Frankie was described as a predatory man-eater, a trouble maker, an unhinged sexpot, and a super-bitch who "seduces men away from their loved ones...then dumps them with a sneer." The official EastEnders book Who’s Who states that Frankie "had a carnivorous approach to relationships, hunting down her quarry, devouring her victim in two gulps and then moving onto the next kill." In an article published in The Sunday Mirror in 1997, sex therapist, Anne Hopper, discussed the character of Frankie and the reasons why women like her enjoy luring men away from their partners, and then discard them once they succeed: "women like [...] Frankie have usually been hurt in early childhood or previous relationships. They are low on self-esteem. An affair can make them feel wanted - but keeps the relationship at arm's length." Later confirmed on-screen, Frankie’s promiscuous, immoral and devious behaviour was blamed on her deprived childhood, a history of being hurt, lack of trust and insecurities.
