Gretchen Franklin
Born in Covent Garden, West London in 1911, Gretchen Franklin was an English actress and dancer whose showbusiness career spanned over 70 years. She was best known for her role as Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap opera EastEnders. She appeared in the very first episode in 1985 and was a regular in the series until 1988. After this she returned to the show intermittently until 2000 when her character was killed off, allowing Franklin to retire from acting at the age of 89. Born into a theatrical family (her father had a song and dance act, her grandfather was a famous music hall entertainer at the turn of the century and her cousin was Dad's Army star Clive Dunn) Gretchen Franklin made her theatre debut as a teenage chorus girl. She toured with comedians such as Gracie Fields before making the switch to serious acting. Her film appearances included Cloak Without Dagger (1956), Flame in the Streets (1961), The Murder Game (1965), Help! (1965), How I Won The War (1967), Twisted Nerve (1968), The Night Visitor (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973), Quincy's Quest (1979), and Ragtime (1981), among others. She is namechecked in The Fall's 1990 song Telephone Thing.
Known for
EastEnders
EastEnders
Ethel Skinner
Z-Cars
Keeping Up Appearances
Daddy's Fiance
I Didn't Know You Cared
Auntie Lil
Dixon of Dock Green
Mrs. Walcott
The Sweeney
Florence, the Charlady
The Protectors
Nelly Baxter
Terry and June
Cath
Blackadder
Cordelia
Sykes
Bookstall Assistant
George and Mildred
Mother
Budgie
Carrie Wetherall
Castle Haven
Hazell
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
The Scales of Justice
Rose Jenkins
Rising Damp
Aunt Maud
Black and Blue
Nicholas Nickleby
Miss Knag
A Slight Case Of...
Gideon's Way
Martha Bray
Bowler
Mrs Bowler
Dead Ernest
Danger UXB
Mrs. Flack
Quatermass
Edna
Bowler
The Artful Dodger
The Four Musketeers
D'Artagnan's Mother (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Three Musketeers
D’Artagnan’s Mother
Ragtime
Elderly Woman
Help!
Neighbour
Twisted Nerve
Clarkie
The Night Visitor
Mrs. Hansen
How I Won the War
2nd Old Lady
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
Phyllis's Dresser
Flame in the Streets
Mrs. Bingham
Trottie True
Martha (uncredited)
The High Terrace
Mrs. Webb
The Silent Playground
Mrs. Elgin
Secrets
Mrs. Pitt
Cloak Without Dagger
Emmie
The Secret Place
Mother (uncredited)
The Murder Game
Landlady
Return to Waterloo
Woman on Train
Subterfuge
Bus Conductress
Ticket to Paradise
Mrs. Higginbottom
Before I Wake
Elsie
The Trouble with Our Ivy
Mrs. Chard
The Company Man
Tea Lady
The Poet
Erminia