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 her own success, and dreaded the thought of being typecast as Mildred Roper. She appeared posthumously in her last recorded television performance, duetting with Max Bygraves on his variety show "Max". The episode was aired on 14 January 1981. The actor/comedian Kenneth Williams wrote of the performance that "...she looked as though she was crying..." He also went on to mention her in a later entry in his diary (9 April 1988) that she was "a lady who made so many people happy and a lady who never complained". In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the