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
Keeping Up Appearances
Daddy's Fiance
The Sweeney
Florence, the Charlady
Blackadder
Cordelia
Z-Cars
Gideon's Way
Martha Bray
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
The Protectors
Nelly Baxter
Budgie
Carrie Wetherall
Terry and June
Cath
Sykes
Bookstall Assistant
I Didn't Know You Cared
Auntie Lil
Dixon of Dock Green
Mrs. Walcott
The Three Musketeers
D’Artagnan’s Mother
George and Mildred
Mother
The Scales of Justice
Rose Jenkins
Story Parade
Mrs. Huxtable
The Four Musketeers
D'Artagnan's Mother (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rising Damp
Aunt Maud
Hazell
Danger UXB
Mrs. Flack
Help!
Neighbour
Nicholas Nickleby
Miss Knag
Castle Haven
Londoners
Mrs. Hincastle
How I Won the War
2nd Old Lady
Ragtime
Elderly Woman
Quatermass
Edna
Black and Blue
Mrs. Pitt
Twisted Nerve
Clarkie
The Night Visitor
Mrs. Hansen
Bowler
Mrs Bowler
Subterfuge
Bus Conductress
Flame in the Streets
Mrs. Bingham
Trottie True
Martha (uncredited)
The Artful Dodger
The Secret Place
Mother (uncredited)
Before I Wake
Elsie
Bowler
Secrets
Mrs. Pitt
The High Terrace
Mrs. Webb
Cloak Without Dagger
Emmie
Return to Waterloo
Woman on Train
Ticket to Paradise
Mrs. Higginbottom
A Slight Case Of...
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
Phyllis's Dresser
Dead Ernest
The Poet
Erminia
Saturday Playhouse
Susan Sillsby
Saturday Playhouse
Mrs. Wilson
Saturday Playhouse
Mrs. Catt
The Murder Game
Landlady
The Silent Playground
Mrs. Elgin
The Company Man
Tea Lady
The Trouble with Our Ivy
Mrs. Chard