Brian Murphy (actor) the lazy George Roper, whose wife, Mildred, was played by Yootha Joyce. Her domineering, social-climbing characteristic was a sharp contrast to George's desire for an easy and quiet life and the pairing was an instant hit. A contributing factor to their immediate chemistry was that they had been friends for many years. Aside from their Theatre Workshop years, Murphy also featured in "Sparrows Can't Sing" (1963) with Joyce and other Theatre Workshop colleagues. When "Man About The House" ended in 1976, a spin-off was created for Murphy and Joyce, entitled "George and Mildred". This ran for five series until 1979.
Yootha Joyce after his subsequent relationships broke down. In the 1960s and 1970s she became a familiar face in many one-off sitcom roles and supporting parts in films, with her first main recurring role being Miss Argyll, frustrated girlfriend of the title star Milo O'Shea in three series of "Me Mammy" (1968–71); most of the tapes of that series are now lost. Prior to that, she played a cameo role in Jack Clayton's "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964) as a psychotic young woman opposite Anne Bancroft, delivering a performance that has been called one of the "best screen acting miniatures one could hope