Willy was a Pug that was owned by Ethel Skinner who was named after her husband William Skinner after he passed away. During Willy's lifetime he would always be carried around by Ethel, who would rarely go anywhere without him.
Over Willy's lifetime he got into many scrapes and had many adventures and exciting experiences, including being disastrously bathed by Ian and Kelvin and going missing and being adopted by a foreign war veteran briefly in 1986, leaving Ethel devastated. She even went to the extent of holding a seance to try and find him again!
Willy often hung around Roly in the Queen Vic, especially while Ethel did the cleaning.
Personality[]
Willy was spoilt, greedy and mischievous. The other characters couldn’t stand him: the local doctor complained bitterly about the mess Willy made on the pavements.
Storylines[]
Willy was Ethel Skinner's constant companion. She'd rarely appear on-screen without him tucked under her arm. He was named after her late husband, William Skinner. A lot of rather puerile humour is derived from Willy's name. Ethel's famous lines being either, "Where's my Willy?" or, in a double entendres, "Has anyone seen my Willy"
Willy was often quite mischievous. One day when Ethel was preparing the food in The Vic , Willy managed to eat all the expensive steak for the steak and kidney pies while her back was turned. Ethel eventually replaced the meat with a less costly cut and everyone later commented that the pies were not up to standard. At Christmas 1990, he snuck into the Fowler's' and began eating the Christmas turkey.
Willy was kidnapped in 1986. He was eventually found by Detective Roy Quick in a pet shop, but when Quick returns with Ethel, Willy has been sold. Willy was tracked down to his new owner, Mr. Pavasars, who renamed him Rasputin. Lou Beale fetches him back and returns Willy to his rightful owner. When Ethel had an injury after breaking her hip, Willy stayed with Dot Cotton, but they found each other a strain. Dot wasn't the only one who couldn't tolerate Willy. Ernie Mears and then Benny Bloom wanted to marry Ethel, but only if she got rid of Willy. Ethel couldn't part with her beloved dog she eventually turned them both down.
When Ethel went on holiday with her friends to Clacton, Willy had to go too, in a holdall. He was later discovered by the owner of the bed and breakfast, but fortunately for Ethel he was a dog-lover too and allowed Willy to stay.
Willy was a touch sensitive, and when Dr. Harold Legg made several remarks about "dog mess" in the Square, Ethel feared it upset him to the extent that he couldn't perform at all. Luckily, Willy's constipation was eventually resolved.
On 16th February 2016, Gavin mentioned to Dot that her deck playing cards are old and have a nice feel to them. He points out a damage one and Dot mentions Ethel Skinner's dog Little Willy it during a game.