Remembering EastEnders' Ethel

June - who plays Dot Cotton - shared some of her memories

For many fans of EastEnders, Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner were an incomparable double-act.

Occasionally spiky and often hilarious, their on-screen friendship mirrored the real life relationship between the two actresses.

Ethel - played by Gretchen Franklin - was one of Albert Square's best known residents from 1985 to 2000.

She was finally written out in a storyline which ended with her begging her best friend Dot Cotton to help her die.

Gretchen Franklin herself died on Monday, at the age of 94. The actress June Brown - who plays Dot Cotton - came into the Breakfast studio to share her memories with us.

She told us how Gretchen - a veteran of the pre-war Revue scene - initially regarded her with suspicion, but eventually became a firm friend.

And she revealed how Gretchen used to encourage her on-screen pet, Willie, to misbehave: