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.
Fotos
Películas (25)
Return to Waterloo
1984 · Woman on Train
Ragtime
1981 · Elderly Woman
Quincy's Quest
1979 · Witch
The One and Only Phyllis Dixey
1978 · Phyllis's Dresser
The Four Musketeers
1974 · D'Artagnan's Mother (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Three Musketeers
1973 · D’Artagnan’s Mother
Secrets
1973 · Mrs. Pitt
The Night Visitor
1971 · Mrs. Hansen
The Company Man
1970 · Tea Lady
Twisted Nerve
1968 · Clarkie
Subterfuge
1968 · Bus Conductress
How I Won the War
1967 · 2nd Old Lady
The Murder Game
1965 · Landlady
Help!
1965 · Neighbour (uncredited)
The Man Who Came to Die
1965 · Mrs. Marriott
The Silent Playground
1963 · Mrs. Elgin
The Trouble with Our Ivy
1961 · Mrs. Chard
Flame in the Streets
1961 · Mrs. Bingham
Ticket to Paradise
1961 · Mrs. Higginbottom
The Poet
1960 · Erminia
The Secret Place
1957 · Mother (uncredited)
The High Terrace
1956 · Mrs. Webb
Cloak Without Dagger
1956 · Emmie
Before I Wake
1955 · Elsie
Trottie True
1949 · Martha (uncredited)
Series (41)
Keeping Up Appearances
1990 · Daddy's Fiance
EastEnders
1985 · Ethel Skinner
Blackadder
1983 · Cordelia
Dead Ernest
1982
Terry and June
1979 · Cath
Quatermass
1979 · Edna
Danger UXB
1979 · Mrs. Flack
The Famous Five
1978 · Mrs Janes
Hazell
1978 · Pearl
Nicholas Nickleby
1977 · Miss Knag
George and Mildred
1976 · Mother
I Didn't Know You Cared
1975 · Auntie Lil
The Sweeney
1975 · Florence, the Charlady
Churchill's People
1974 · Mrs Baxter
Rising Damp
1974 · Aunt Maud
Black and Blue
1973 · Mrs. Pitt
Bowler
1973
Bowler
1973 · Mrs Bowler
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1973 · Mrs. Welch
The Protectors
1972 · Nelly Baxter
Sykes
1972 · Bookstall Assistant
The Organization
1972 · Edna
Six Days of Justice
1972 · Annie
Budgie
1971 · Carrie Wetherall
Castle Haven
1969
Journey to the Unknown
1968 · Mrs. Barrett
A Slight Case Of...
1965
Londoners
1965 · Mrs. Hincastle
Gideon's Way
1965 · Martha Bray
The Four Seasons of Rosie Carr
1964 · Amy Bennett
Story Parade
1964 · Mrs. Huxtable
The Protectors
1964 · Mrs Bolland
Raise Your Glasses
1962
The Scales of Justice
1962 · Rose Jenkins
Steptoe and Son
1962 · Aunt Daphne
Z-Cars
1962
Bleak House
1959 · Mrs Guppy
The Artful Dodger
1959
Saturday Playhouse
1958 · Susan Sillsby, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Catt
Armchair Theatre
1956 · Miss Julia, Mrs. Chard, Else, Edie Tidy, Mrs. Marriott, Tea Lady
Dixon of Dock Green
1955 · Mrs. Walcott