George And Mildred

'George And Mildred' was one of ITV's better comedies, starring the magnificent Yootha Joyce as the formidable Mildred, wife of lazy, working-class-and-proud-of-it George (Brian Murphy). The series was a spin-off of the earlier 1970s sitcom, 'Man About The House'.

Mildred wants to move up in the world, whereas George is happy to stay where he is. The couple's move to a posher area - the suburbs of Hampton Wick - sees Mildred desperately trying to impress neighbours Jeffrey and Ann Fourmile, with snooty Mr. Fourmile (Norman Eshley) and George constantly at loggerheads in classic class warfare. Despite George's bumbling ways, he's easily the one we root for. Fourmile's wife (Sheila Fearn) is much more likeable, and the Fourmiles eight-year-old son, Tristram, is played with charm by Nicholas Bond-Owen.

Familiar faces in 'George And Mildred' included Roy Kinnear as George's dodgy pal Jerry, Gretchen Franklin as Mildred's eccentric mother, and sister and brother-in-law Ethel and Humphrey, played by Avril Elgar and Reginald Marsh, respectively. Pussy Galore played Mildred's dog Truffles.

Written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, there were 38 episodes of 'George And Mildred', and the show ran for five series from 1976 to 1979. There was a film version in 1980, also including Stratford Johns, Kenneth Cope, and Vicki Michelle, and a stage version in 1977. Another series was planned, but Yootha Joyce's death, on August 24th, 1980, scuppered those plans. The show was adpated in the US as 'The Ropers'.

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.