (EastEnders)
Willy is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Willy was a Pug, who appeared in the first episode of the programme and remained in the show until 1992.-Storylines:...
', or "my little Willy" as she would often call him. Ethel had never had children, a fact that she regretted in her old-age and so Willy had become her surrogate child, and she loved him dearly. Willy went everywhere that Ethel went and so she was devastated when he was kidnapped in 1986. She searched for him everywhere and even held a seance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
to see if she could contact him, but Willy was nowhere to be found. Detective Roy Quick worked on the case and eventually found Willy in the possession of an old Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
, who had renamed him Rasputin. Willy was returned to an overjoyed Ethel, although she had to pay the man in order to get him to relinquish ownership.
Lou Beale
Louise Ada "Lou" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, Civvy Street, set during the Second World War....
and Dot Cotton and the trio had remained close in their old-age. They could often be found reminiscing or gossiping in The Queen Vic, where Ethel would also regularly thrill the punters with her repartee, her version of the cancan, or her plain sense of fun. Out of the three Ethel was the most light-hearted and she was never frightened to stand up to the over-bearing Lou and interfering Dot. She had her run-ins with both over the years, and yet their friendship endured right to the last.
Ethel lived above Doctor Legg's surgery and worked as the cleaner in the Queen Vic
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
. She was somewhat of a troublemaker and would often spread the most insane rumours about and get her words mixed up with hilarious consequences. She was famous for her questionable ability to read-palms and tea-leaves, once even earning a living from it.
After Lou's death in 1988 Ethel and Dot became an inseparable double-act and although the two used to argue constantly, they actually depended on each other a great deal. Despite the fact that Ethel appeared totally barmy, she could be quite astute when she wanted and she was always the first to point out the malicious ways of Dot's villainous son, Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton
Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders played by John Altman on a recurring basis from the soap's debut episode in February 1985, through to his last appearance to date in 2009. Nick is the son of characters Charlie and Dot Cotton, and the father of Ashley and...
. Ethel was never afraid to stand up to Nick, even kneeing him in the groin once when he attempted to mug her. She also correctly figured out that Nick was trying to poison Dot to get at her money, and she refused to back down, despite Dot falling out with her because of her accusations.
Following several falls and a broken hip, Ethel was persuaded to move out of her residence above the surgery and into sheltered housing
Sheltered housing
Sheltered housing is a British English term covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people. Most commonly it refers to grouped housing such as a block or "scheme" of flats or bungalows with a scheme manager or "officer"; traditionally the manager has...
in 1988. Although she was strongly opposed to this initially, she eventually came to enjoy her new home and would show up in Albert Square regularly.
Ethel had several romances with senior bachelors on Albert Square. Her old boyfriend from the war years, Ernie Mears, returned to Albert Square in 1985 and proposed to her. However, the offer was conditional. Ernie was allergic to dogs and Williy, Ethel's constant companion for the past 9 years, would have to go. Ethel seriously considered Ernie's offer but gently declined. In 1988 she found romance again with a friend of Dr. Legg's, Benny Bloom. Dot loathed Benny and did everything she could to talk Ethel out of dating him. Ethel and Benny discussed marriage, which Ethel agreed to, mainly to spite Dot, who called her a silly fool for wanting to re-marry at her time of life. However, after discovering pets weren't allowed in the manor where Benny lived, Ethel couldn't consider parting with her pug Willy so the engagement was called off. A few months later Ethel heard news that Benny had died and had left her £2000 in his will, although his daughter did try to contest the will for a while.
In August 1989 Ethel met a new love interest named Reggie Thompson. He invited her to go on a coach trip to Clacton for a dancing competition. Ethel was so excited that she showed Reggie a saucy nightie she bought for the trip. When Dot, Marge Green
Marge Green
Marjorie "Marge" Green is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by the late Pat Coombs. Introduced in 1989, elderly Marge was scripted as comical and timid. The character was one of many to be axed in 1990 when the show changed Executive Producer.-Storylines:Marge first...
and Mo Butcher
Mo Butcher
Maureen "Mo" Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She was introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's elderly mother. She was portrayed as a battle-axe, tough and interfering...
found out about the trip, they decided to go as well. Reggie arranged dancing partners for them and the girls practised hard at the community centre for months before the trip. But upon arriving Ethel grew disappointed in Reggie when he started to show interest in another woman named Gladys. On the night of the dancing competition, Ethel found that Reggie had run off with Gladys and she had no partner in the grand ballroom except for her 'little Willy'.
In 1992 Ethel's adored pug Willy succumbed to old-age and she had to make the heart-breaking decision to put him down
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
. The Vic regulars clubbed together to buy Ethel a new dog, but she wouldn't accept it, saying Willy was irreplaceable.
By the mid 90s Ethel was seen much less frequently. She did turn up in Walford occasionally however, usually when a big event was occurring or to celebrate Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and New Year with her old friends on the Square. After 1997 Ethel was not seen in Walford for three years, although she was mentioned often, particularly by Dot, who would often visit her off-screen in her sheltered housing.
Euthanasia
However, a very frail Ethel returned to Albert Square in 2000, turning up unannounced at Pauline FowlerPauline Fowler
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional London borough of Walford. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between 1985 and 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer...
's house. Ethel had run away from her retirement village and had decided that she was going to come back to the square, to live in the place she loved with her old friends. Ethel was now restricted to a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
and it was left to Dot to cater for her every need, which often left her exhausted. Ethel appeared to have lost none of her zest for life, despite her considerable age, so it was a huge shock to Dot when Ethel revealed that she was suffering from terminal cancer and was not going to live much longer.
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
tablets for many weeks and it was her plan to take an overdose before the pain became too unbearable, but before being able to execute her plan she had already become too weak and was now unable to administer the drugs without Dot's assistance. Dot was devastated and initially refused to help Ethel, as to help another take their own life went completely against her strict Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
principles. Dot spent many agonising weeks wrestling with her conscience, but she eventually agreed to grant her old friend's final wish. On the night of her 85th birthday (it was actually her 86th, but she'd always lied about her age), after a celebratory party at The Vic, Ethel decided that this was to be her last night. After blowing out the candles of her birthday cake and bidding Dot an emotional farewell, Ethel took her pills, aided by Dot, and died peacefully in her sleep. Ethel's last appearance was in September 2000.
Gretchen Franklin, the actress who played Ethel Skinner, died on 11 July 2005 at the age of 94, almost five years after her character was killed off.
Creation and development
Ethel Skinner was the second (out of the original twenty-three) character invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony HollandTony Holland
Anthony John "Tony" Holland was an English television screenwriter best known as a writer and co-creator of the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Early career:...
and Julia Smith
Julia Smith
Julia Smith was an English television director and producer.- Early career :London-born Smith became involved in television production when she directed the series Suspense in 1962...
. Ethel was based on an elderly woman that Smith had encountered in a pub in Hackney
Hackney Central
Hackney Central is the central district of the London Borough of Hackney in London, England. It comprises the area roughly surrounding, and extending north from Mare Street. It is situated north east of Charing Cross...
. She had bright ginger hair, a face plied with make-up, she laughed a lot and was obviously "the life and soul of the party". She also had a little dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, Willie, who she dressed in a red ribbon, tied in a neat bow on its head. Smith felt that a character like this would be an excellent inclusion to the show.
Ethel's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story
EastEnders books
This is a list of books about or relating to the British soap opera EastEnders.-Non-fiction books:* EastEnders: The Inside Story* Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience* EastEnders Special...
.
- "Most of her money goes on food for her dog, Willie, a Yorkie, and booze for herself. She has a hopeless memory for actual facts but can tell endless stories about pre-war London, her childhood, and, above all, the war. She does miss the friendliness of the old East-end... She has false teeth and red hair: those are the two things you most notice about her - then the dog... Her greatest joy is telling fortunes, cards, tea-cups and palm-reading. "I've got the gift she says... Born in 1914, in Camden TownCamden Town-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
... left home, aged 16, to work for a posh Hackney family, as a general undermaid... Ethel came home one day to find her street destroyed by a doodlebug. Her parents had been in the house... Ethel met William, a docker, and they married when Ethel was 25... Ethel and William had no children... As a youngster, Ethel would have been a page three girl, a real pin-up." (page 52)
Gretchen Franklin
Gretchen Franklin was an English actress with a career in showbusiness that spanned over eighty years.She was born in Covent Garden, west London, a cousin of the actor Clive Dunn. She was best known for playing the character of Ethel Skinner in the long running BBC One, soap opera, EastEnders...
was the first actress that Smith and Holland had in mind for the role. An experienced actress with a long career in show-business, Franklin was considered to be ideal casting, so she was offered the part.
Ethel became a popular and well-loved character from very early on in the series. Ethel was a gossip who did not always get her facts right, and this was often used for comic effect, as was her use of malapropisms. She became famous for owning a pug
Pug
The pug is a "toy" breed of dog with a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, and a compact square body with well-developed muscle. They have been described as multum in parvo , referring to the pug's personality and...
named Willy
Willy (EastEnders)
Willy is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Willy was a Pug, who appeared in the first episode of the programme and remained in the show until 1992.-Storylines:...
. Ethel's famous lines being either, "Where's my Willy?" or, in a double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
, "Has anyone seen my Willy". It was originally intended for Ethel's dog to be a Yorkshire Terrier
Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog breed of terrier type, developed in the 19th century in the county of Yorkshire, England to catch rats in clothing mills. The defining features of the breed are its size, to , and its silky blue and tan coat...
, but as no suitable Yorkie could be found, a pug was used instead. Over the seven years they worked together Willy (the actor) and Franklin became very attached to each other. So much so that Franklin even tried to buy Willy at one stage, commenting: "I tried to buy him from the BBC but he's too valuable now, he earns a bomb in personal appearances." Franklin was heart-broken in 1992 when the producers made the decision to retire Willy. On-screen Willy became ill and had to be put down. However just over two weeks after his last appearance on the programme the dog who played Willy died. Franklin has commented: "A woman stopped me in the street and said: 'It was like him committing suicide. When he knew he wasn't wanted on that programme no more, he just turned over and died.'"
Ethel's friendship with Dot Cotton was another enduring relationship that lasted throughout the characters time in the show and today they are remembered fondly by fans as being an incomparable double-act. Their arguing and obvious differences were often used for comic effect in many scenes. However in episode 248 of the show the audience were shown a different side to Ethel and Dot's friendship in the soaps second two-hander episode. The episode was aired in July 1987 and featured just the two old ladies (although Dot was Ethel's junior by twenty years or so), and was scripted as a mini-play about nostalgia and growing old. Some viewers found it too unusual, but many others were charmed by the change of pace. The episode gave Franklin and June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
(Dot) the opportunity to show the sadness behind the often comical characters of Ethel and Dot. The episode was written by Charlie Humphreys and directed by Mike Gibbon, a future producer of the show.
The character of Ethel initially remained on the show for 12 years, although her appearances towards the end became more widely spaced and she only returned to the show intermittently. Off-screen Gretchen Franklin retired, however 3 years after her last brief appearance Ethel was reintroduced to the show for one final and highly controversial storyline. The storyline involved her old friend Dot helping her to commit suicide. When Ethel Skinner became ill in September 2000, she asked Dot to help her when the time finally came for her to pass away. Dot had to make a decision that went against her moral and religious beliefs. In the end Dot decided that friendship was more important and so she helped Ethel die peacefully. Written by Simon Ashton and directed by Francesca Joseph the episode ended with a touching scene in which Ethel tells a weeping Dot "you're the best friend I ever had". The finishing touch was the use of an alternative end title music, replacing the dramatic drum beats with a war time orchestral piece. The ramifications of this storyline were immense for the character of Dot, and the consequences of her actions were examined in detail - which included a crisis of faith. Such was the controversy surrounding this storyline that the University of Glamorgan
University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
uses the plot as part of their new approach to the study of British criminal law. Part of the law foundation course involves studying the soap opera and giving students the chance to decide if Dot Cotton's character is guilty of murder.
Ethel's euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
is considered to be one of the most moving storylines ever featured in EastEnders and it was voted the most emotional soap death in a Radio Times poll of over 4,000 readers." 16.2 million viewers tuned in to see Ethel's final appearance in the show and 15 million viewers watched her funeral.
Age
Ethel's original character outline states that she was born in 1920. However, during the series this was altered to 1916 and for many years her birthday fell on 19 February. When Ethel came back to Walford to die in 2000, she revealed to Dot that she had lied about her age for many years. She was actually 86, not 85 (the character was aged two years, in a dramatic technique known as SORASSoap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome
Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome is a term used to describe the practice of accelerating the age of a television character in conflict with the timeline of a series and/or the real-world progression of time. Characters unseen on screen for a time might reappear portrayed by an actor several years...
). Ethel died on what she claimed was the night of her 86th birthday in September 2000, and although Dot knew very well her birthday was in February, she organised a party at Ethel's request to give her one last 'birthday' before she died. February 19 is also the day that EastEnders was first broadcast.