Ethel Skinner

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Ethel Skinner is a fictional character from the

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soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' EastEnders'', played by

Gretchen Franklin Gretchen Franklin (7 July 1911 – 11 July 2005) was an English actress and dancer with a career in show business spanning over 70 years. She was born in Covent Garden, Central London. She played Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap ope ...

. Ethel also features in a 1988 ''EastEnders'' special episode, entitled "

CivvyStreet "CivvyStreet" (sometimes written as "Civvy Street") is a spin-off episode of the British television soap opera ''EastEnders'', broadcast on BBC1 on 26 December 1988. The episode is a flashback to World War II and is set at Christmas 1942. The epis ...

", set on Albert Square during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, in which she is played by Alison Bettles. Ethel is an ''EastEnders'' original character and in the early years she can always be found wandering the neighbourhood with her adored pug Willy. She and

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the '' ...

) are lifelong friends, and although they wind each other up, they are completely dependent on each other. Ethel trusts Dot so much that she even asks her to help her die in 2000 after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Storylines

Backstory

Ethel Skinner is one of the original characters that appears in the first episode of ''EastEnders'' in 1985 and her early history is depicted in the 1986 authorised novel ''The Flower of Albert Square'', which directly contradicts the later ''EastEnders'' flashback episode, "

". In the novel, Ethel grows up with her family in Beckton, which is bombed during the war, killing her parents and leading her to live with her uncle and aunt in Hackney. She later meets William (Ian Brimble) and moves to Albert Square after the war, after he proposes. However, in the television episode, Ethel is said to have lived in

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location ...

for most of her life, remaining there through the war and witnessing the death of her entire family, who are killed by a doodlebug. This tragic event sends a young Ethel into shock and subsequently she develops eccentric behaviour. She begins dressing outrageously, wearing garish make-up, flirting with anyone in trousers, and knocking back gin, traits that lasts well into her old-age. In a 1986 episode of ''EastEnders'', Ethel says she had an argument with her father during the war and left home, saying she would never return as long as he was there; she returned the next day and both her parents had been killed by a doodlebug. Ethel never recovers from William's death and names her pug dog after him, Willy. Ethel has surviving extended family, including her husband's nephew Eddie Skinner, who appeared at her funeral, staying in Walford for a few months afterwards. Eddie also has a daughter called Kerry Skinner.

1985–1997

Ethel had never had children, a fact that she regretted in her old-age and so Willy became her surrogate child, and she loves him dearly. Willy goes everywhere that Ethel goes and so she is devastated when he is kidnapped in 1986. She searches for him everywhere and even holds a seance to see if she can contact him, but Willy is nowhere to be found. Detective Roy Quick (Douglas Fielding) works on the case and eventually finds Willy in the possession of Mr Pavasars (Sydney Arnold), an old Latvian refugee, who has renamed him

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...

. Willy is returned to an overjoyed Ethel, although she has to pay the man in order to get him to relinquish ownership. Ethel has been a lifelong friend of

Lou Beale Lou Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Anna Wing. Her first appearance is in the first episode, which was broadcast on 19 February 1985, and her last is in episode 362, first shown on 26 July 1988, ...

( Anna Wing) and

(

) and the trio remain close in their old-age. They can often be found reminiscing or gossiping in

The Queen Victoria The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and developmen ...

public house, where Ethel also regularly thrills the punters with her repartee, her version of the cancan, or her plain sense of fun. Out of the three Ethel is the most light-hearted and she is never frightened to stand up to the over-bearing Lou and interfering Dot. She has her run-ins with both over the years, and yet their friendship endures right to the last. Ethel lives above Doctor Legg's (

Leonard Fenton Leonard Fenton (''né'' Finestein; 29 April 1926 – 29 January 2022) was a British actor, director and painter, best known for his role as Dr. Harold Legg in ''EastEnders''. Early life Fenton was born Leonard FinesteinNick Cotton Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia ...

( John Altman). Ethel is never afraid to stand up to Nick, even kneeing him in the groin once when he attempts to mug her. She also correctly figures out that Nick is trying to poison Dot to get her money, and she refuses to back down, despite Dot falling out with her because of her accusations. Following several falls and a broken hip, Ethel is persuaded to move out of her residence above the surgery and into sheltered housing in 1988. Although she is strongly opposed to this initially, she eventually comes to enjoy her new home, though she would continue to show up in Albert Square regularly. Ethel has several romances with senior bachelors on Albert Square. Her ex-boyfriend from the war years, Ernie Mears (Ken Wynne), returns to Albert Square in 1985 and proposes to her. However, the offer is conditional. Ernie is allergic to dogs and Willy, Ethel's constant companion for the past 9 years, would have to go. Ethel seriously considers Ernie's offer but gently declines. In 1988 she finds romance again with a friend of Dr. Legg's, Benny Bloom (Arnold Yarrow). Dot loathes Benny and does everything she can to talk Ethel out of dating him. Ethel and Benny discuss marriage, which Ethel agrees to, mainly to spite Dot, who calls her a silly fool for wanting to remarry at her time of life. However, after discovering pets aren't allowed in the manor where Benny lives, the engagement was called off, once again because of Willy. A few months later Ethel hears news that Benny has died and has left her £2000, although his daughter tries to contest the will for a while. In August 1989, Ethel meets a new love interest named Reggie Thompson ( John Rutland). He invites her to go on a coach trip to Clacton for a dancing competition. Ethel is so excited that she shows Reggie a saucy nightie she has bought for the trip. When Dot, Marge Green ( Pat Coombs) and Mo Butcher (

Edna Doré Edna Lillian Doré (née Gorring; 31 May 1921 – 11 April 2014) was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in '' EastEnders'' from 1988 to 1990. Career Doré began her c ...

) find out about the trip, they decide to go as well. Reggie arranges dancing partners for them and the ladies practise hard at the community centre for months before the trip. But upon arriving on holiday, Ethel grows disappointed in Reggie when he starts to show interest in another woman named Gladys. On the night of the dancing competition, Ethel finds that Reggie has run off with Gladys and she has no partner in the grand ballroom except for her 'little Willy'. In 1992, Ethel's adored pug Willy succumbs to old-age and she has to make the heart-breaking decision to put him down. Regulars at The Queen Victoria pub raise money to buy Ethel a new dog, but she refuses to accept it, saying Willy is irreplaceable. By the mid 1990s Ethel is seen much less frequently. She is seen occasionally however, usually when a big event is occurring or to celebrate

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and New Year with her old friends on the Square. After 1997 Ethel is not seen in Walford for three years, although she is mentioned often, particularly by Dot, who will often visit her off-screen in her sheltered housing.

2000

In June 2000, a somewhat frailer Ethel resumes her visits to Albert Square, usually arriving at

Pauline Fowler Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''. She was played by actress Wendy Richard between the first episode on 19 February 1985 and 25 December 2006. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland a ...

's (

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soa ...

) house. Despite being restricted to a wheelchair, Ethel remains cheerful, bickering with Dot and teasing Pauline about her relationship with Jeff Healy (

Leslie Schofield Leslie Schofield (born 12 December 1938) is an English actor who is most famous in the UK for his role as Jeff Healy in the soap opera ''EastEnders'', whom he played from 1997 to 2000. His character was famous for unsuccessfully proposing to ...

). She stays with Pauline for a brief while in July to get over the death of a friend at the retirement home, at which time Dot becomes Ethel's primary caregiver, a task which often leaves Dot exhausted. After a couple of weeks, Ethel shocks Dot by revealing that she is suffering from terminal

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and is not going to live much longer, and that she has come home to the square to die, but instead of waiting to die in agony, she wants to choose her final moments so she can die with dignity. Ethel has been storing her

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

tablets for many weeks and it is her plan to take an overdose before the pain becomes too unbearable. However, before being able to execute her plan, she becomes too weak and is unable to administer the drugs without Dot's assistance. Dot is devastated and initially refuses to help Ethel, as to help another take their own life goes completely against her strict Christian principles. Dot spends many agonising weeks wrestling with her conscience, but she eventually agrees to grant her old friend's final wish. On the night of her 85th birthday (it was actually her 86th, but she'd always lied about her age), after a celebratory party at The Vic, Ethel decides that this was to be her last night. After blowing out the candles of her birthday cake and bidding Dot an emotional farewell, Ethel takes the pills, aided by Dot, and dies peacefully in her sleep. When Dot herself dies 22 years later, she is buried next to Ethel, reuniting the pair for eternity.

Creation and development

Ethel Skinner was the second out of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of ''EastEnders'',

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...

and Julia Smith (the first to be created was

). Ethel was based on an elderly woman that Smith had encountered in a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Hackney. She had bright ginger hair, a face plied with make-up, she laughed a lot and was obviously "the life and soul of the party". She also had a little

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

, Willie, who she dressed in a red ribbon, tied in a neat bow on its head. Smith felt that a character like this would be an excellent inclusion to the show. Ethel's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, '' EastEnders: The Inside Story''. :"Most of her money goes on food for her dog, Willie, a Yorkie, and booze for herself. She has a hopeless memory for actual facts but can tell endless stories about pre-war London, her childhood, and, above all, the war. She does miss the friendliness of the old East-end... She has false teeth and red hair: those are the two things you most notice about her - then the dog... Her greatest joy is telling fortunes, cards, tea-cups and palm-reading. "I've got the gift she says... Born in 1920, in Camden Town... left home, aged 16, to work for a posh Hackney family, as a general undermaid... Ethel came home one day to find her street destroyed by a doodlebug. Her parents had been in the house... Ethel met William, a docker, and they married when Ethel was 25... Ethel and William had no children... As a youngster, Ethel would have been a page three girl, a real pin-up." (page 52)

was the first actress that Smith and Holland had in mind for the role. An experienced actress with a long career in show-business, Franklin was considered to be ideal casting, so she was offered the part. Ethel became a popular and well-loved character from very early on in the series. Ethel was a gossip who did not always get her facts right, and this was often used for comic effect, as was her use of malapropisms. She became famous for owning a pug named Willy. Ethel's famous lines being either, "Where's my Willy?" or, in a double entendre, "Has anyone seen my little Willy". It was originally intended for Ethel's dog to be a Yorkshire Terrier, but as no suitable Yorkie could be found, a pug was used instead. Over the seven years they worked together Willy (the actor) and Franklin became very attached to each other. So much so that Franklin even tried to buy Willy at one stage, commenting: "I tried to buy him from the BBC but he's too valuable now, he earns a bomb in personal appearances." Franklin was heart-broken in 1992 when the producers made the decision to retire Willy. On-screen Willy became ill and had to be put down. However just over two weeks after his last appearance on the programme the dog who played Willy died. Franklin has commented: "A woman stopped me in the street and said: 'It was like him committing suicide. When he knew he wasn't wanted on that programme no more, he just turned over and died.'" Ethel's friendship with

(

) was another enduring relationship that lasted throughout the characters time in the show and today they are remembered fondly by fans as being an incomparable double-act. Their arguing and obvious differences were often used for comic effect in many scenes. However, in episode 248 of the show the audience were shown a different side to Ethel and Dot's friendship in the soaps second two-hander episode. The episode was aired in July 1987 and featured just the two old ladies (although Dot was Ethel's junior by twenty years or so), and was scripted as a mini-play about nostalgia and growing old. Some viewers found it too unusual, but many others were charmed by the change of pace. The episode gave Franklin and

the opportunity to show the sadness behind the often comical characters of Ethel and Dot. The episode was written by Charlie Humphreys and directed by Mike Gibbon, a future producer of the show. The character of Ethel initially remained on the show for 12 years, although her appearances towards the end became more widely spaced and she only returned to the show intermittently. Off-screen Gretchen Franklin retired, however 3 years after her last brief appearance Ethel was reintroduced to the show for one final and highly controversial storyline. The storyline involved her old friend Dot helping her to commit suicide. When Ethel Skinner became ill in September 2000, she asked Dot to help her when the time finally came for her to pass away. Dot had to make a decision that went against her moral and religious beliefs. In the end Dot decided that friendship was more important and so she helped Ethel die peacefully. Written by Simon Ashdown and directed by Francesca Joseph the episode ended with a touching scene in which Ethel tells a weeping Dot "you're the best friend I ever had". The finishing touch was the use of an alternative end title music, replacing the dramatic drum beats with a war time orchestral piece. The ramifications of this storyline were immense for the character of Dot, and the consequences of her actions were examined in detail - which included a crisis of faith. Such was the controversy surrounding this storyline that the

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uses the plot as part of their new approach to the study of British criminal law. Part of the law foundation course involves studying the soap opera and giving students the chance to decide if Dot Cotton's character is guilty of murder. Ethel's euthanasia is considered to be one of the most moving storylines ever featured in ''EastEnders'' and it was voted the most emotional soap death in a Radio Times poll of over 4,000 readers." 16.2 million viewers tuned in to see Ethel's final appearance in the show and 15 million viewers watched her funeral.

Age

Ethel's original character outline states that she was born in 1920. However, during the series this was altered to 1916 and for many years her birthday fell on 19 February. When Ethel came back to Walford to die in 2000, she revealed to Dot that she had lied about her age for many years. She was actually 86, not 85 (the character was aged two years, in a dramatic technique known as SORAS making her birthday fall in 1914). Ethel died on what she claimed was the night of her 86th birthday in September 2000 and although Dot knew very well her birthday was in February, she organised a party at Ethel's request to give her one last 'birthday' before she died. 19 February is also the day that EastEnders was first broadcast. In January 2003, when Jamie Mitchell's funeral took place, Sonia Jackson lays flowers at Ethel's gravestone. The inscription can be seen to read ''Ethel May Skinner, Born 19.2.1919, Died 7.9.2000'', making her 81 at the time of her death.

Reception

Ethel's death was voted the fourth most emotional moment in television entertainment in a 2010 poll of 3,000 British people conducted by Freeview HD.

References

External links

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Walford Gazette, Gretchen Franklin Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Ethel EastEnders characters Fictional fortune tellers Television characters introduced in 1985 Fictional characters with cancer Fictional suicides Fictional drug-related deaths Female characters in television