EastEnders created the Beale and Fowler family, drawing on his own background. His mother, Ethel Holland, was one of four sisters raised in Walthamstow. Her eldest sister, Lou, had married a man named Albert Beale and had two children, named Peter and Pauline. These family members were the basis for Lou Beale, Pete Beale and Pauline Fowler. Holland also created Pauline's unemployed husband Arthur Fowler, their children Mark Fowler and Michelle Fowler, Pete's wife Kathy Beale and their son Ian Beale. Smith used her personal memories of East End residents she met when researching Victorian squares. Ethel Skinner was based on
Pauline Fowler her character, commenting: "Pauline had everything in life thrown at her and I think she coped with it very well. It showed how people deal with their problems ... She wasn't always grumpy ... she did have lots of laughs, but sadly people don't seem to remember that, which is a shame ... they still harp on about her wearing her cardigans and Pauline stopped wearing cardigans three years after EastEnders started. She is a good woman, she's a kind woman, a loving woman and all she ever thought about was her family. That was the most important thing in