Willy (EastEnders)
Willy | |||||
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EastEnders character | |||||
Portrayed by | Willy | ||||
Duration | 1985–1992 | ||||
First appearance | Episode 1 “Poor Old Reg” 19 February 1985 | ||||
Last appearance | Episode 759 14 May 1992 | ||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||
Species | Dog | ||||
Breed | Pug | ||||
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Willy (also Rasputin) is a fictional dog from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Willy is a Pug, who appears in the first episode of the programme on 19 February 1985 and remains in the show until 14 May 1992.
Storylines
Willy is Ethel Skinner's (Gretchen Franklin) constant companion. She rarely appears on-screen without him tucked under her arm. He was named after her late husband, William Skinner (Ian Brimble). There were various innuendo-laden references to the dog,[1] with Ethel's famous lines being either "Where's my Willy?" or, in a double entendre, "Has anyone seen my little Willy?"
Willy can often be quite mischievous. When Ethel is preparing the food in
Willy runs away in 1986. While Ethel is distracted, Willy slips out the open door to the laundrette. He is eventually found by Detective
When Ethel and her friends go on a holiday to
Willy is a touch sensitive, and when
After succumbing to old-age, Willy falls ill in 1992 and Ethel has to make the heart-breaking decision to put him down. Ethel is devastated to lose her dog, so the residents of Albert Square raise money to buy her a new dog. However, Ethel won't accept it, saying Willy is irreplaceable.[3]
On 30 May 1992, two weeks and two days after being written out of EastEnders, the dog who played Willy died.[4]
Casting
Willy was cast less than a week before the filming of EastEnders began. From the beginning it was decided that the pensioner Ethel Skinner was to have a Yorkshire Terrier named Willy (after her dead husband). The company Janimals, who specialised in providing and training animals for television and films, was contacted by EastEnders co-creator/producer Julia Smith, and informed her that they could provide an experienced Pug for the part (he had previously starred in Swallows and Amazons). The dog was brought to the studio to meet Gretchen Franklin, the actress who played Ethel. She took a shine to him straight away and so the pug was cast as Willy. Willy and Roly the poodle shared a dressing room at Elstree Studios.[5] In the original rehearsal script Willy was named Phillip.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Ethel Skinner". BBC. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-563-36292-0.
- ISBN 978-0-563-55178-2.
- ^ "Walford Gazette interview with Gretchen Franklin", Walford Gazette. URL last accessed on 24 October 2006.
- ISBN 978-0-563-20601-9.
- ^ Newnham, Bernard (14 December 2011). "EastEnders begins – a write up by Dave Howell". tech-ops.co.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.