Gretchen Franklin, known to millions as EastEnders' Ethel Skinner, has died - four days after her 94th birthday.
Franklin was an Albert Square fixture from 1985 to 2000, eventually leaving in an euthanasia storyline that saw friend Dot Cotton helping Ethel to die.
"I will miss her very much," said actress June Brown, who plays Dot in the BBC soap. "She always soldiered on, never complaining.
"She seemed such an indomitable person you felt she would go on forever."
For those of you not au fait with UK soaps, 'little Willie' was Ethel's dog during the late 1980s.
