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.

In the novel, Ethel grows up with her family in Beckton, which is bombed during the war, killing her parents and leading her to live with her uncle and aunt in Hackney.

However, in the television episode, Ethel is said to have lived in Albert Square for most of her life, remaining there through the war and witnessing the death of her entire family, who are killed by a doodlebug.

She begins dressing outrageously, wearing garish make-up, flirting with anyone in trousers, and knocking back gin, traits that last well into her old age.

Ethel has surviving extended family, including her husband's nephew Eddie Skinner, who appeared at her funeral, staying in Walford for a few months afterwards.

Detective Roy Quick (Douglas Fielding) works on the case and eventually finds Willy in the possession of Mr Pavasars (Sydney Arnold), an old Latvian refugee, who has renamed him Rasputin.

Ethel has been a lifelong friend of Lou Beale (Anna Wing) and Dot Cotton (June Brown) and the trio remain close in their old age.

They can often be found reminiscing or gossiping in The Queen Victoria pub, where Ethel also regularly thrills the punters with her repartee, her version of the cancan, or her plain sense of fun.

Despite the fact that Ethel appears totally barmy, she can be quite astute when she wants and she is always the first to point out the malicious ways of Dot's villainous son, Nick Cotton (John Altman).

Regulars at The Queen Victoria pub raise money to buy Ethel a new dog, but she refuses to accept it, saying Willy is irreplaceable.

In June 2000, a somewhat frailer Ethel resumes her visits to Albert Square, usually arriving at Pauline Fowler's (Wendy Richard) house.

Despite being restricted to a wheelchair, Ethel remains cheerful, bickering with Dot and teasing Pauline about her relationship with Jeff Healy (Leslie Schofield).

Ethel Skinner was the second out of the original twenty-three characters invented by the creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith (the first to be created was Lou Beale).

[1] Ethel's original character outline as written by Smith and Holland appeared in an abridged form in their book, EastEnders: The Inside Story.

'"[4] Ethel's friendship with Dot Cotton (June Brown) was another enduring relationship that lasted throughout the characters time in the show and today they are remembered fondly by fans as being an incomparable double-act.

The episode was aired in July 1987 and featured just the two old ladies (although Dot was Ethel's junior by twenty years or so), and was scripted as a mini-play about nostalgia and growing old.

Off-screen Gretchen Franklin retired, however three years after her last brief appearance Ethel was reintroduced to the show for one final and highly controversial storyline.

Written by Simon Ashdown and directed by Francesca Joseph, the episode ended with a touching scene in which Ethel tells a weeping Dot "you're the best friend I ever had".

The finishing touch was the use of an alternative end title music, replacing the dramatic drum beats with a war time orchestral piece.

Part of the law foundation course involves studying the soap opera and giving students the chance to decide if Dot Cotton's character is guilty of murder.

[7] Ethel's euthanasia is considered to be one of the most moving storylines ever featured in EastEnders and it was voted the most emotional soap death in a Radio Times poll of over 4,000 readers.

Ethel's death was voted the fourth most emotional moment in television entertainment in a 2010 poll of 3,000 British people conducted by Freeview HD.