Ethel Tyson (née Pickup) was a tenant of the flat above Frank's DIY Shop who initiated a rent dispute with her landlord Frank Barlow in 1963.
A headstrong, bolshie woman, Ethel had no compunctions about confronting Frank in his local pub, the Rovers Return Inn, to tell him that she wouldn't pay an increase in rent he had asked for, despite being two months in arrears. When Frank issued Ethel with her notice, Ethel tore it up and summoned her brother George Pickup and his son Jim for help to sort Frank out. To settle the dispute, Jim started a fire in the shop, which was put out by Frank. Ethel initially believed that Frank started the fire himself for the insurance but upon finding out the truth, the shamed woman decided that vacating the flat was preferable to her family facing police action.
- The character was credited as Mrs. Tyson.