Gretchen Franklin

"Ethel Skinner"

Interviewed by Larry Jaffee (Volume 2, Issue 3)

On why Ethel has often made us laugh and cry in EastEnders:

"I can plays the comedy scenes or the tearjerkers. The directors and producers have realized that."

On her on-screen dog Willy:

"Willy never had a day of training. He was a very mild dog. Of course I worked with him so long, he was very attached to me. He would do whatever I wanted. Roly the poodle couldn't do as much. The owner of Roly (EastEnders original producer Julia Smith) took him out of the series because he never liked it. He wasn't a strong dog. Willy, on the other hand, was tough; he would put up with everything. Sometimes they would have marvelous scenes together. Once I was supposed to be knitting and I left the wool on the stool in the bar. They got a hold of it and absolutely tore it apart. That was a very funny scene."

On Willy getting 'killed off':

I ever knew why they wrote that scene (Ethel having to put Willy to 'sleep'). Pugs like Willy are not long-livers. By this time, the real dog was 10 years old Two weeks and two day after being written out, he died. It was extraordinary in a way. 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 was so upset he just turned over and died.' And that was the end of Willy."

On her favourite EastEnders scenes without Willy:

"The double with me and Dot (Cotton, reminiscing the way things used to be around Albert Square). We had some good scenes. Sometimes you think, 'This is a lovely script.' It'll probably go all wrong for you."

On her favourite EastEnders scriptwriter:

"Colin Humphreys (who died two years ago). He wrote very well for me. We sort of understood each other. We appreciated each other. He was a big loss to the Company."

On getting royalties for American broadcasts of EastEnders:

"It adds up very nicely. At my age one isn't buying new fur coats and diamonds. If you get that extra lot four-times-a-year, you can be a bit more generous to other people or favourite charities. My charities are all for animals or old people."

On whether Franklin still watches EastEnders:

"I'll turn it on if I know some good storyline is going to be on or there's a bit of fighting, something they always have on EastEnders."

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