ABOUT GRETCHEN FRANKLIN
English actress who played the role of Ethel Skinner in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.
She grew up in a theatrical family and made her debut as a chorus girl in Bournemouth when she was a teenager.
She was scheduled to present a Lifetime Soap Achievement Award to her former co-star June Brown at the 2005 British Soap Awards but, at 93 years old, she was too ill to attend.
She was married to John Caswell Garth from 1934 until his death in 1953.
She co-starred with actress June Brown on the soap opera EastEnders.
