Ethel Platt was the first cousin of Mavis Riley and niece of Auntie Edie. Ethel was a strict, conservative type. After Mavis moved out of her aunt's house at 23 Jubilee Terrace and into The Kabin flat in May 1977, she was quick to look down her nose at her cousin and described the flat as "pokey". Mavis's boyfriend Derek Wilton soon got on the wrong side of her, after pointing out that she and Mavis were related and Auntie Edie's care should be shared between them. Ethel's main concern however, was that her dogs would have to be put down if she moved into the house as Edie was allergic.