Jeffrey Fourmile

Tarquin Fourmile (son)

**Jeffrey Fourmile** is a fictional character from the Thames Television sitcom George and Mildred He was portrayed by Norman Eshley.

## Biography

In 1969, Jeffrey becomes a father when Ann gives birth to a baby boy, who they name Tristram.

 Jeffrey and a Mr. Ward create an estate agency named Ward & Fourmile Estate Agency, and Jeffrey has a sex mad secretary called Deborah. Jeffrey is a regular at the Hampton Wick Tennis Club, where he got talking to the local Conservative MP, Margaret Partridge (Diana King), and her husband Charles (John Harvey). Jeffrey invites them to dinner for a few week's time.

After George and Mildred move into their new home, they are invited for a welcoming drink by the Fourmiles, but Jeffrey doesn't want them around by the time the Fourmiles' dinner guests arrive - Mr and Mrs Partridge. George doesn't want to go and has a rare bath instead. Unfortunately, when the Mildred goes home, she finds George has accidentally locked them out and left the bathwater running.

Jeffrey's secretary Deborah becomes pregant and leaves her job, prompting Jeffrey to advertise for a new secretary. Mildred later gets a job as a secretary in Jeffrey's estate agency.

Jeffrey and Ann go out for the night to see Tom Stoppard's Jumpers at the local theatre, having Mildred to baby sit Tristram.

When the Fourmiles go on holiday to Scotland, Mildred is given the key to their house so she can water their plants, but George abuses this by going in to watch the couple's superior colour television. Mildred has asked George to decorate their lounge but George refuses to do it, so she calls in professionals - who follow him into the Fourmiles' house, wrongly assuming that this is where the re-decoration is needed. George and Mildred have to put the resultant unwanted make-over back to normal.

In November 1977, George is bereaved when Oscar, his budgie dies. Mildred offers to help out at a jumble sale at the church so Reverend Stopes (Trevor Baxter), calls to collect items for sale. Amongst other things, Mildred donates a box of George's old gardening magazines because he never does any gardening. However, she is mortified when George tells her that the box of magazines only had gardening magazines on the top and the rest are rude magazines named "Wink", "Nudge" and "Titter". At the jumble sale, George asks Fourmile to have back the box of gardening magazines. Fourmile gives him a box containing only gardening magazines. George takes the box of magazines home, believing that it contains all the magazines of his that Mildred donated. George asks Fourmile what he did with the other magazines of his; Fourmile claims that he incinerated them. Ann is angry because she has just found them on top of her and Jeffrey's wardrobe. Jeffrey reluctantly gives them back to George.

Jeffrey gets his lawn seeded.

For the Ropers' 24th wedding anniversary, Mildred gives George a pipe and tobacco as a present. George gets her a carriage clock, which he bought for ten pounds from a man in the pub. Meanwhile, Jeffrey, Ann and Tristram get back from a golfing holiday to find they have been burgled, and one of the missing items is a carriage clock. When Mildred finds this out, she thinks that her clock and Ann's clock is the same one, and her and George put it back on the Fourmile's mantelpiece while Jeffrey is not looking. Ann then returns from the police station with her carriage clock, which has been recovered.

George and Mildred afvertiste for a lodger, and Jeffrey thinks this will lower the house prices in the area. Nevetheless, he gets on well with Edward Rogers (Derek Waring); he leaves shortly after when his month's rent is up. Jeffrey and Ann then go to the pub for a meal that night at 8.30pm.

Christmas 1977 brings news that Jeffrey is producing and directing the Hampton Wick Players Christmas pantomime, Cinderella. A problem arises however, which leaves the production short of a second ugly sister. Mildred, who has been eager to take part, is offered the role, and accepts. Ethel and Humphrey arrive for the evening of the performance, but by then, Mildred has fallen ill and lost her voice leaving George to take her place.

In March 1978, the Fourmiles', and the other residents of Peacock Crescent experienced a power cut.

In summer 1978, the Ropers have a barbecue in their back garden. After eating it, George brings his motorbike into the back garden so he can work on it, but when he starts it, the tyres flick mud onto Mildred's new tablecloth. After incurring Mildred's wrath, George puts his motorbike away, and decides to create a hammock between two trees in the garden, one being a young weak tree. The weight of George is too much for the tree and it breaks and falls over, bringing down a fence panel between the Ropers and the Fourmiles' fence, revealing Jeffrey, Ann and Tristram sitting at their garden table on their lawn. Mildred comes out with some cocktails for her and George to discover this, and he incurs her wrath again.

Mildred is not happy about George mending his motor-bike in the house but when Ann goes into labour with Jeffrey away in Birmingham and no chance of a mini-cab, George has to rush her in, in his motor-bike. Inevitably George is mistaken for the father but a grateful Ann shocks her husband by suggesting they call their new son George.

In late September 1978, the ever work-shy George is apprehensive when called for a job interview but the
resultant, successful post suits him down to the ground. He is now a traffic warden at the Hampton Wick Traffic Wardens and inevitably loves the power that this gives him. Others are less enamoured so that when he turns up in his uniform,with Mildred, for Tristram's school prize-giving at the Morland House School For Boys, someone has tipped a bag of cement all over him, on his way home, still on duty, George books all the cars in the street as they are on double yellow lines, including the mayor's car and Jeffrey's car.

In November 1978, Mildred wants a new Hollywood-style bathroom shower but the professionals' quotes are too pricey for penny-pinching George, so he gets his dodgy friend Jerry to do the installation. Unfortunately Jerry connects the shower to the Fourmiles' plumbing system so that the Ropers end up stealing their neighbours' water.

Due to complaints about his over-zealous attitude George rows with his superior, Arnold Higson (Blake Butler), and resigns his job as a traffic warden. He is scared to tell Mildred, who finds out from Mr. Higson with whom she flirts to get George his job back. Jeffrey has a new sports car and Mildred says he can use the Ropers' garage, unaware that George's useless friend Jerry is storing bags of cement in it, which inevitably fall onto Jeffrey's car, breaking it.

In December 1978, George and Mildred spend a day with the Fourmiles, where George and Jeffrey become addicted to Tristram's Christmas present, a digital table tennis video game, which sees George losing money.

In early autumn 1979, George and Mildred plan to go for a drive in George's motorbike and sidecar, but George drives past Jeffrey who is going to his car, he gets splashed with mud. [*Series 5 Opening Titles]*

Mildred becomes disenchanted by her failure to be included in the social life on her middle-class estate after she is not invited to Mrs Clifton-White's garden party. Mildred's spirits rise when she is invited reluctantly by Jeffrey to join the Local Amenities Committee and a campaign to save a Victorian lamp post a few streets away in The Close. However, George accidentally crashes his motorcycle into the lamp post, knocking it down.

Jeffrey gets an invitation to the Young Conservatives' Dinner Dance, but Ann will be away visiting her mother with the children so she persuades him to take Mildred instead.However, Mildred feels out of her depth at the dance, and after realising she has left the price tag on the back of her dress, she then spills her drink on it, therefore forced to return home early.