Known For
Acting
Born
Jul 07, 1911
Died
Jul 11, 2005
Place of Birth
Covent Garden, London, England, UK
Credits
61 titles
Gretchen Franklin
Biography
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
Filmography
Keeping Up Appearances
Daddy's Fiance
EastEnders
Return to Waterloo
Woman on Train
Blackadder
Cordelia
Dead Ernest
Ragtime
Elderly Woman
Quincy's Quest
Witch
Terry and June
Cath
Quatermass
Edna
Danger UXB
Mrs. Flack
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
Phyllis's Dresser
Hazell
Pearl
Nicholas Nickleby
Miss Knag
George and Mildred
Mother
I Didn't Know You Cared
Auntie Lil
The Sweeney
Florence, the Charlady
Churchill's People
Mrs Baxter
The Four Musketeers
D'Artagnan's Mother (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rising Damp
Aunt Maud
The Three Musketeers
D’Artagnan’s Mother
Black and Blue
Mrs. Pitt
Secrets
Mrs. Pitt
Bowler
Mrs Bowler
Bowler
The Protectors
Nelly Baxter
Sykes
Bookstall Assistant
The Organization
Edna
Six Days of Justice
Annie
Budgie
Carrie Wetherall
The Night Visitor
Mrs. Hansen
The Company Man
Tea Lady
Castle Haven
Twisted Nerve
Clarkie
Subterfuge
Bus Conductress
Journey to the Unknown
Mrs. Barrett
How I Won the War
2nd Old Lady
The Murder Game
Landlady
A Slight Case Of...
Help!
Neighbour
Londoners
Mrs. Hincastle
The Man Who Came to Die
Mrs. Marriott
Gideon's Way
Martha Bray
Story Parade
Mrs. Huxtable
The Protectors
Mrs Bolland
The Silent Playground
Mrs. Elgin
The Scales of Justice
Rose Jenkins
Steptoe and Son
Aunt Daphne
Z-Cars
The Trouble with Our Ivy
Mrs. Chard
Flame in the Streets
Mrs. Bingham