Gretchen Franklin
Acting
1911-07-07 · Covent Garden, London, England, UK
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.
Filmography
Keeping Up Appearances
1990 · Series
EastEnders
1985 · Series
Return to Waterloo
1984 · Movie
Blackadder
1983 · Series
Dead Ernest
1982 · Series
Ragtime
1981 · Movie
Quincy's Quest
1979 · Movie
Terry and June
1979 · Series
Quatermass
1979 · Series
Danger UXB
1979 · Series
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
1978 · Movie
Hazell
1978 · Series
Nicholas Nickleby
1977 · Series
George and Mildred
1976 · Series
I Didn't Know You Cared
1975 · Series
The Sweeney
1975 · Series
Churchill's People
1974 · Series
The Four Musketeers
1974 · Movie
Rising Damp
1974 · Series
The Three Musketeers
1973 · Movie
Black and Blue
1973 · Series
Secrets
1973 · Movie
Bowler
1973 · Series
Bowler
1973 · Series
The Protectors
1972 · Series
Sykes
1972 · Series
The Organization
1972 · Series
Six Days of Justice
1972 · Series
Budgie
1971 · Series
The Night Visitor
1971 · Movie
The Company Man
1970 · Movie
Castle Haven
1969 · Series
Twisted Nerve
1968 · Movie
Subterfuge
1968 · Movie
Journey to the Unknown
1968 · Series
How I Won the War
1967 · Movie
The Murder Game
1965 · Movie
A Slight Case Of...
1965 · Series
Help!
1965 · Movie
Londoners
1965 · Series
The Man Who Came to Die
1965 · Movie
Gideon's Way
1965 · Series
The Four Seasons of Rosie Carr
1964 · Series
Story Parade
1964 · Series
The Protectors
1964 · Series
The Silent Playground
1963 · Movie
The Scales of Justice
1962 · Series
Steptoe and Son
1962 · Series
Z-Cars
1962 · Series
The Trouble with Our Ivy
1961 · Movie
Flame in the Streets
1961 · Movie
Ticket to Paradise
1961 · Movie
The Poet
1960 · Movie
The Artful Dodger
1959 · Series
Saturday Playhouse
1958 · Series
The Secret Place
1957 · Movie
The High Terrace
1956 · Movie
Armchair Theatre
1956 · Series
Cloak Without Dagger
1956 · Movie
Dixon of Dock Green
1955 · Series
Before I Wake
1955 · Movie
Trottie True
1949 · Movie