Ethel Skinner

Ethel Skinner
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Gretchen Franklin Alison Bettles (flashback)
Duration	1985–1997, 2000
First appearance	Episode 1 Poor Old Reg" 19 February 1985 (1985-02-19)
Last appearance	7 September 2000
Classification	Former; regular
Created by	Julia Smith and Tony Holland
Introduced by	Julia Smith (1985) Leonard Lewis (1993) Barbara Emile (1994) Jane Harris (1997) John Yorke (2000)
Book appearances	The Flower of Albert Square
Spin-off appearances	"CivvyStreet" (1988)
In-universe information Occupation Cleaner Fortune teller Brothers Howard Lewis Sisters Trish Lewis Husband William Skinner (backstory) Other relatives Eddie Skinner Kerry Skinner

Ethel May Skinner is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gretchen Franklin. Ethel also features in a 1988 EastEnders special episode, entitled "CivvyStreet", set on Albert Square during World War II, 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 (June Brown) 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.