George and Mildred

George and Mildred
British comedy series George & Mildred
Created by	Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke
Starring	Brian Murphy Yootha Joyce Norman Eshley Sheila Fearn
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	38
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	6 September 1976 – 25 December 1979
Related
Robin's Nest The Ropers

George and Mildred was a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off of Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper. The premise of this series had George and Mildred leaving their flat as depicted in Man About the House and moving to a modern, upmarket housing estate, to the horror of their snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile, an estate agent who despairs that the Roper's presence will devalue his home.

It was written by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. Like many sitcoms of the day, George and Mildred was also turned into a film, which was dedicated to actress Yootha Joyce who died suddenly in 1980, just as the cast had been looking forward to recording a sixth series.

Cast

• Brian Murphy - George Roper
• Yootha Joyce - Mildred Roper
• Norman Eshley - Jeffrey Fourmile
• Sheila Fearn - Ann Fourmile
• Nicholas Bond-Owen - Tristram Fourmile
• Simon Lloyd - Tarquin Fourmile (from series 3)
• Avril Elgar - Ethel Pumphrey
• Reginald Marsh - Humphrey Pumphrey
• Gretchen Franklin - Mildred's Mother
• Roy Kinnear - Jerry

Plot

George and Mildred Roper have left their old house after receiving a compulsory purchase order from the Council and move to 46 Peacock Crescent in Hampton Wick. While Mildred enjoys moving up in the world socially, lazy and unemployed George remains true to his working class roots and also continues to show a lack of interest in sexual relations with Mildred.

George and Mildred's yuppie next-door neighbours are Jeffrey Fourmile, a snobbish estate agent, and his wife Ann. They have a young son called Tristram, who gets on well with Mildred and George, and in series 3 a second child called Tarquin is born. The Conservative supporting Jeffrey is greatly irritated by George, who frequently annoys him.

Mildred's snobbish sister Ethel and her wealthy husband Humphrey occasionally visit, as does Mildred's mother. Mildred often makes subtle digs at Ethel's age or social status when Ethel visits. George's friend Jerry, a jack-of-all-trades, also visits, much to Mildred's annoyance. Jerry is fond of referring to Mildred as "Mildew".

In the first series, Mildred buys a Yorkshire Terrier called Truffles (played by dog actor Pussy Galore).

Episodes

Series One (1976)

Episode Number	Episode Title	Airdate	Overview
1	Moving On	6 September 1976	Having to move, George and Mildred view a property in Hampton Wick on, ' a small rather exclusive development'. They are shown around by the snobbish estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, who could also be their new neighbour, if Mildred has her way. (Fourmile himself denies he is a snob - 'I am not a snob' he tells his wife Ann. ' You ask anyone. Well, anyone who matters.') When George and Mildred go to see the house a second time they discover it has been sold. But has it? (The series opens with Mildred singing Underneath the Arches, a Music hall hit for Flanagan and Allen. The song refers the hearer back to a different era in British life. George enunciates this strain of looking backwards clearly in this first episode, describing WW2 as a time when 'you had the Duke and the dustman standing side by side. That was the war that was supposed to end class prejudice.' The series first aired a little over a year after Margaret Thatcher had become Leader of the Opposition and a more divided Britain was taking shape.).
2	The Bad Penny	13 September 1976	George and Mildred move into their new home. They're invited for a welcoming drink by the Fourmiles, but not wanted still to be around by the time the Fourmiles' dinner guests arrive - the local Conservative M.P (played by Diana King), and her husband.
3	And Women Must Weep	20 September 1976	George applies for a position as a filing clerk in an estate agency - Jeffrey Fourmile's estate agency. And Fourmile was thinking of a woman for the post.
4	Baby Talk	27 September 1976	Mildred is asked to babysit Tristram. The middle class Fourmiles are going out to see Tom Stoppard's Jumpers. 'I hope you like them' says Mildred considerately. Mildred enjoys babysitting - she wonders if she and George might try and adopt a child themselves. Anthony Sharp appears in this episode, - and Truffles , the Ropers' Yorkshire terrier, for the first time.
5	Your Money or Your Life	4 October 1976	Mildred wants George to get life insurance, and wants to know , for example, how much an average, run-of-the-mill funeral will cost. 'Is it for a loved one?' ' No, it's for my husband,' Mildred tells the funeral director. But George isn't too happy when he realizes he's worth more dead than alive. Michael Ripper, Stella Moray, and Arthur Howard appear in this episode.
6	Where My Caravan Has Rested	11 October 1976	George trades in his broken down car for a broken down caravan - and the Residents Association are keen to get rid of the eyesore. Mildred's sister Ethel and her husband Humphrey visit from Oxshott. They've had electronic gates fitted for their drive that open to the sound of Ethel's voice. 'Haven't seen 'em shut yet,' Humphrey says. (Mildred shows off her Lava lamp in this episode - a very popular item of home decoration in mid to late '70s Britain).
7	The Little Dog Laughed	18 October 1976	George isn't too happy about Truffles seeming to get better treatment than he does from Mildred. And then, having taken Truffles to the pub with him, and left her outside, she wanders off. Meanwhile Tristram wants a dog too, - not a toy one. Paul Angelis appears in this episode.
8	Best Foot Forward	25 October 1976	George and Mildred visit the posh local pub The Genevieve. "I want to create a good impression George, so stay in the background," Mildred tells him. When the Ropers' television goes wrong George takes Fourmile's ladder to climb up to the aerial to fix it. Fourmile takes the ladder away, George falls off the roof, sprains his wrist and breaks his leg. In hospital a fellow patient (played by Kenneth Watson), tells George he can sue Fourmile. (Consigned to a wheelchair, George is called Ironside by Mildred, a reference to the wheelchair bound detective played by Raymond Burr in the popular t.v series Ironside).
9	My Husband Next Door	1 November 1976	More Information Needed
10	Family Planning	8 November 1976	More Information Needed

Series Two (1977)

Episode Number	Episode Title	Airdate	Overview
1	Jumble Pie	14 November 1977	More Information Needed
2	All Around the Clock	21 November 1977	More Information Needed
3	The Travelling Man	28 November 1977	More Information Needed
4	The Unkindest Cut of All	5 December 1977	More Information Needed
5	The Right Way to Travel	12 December 1977	More Information Needed
6	The Dorothy Letters	19 December 1977)	More Information Needed
7	No Business Like Show Business	26 December 1977	More Information Needed

Series Three (1978)

Episode Number	Episode Title	Airdate	Overview
1	Opportunity Knocks	7 September 1978	More Information Needed
2	And so to Bed	14 September 1978	More Information Needed
3	I Believe in Yesterday	21 September 1978	More Information Needed
4	The Four Letter Word	28 September 1978	More Information Needed
5	The Delivery Man	5 October 1978	More Information Needed
6	Life with Father	12 October 1978	More Information Needed

Series Four (1978)

Episode Number	Episode Title	Airdate	Overview
1	Just the Job	16 November 1978	George is called to a job interview - the position vacant is that of traffic warden. George has no love for the 'little Hitlers' as he sees them, but perhaps he'll find his niche in life? Meanwhile George (reluctantly) and Mildred (happily) agree to attend their neighbours boy's, (Tristram), School Prize Giving.
2	Days of Beer and Rosie	23 November 1978	Has George got a son, conceived on Victory in Europe night ? (This episode looks back to the year 1945, and refers back, via George's reminiscences, and impressions, to Tommy Handley, ITMA and William Joyce. (The actor Tony Melody appears in this episode.)
3	You Must Have Showers	30 November 1978	Mildred wants a smart new shower, but George insists they can't afford the prices being asked, so calls in Jerry, (Roy Kinnear), to install a jerry-built one.
4	All Work and No Pay	7 December 1978	George resigns from his job as a traffic warden. But finds it very hard to tell Mildred. (In one of the conversations that George has with Jerry in this episode, Jerry says, he 'got a months jankers for that', a piece of British Armed Services slang. It illustrates the fact that George and Jerry are part of a generation that knew National Service, the system of peacetime conscription in Britain, 1948-1960).
5	Nappy Days	14 December 1978	Ann and Jeffrey Fourmile have to attend a funeral and ask George and Mildred to look after baby Tarquin for the day. This is fine until George is left alone in sole charge of the baby, the Fourmiles are late getting back from the funeral, and George wants to go to a darts match at the British Legion. (Norman Mitchell appears in this episode).
6	The Mating Game	21 December 1978	Mildred wants Truffles, George and Mildred's Yorkshire terrier, to have puppies. George is happy with that, since he thinks there might be money in it. They decide to try and pair Truffles with Mildreds sister Ethel's Yorkie, Pomeroy. But Ethel, (Avril Elgar), isn't sure; 'I don't think Pomeroy has ever seen a bitch. I keep him with me all the time.'
7	On the Second Day of Christmas	27 December 1978	George and Mildred reflect on their uneventful Christmas - even Mildred's mother, (Gretchen Franklin), has a more exciting time. Ann invites them over for a post-Christmas drink and George loses a stack of money to Jeffrey playing a video game. And then Ethel and Humphrey arrive.

Series Five (1979)

Episode Number	Episode Title	Airdate	Overview
1	Finders Keepers?	24 October 1979	More Information Needed
2	In Sickness and In Health	30 October 1979	More Information Needed
3	The Last Straw	6 November 1979	More Information Needed
4	A Driving Ambition	13 November 1979	More Information Needed
5	A Military Pickle	27 November 1979	More Information Needed
6	Fishy Business	4 December 1979	More Information Needed
7	I Gotta Horse	18 December 1979	More Information Needed
8	The Twenty Six Year Itch	25 December 1979	More Information Needed

Stage show

During 1977, Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce, joined at one stage by Reginald Marsh, toured in a successful stage version of the programme. In 1976-77, Murphy and Joyce appeared as the ugly sisters, Georgina and Mildred, in the London Palladium pantomime, Cinderella.

Film version

Main article: George and Mildred (film)

Following the fifth TV series, the programme was made into a film in 1980. The film was written not by Cooke and Mortimer but by Dick Sharples. The Fourmiles only played a small role in the film. Despite the presence of original title characters, plus stars like Stratford Johns and Kenneth Cope and up-and-coming actors like Vicki Michelle, the film was not a critical nor box office success.

The abrupt end of George and Mildred

The final caption of the George and Mildred film read 'The End - or is it the beginning?' It was to prove the abrupt end, as Yootha Joyce died, from chronic alcoholism, on 24 August 1980, before the film was even released. Her friends and colleagues were astonished to discover that she had been drinking a litre of brandy every day, as it never affected her performance or professionalism.

In 2004, on an audio commentary on the Australian Umbrella DVD release of George and Mildred: the Complete Series 2, Brian Murphy revealed that there had been plans for a sixth series of eight episodes of the show. These were to have been recorded in late 1980. Murphy also revealed that this was due to have been the final series of George and Mildred, as he and Yootha Joyce wished to focus on other work. However, despite scripts being written, Joyce's hospitalisation and death put an enforced end to the show. Her funeral took place on the very day the cast were due to begin rehearsals for the new series.

Thames Television did talk of producing a spin-off for the character of George, looking at him cope with life as a widower. However, this project did not materialise. But Brian Murphy did reunite with George and Mildred co-star Roy Kinnear and writers Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke for The Incredible Mr. Tanner, a comedy produced for Thames soon after Yootha Joyce's death.

Adaptations

George and Mildred was adapted in the United States as The Ropers, a spin-off of Three's Company, the US version of Man About the House. Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy appeared, in character as George and Mildred, on the magic show The David Nixon Show.

DVD releases

The first DVD release of George and Mildred was from Clear Vision in the UK in 2001 (and simultaneously appeared on VHS). Although the top of the sleeve says "Series One", the bottom says "episodes 1 to 6", so the remaining four episodes do not appear. Complaints about picture quality of this and the accompanying Man About the House release, and minor edits of the ad break captions, etc. probably went some way to explaining why no more Clear Vision releases materialised.

In Australia, the first series was released in May, 2003. Unlike the Clear Vision release of series one, all 10 episodes were included, as were the original ad captions and the Thames tv idents (the music for this is called "Salute to Thames") at the start and original end boards. Many fans from the UK imported these versions instead, not only due to their superiority, but the favourable exchange rates made them no more expensive than the Clear Vision title. Series 2 followed in March, 2004 and the movie that same November. Unlike the UK Network release of series 2, the Australian version contained some audio commentaries with series star Brian Murphy.

Contract and clearance re-negotiations for all worldwide regions put a halt to Umbrella's plans to proceed with the remaining episodes, and while the shows have been cleared for UK release (as evidenced by the Network releases), Fremantle Media still have not, as of 2007, worked out clearances for the Australian/New Zealand regions yet, so Umbrella's hands are still tied. On Wednesday, 16 July 2008, Series 3 was finally released in Australia, followed by Series 4 on 03 September 2008 and Series 5 on December 3 2008, Season 4 & 5 are currently unavailable. In April 2009, Freemantle Media re-released the first three seasons with the same cover art as of the UK releases (Season 1 now being a 2 Disc set as the original version all 10 episodes were on one disc), Season 4 & 5 will be re-released but it is unknown when.

The entire first series of George and Mildred was released by Network DVD in Region 2 (UK) in 2005 without the annoying edits or the over-compressed picture quality. The second, third and fourth series were released in 2006. The fifth and final series was released in 2007. The movie has been available in the UK for many years on both video and DVD, both individually and bundled as special double- and triple-bills with other "small screen to big screen" efforts. The complete box set with all 5 seasons has been released in the UK.

Recent broadcasts

The show is now shown regularly on Comedy Central Extra in the United Kingdom complete with Thames Television ident. In Spain it shown on Cuatro and in Canada it is shown on Country Canada. In 2007 some episodes were shown on the Seven Network in Australia and is shown occasionally on pay-TV channel UK.TV on Foxtel. It has also been shown in Cuba. Granada Plus used to repeat the show until the close in 2004.

See also

• List of films based on British sitcoms

References

• Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
• British TV Comedy Guide for George and Mildred

External links

• George and Mildred at the British Sitcom Guide
• George and Mildred at IMDb