Gretchen Franklin (7 July 1911 â€" 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 opera EastEnders on a regular
basis from 1985 until 1988. After this she returned to the show
intermittently. These appearances became briefer and more widely
spaced. Her final appearance was in 2000, when her character was
killed off.Gretchen Franklin was born into a theatrical family. Her
father had a song-and-dance act, while her grandfather was a
well-known music-hall entertainer at the turn of the 20th century. Her
younger cousin was the comedian Clive Dunn (1920-2012).She entered
show business as a teenager, making her début as a pantomime chorus
girl in Bournemouth. In 1929, she took dancing lessons at the Theatre
Girls Club in Soho in London's West End and she later became a tap
dancer and founder member of a quartet known as Four Brilliant
Blondes. Franklin was a Tiller Girl, known for their high kicks, at
the London Palladium.
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 opera EastEnders on a regular
basis from 1985 until 1988. After this she returned to the show
intermittently. These appearances became briefer and more widely
spaced. Her final appearance was in 2000, when her character was
killed off.Gretchen Franklin was born into a theatrical family. Her
father had a song-and-dance act, while her grandfather was a
well-known music-hall entertainer at the turn of the 20th century. Her
younger cousin was the comedian Clive Dunn (1920-2012).She entered
show business as a teenager, making her début as a pantomime chorus
girl in Bournemouth. In 1929, she took dancing lessons at the Theatre
Girls Club in Soho in London's West End and she later became a tap
dancer and founder member of a quartet known as Four Brilliant
Blondes. Franklin was a Tiller Girl, known for their high kicks, at
the London Palladium.
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