George & Mildred

A hilarious spin-off for Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy from 'Man about the House'. George and Mildred have moved into a different house in another part of London and are now confronting their new neighbours, the Fourmiles. The snobbish Geoffrey Fourmile thoroughly detests them and that's where the fun starts. Pretty much the same thing that used to happen in 'Man about the House', except you see more of them.

British television sitcoms of the '70s have acquired a reputation for being shallow and purile, and 'George and Mildred' is often cited as a supreme example of this.

Nothing could be further from the truth, this sitcom really worked. There was real chemistry between the characters, and while the plots were shallow there was a great deal of comedy present.

Developed as a spin-off from 'Man About The House', it centres around a working class couple (George and Mildred) who move into a middle class neighbourhood. Mildred (Yootha Joyce) is determined to overcome her lowly roots, whilst George (Brian Murphy) is working class and proud of it!!

Their new neighbours are the Fourmiles, Geoffrey is a out-and-out snob, but his wife, Ann, is down to Earth. They have a young son, Tristram.

Most of the comedy revolves around the antics of George antagonising Geoffrey, whilst their respective wives try desperately to maintain tranquility.

The concept of neighbour / class conflict is the mainstay of many a sitcom, but seldom works as well as this. The chemistry between the characters is perfect, especially George and Mildred, I think that the sitcom would probably have failed with anyone else playing these parts.

The success of this sitcom lead to a film version in 1980, but the film never really captured the vital spark that made the television series such a hit.

'George & Mildred' was the first - and best - of the spin-offs from Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke's 'Man About The House'. Using the proceedings from the sale of their home in Myddleton Terrace, the Ropers' move into a posh residential area ( 'all B.B.C.-2 and musical toilet rolls', according to George ), and find themselves living next door to snobbish estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, his wife Ann and their son Tristram. George is like the proverbial fish out of water. Somewhat unbelievably, he gets a job as a traffic warden.

The relationship between him and Mildred was much the same; she craves physical affection, and poor George isn't able to provide it. Much of the humour came from George constantly embarrassing his wife in public, such as the time he took a bath in the lounge just as Mildred brought home friends for tea. Like 'Terry & June', it was cosy, predictable stuff, but highly amusing. Mortimer and Cooke wrote every episode, meaning that there was no dip in quality ( as was the case with 'Robin's Nest' ) when new writers came aboard. The first season had a cracking theme by John Hawksworth but when it returned, Roger Webb supplied a bland tune which didn't suit the show at all. In much the same way that Yootha Joyce stole the show in 'House', little Nicholas Bond-Owen upstaged the adult performers as 'Tristram'. Enormously popular, the show racked up huge ratings even on its repeats. Sadly, Yootha Joyce died before a final series could be recorded.

Brian Murphy is one of the greatest at playing the dumba**.His teaming up with Yootha Joyce was an inspiration. They really could make you believe that they were married! Don't miss this great comedy series it will sure put a smile on your face......

Surely the best ever British comedy series. I know that people talk about Only Fools and Horses being the best, but for me, this is it. In case anybody doesn't know what it is about, it is basically about a middle-aged married couple who, after having their London home compulsory purchased by the Council, move to Hampton Wick into a posh neighbourhood. The series is basically about Mildred, the sex-starved wife, trying to better herself and George, her work-shy husband, who seems to delight in upsetting their neighbours. Only 5 series were made, due to the death of Yootha Joyce, but I would recommend this to anybody who appreciates genuine British comedy.