Gretchen Franklin

Known for ActingBorn 1911-07-07Died 2005-07-11Covent 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.Read more

Movies & web series

Six Days of Justice

The Murder Game

The Organization

Blackadder

Danger UXB

The Sweeney

Bowler

The Company Man

Story Parade

Keeping Up Appearances

Rising Damp

Cloak Without Dagger

A Slight Case Of...

Z-Cars

I Didn't Know You Cared

Budgie

Ragtime

Nicholas Nickleby

Journey to the Unknown

George and Mildred

Return to Waterloo

Gideon's Way

Quatermass

Help!

Trottie True

Twisted Nerve

The Three Musketeers

Sykes

The Scales of Justice

Terry and June

The Four Musketeers

Black and Blue

The High Terrace

The Night Visitor

The Secret Place

Secrets

Flame in the Streets

The Protectors

Quincy's Quest

Armchair Theatre

Dixon of Dock Green

Ticket to Paradise

How I Won the War

Hazell

Subterfuge

The Silent Playground

Churchill's People

Bowler