Whatever Happened to Nicholas Bond-Owen?

Cast your mind back to the late 1970s and you may remember a spin-off TV sitcom, emanating from characters from the hit ITV show "Man About The House"

Again written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, "George and Mildred" starred Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy as the Ropers, an ill-matched married couple who upped sticks and moved to the posher London suburb of Hampton Wick. 

Their arrival horrified the next door neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile (played by Norman Eshley), convincing him that their presence would not only lower the tone of the neighbourhood, but also drop the value of local property.

Fourmile's wife Ann was played by Sheila Fearn, best remembered for being Terry Collier's sister in "Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads" and Ronnie Corbett's girlfriend in the BBC's "Sorry"

The main cast list was made up with the Fourmile's young son Tristram, who was played by Nicholas Bond-Owen and when I was recently researching another article, I came across this piece written by Simon Stabler from the Peterborough Community website that sheds some light as to what became of Nick. 

Click HERE to be taken to the article.

At the height of its popularity, "George and Mildred" came to an abrupt end in 1980 when Yootha Joyce suddenly died aged only 53. Plans were afoot for a 6th series to be made and  the successful movie spin-off of the show was dedicated in her memory (released after her passing). 

It later came to light that she had an alcohol dependency problem, consuming upwards of a half bottle of brandy every day.

An idea for Brian Murphy to star in a show as George, coping as a widower never materialised, but soon after her death he did appear in another Mortimer and Cooke written show, along with Roy Kinnear (who also made regular appearances in "George and Mildred"), entitled "The Incredible Mr Tanner"

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