Mildred Roper arrive, George often runs away to the pub or next door, unless Mildred bellows for him to sit. Upon the death in 1980 of Yootha Joyce, who had played Mildred, Thames Television did talk of producing a spin-off for the character of George, looking at him cope with life as a widower. 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. Yootha Joyce appeared as Mildred Roper in all episodes
Ron Joyce food-service industry and in 1963 purchased a Dairy Queen franchise in Hamilton. Joyce entered a franchise partnership with Horton in 1967, and Joyce reportedly wrote "You must be kidding!" in reference to the clause of the one-page franchise agreement requiring rent in advance. After Horton's death in an auto accident in 1974, Joyce purchased Horton's share for about $1 million and assumed control of the full Tim Horton franchise. Joyce hired a management team and began to franchise the company throughout the late 1970s until the 1990s. During the early 1990s, Danny Murphy, a franchise owner of both Tim Hortons