Mrs Tremble

**Mrs Tremble**,usually referred to as **Mother** is a fictional character from the Thames Television sitcom George and Mildred. She was portrayed by Gretchen Franklin.

Mrs Tremble was born in 1904 and married a man that was always drunk and had four children: Arthur, Ethel,(Avril Elgar), Mildred (Yootha Joyce) and Hilda (Jean Harrow). Her only son, Arthur, emigrated to New Zealand, and had a job branding sheep; it is hinted that he was homosexual. He died around 1955. Ethel married Humphrey Pumphrey (Reginald Marsh) who was in charge of a meat company. Mildred married George Roper in 1953, and Hilda married Fred and had six children.

Mrs Tremble lives in Dagenham and is a member of her local Darby and Joan club.

In 1973, George and Mildred go to stay with Mrs Tremble for a week, but she wanted her kitchen redecorating, and according to George, he spent the whole week decorating her kitchen and that she had a paint brush in his hand before he could get out of the car.

In 1974, she is to stay for a week at George and Mildred's house in Putney, but when it is discovered there is a mouse on the loose, it is revealed that both Mildred and her mother do not like mice, so after various attempts by George to cancel the visit, they end up going to see *her* instead.

In 1976, Mrs Tremble goes to stay with Mildred and George in their new house in Hampton Wick for a week, but she is getting very forgetful as she calls Mildred 'Ethel' and George 'Humphrey'. Ethel decides that a family conference should be held as she thinks one of the three sisters should let her live with them. Mrs Tremble then says that she is going to New Zealand with Arthur but he has died, so the idea is scrapped.

In late December 1977, Mrs Tremble pays George and Mildred a visit, but George not keen on her, disconnected the doorbell so they could not hear her. After a while, Mildred noticed her and invited her in. George was annoyed when her mother hung her hat on him and said hello to the hall stand. Later that visit, George challenged Mrs Tremble to an arm wrestle, but she won, George's excuse being that 'she was turning purple'.

In September 1978, Mrs Tremble visits Mildred and gives her a letter she receives, and it says that one of Mildred's old boyfriends is coming over to England and that he wants to have a reunion. Mildred gets excited thinking it will just be the two of them, but it turns out there were over twenty people there.

In December 1978, age 74, she holds a Christmas party at her house for the Darby and Joan club.

In December 1979, Mrs Tremble visits Ethel, who sees a china horse in a Country Life magazine. Mrs Tremble tells her Mildred owns the only other one in the world, and Ethel immediately goes to see Mildred to look at it. When Mildred shows it to Ann, she tells Mildred that a similar statue recently sold for £10,000. Mildred has it valued, and finds out that it is a cheap reproduction which was made in Birmingham in 1927 that is worth 30 shillings.

## Appearances

Mrs Tremble appeared in the following episodes:

* "Family Planning" (Series 1) (1976)
* "I Believe In Yesterday" (Series 3) (1978)
* "On The Second Day of Christmas" (Series 4) (1978)
* "I Gotta Horse" (Series 5) (1979)