IT was a TV sitcom aired two decades before Tex Fisher was born.
But after watching repeats of Man About the House and its spin-off series George and Mildred, the 18-year-old fell in love with the British comedies.
In fact he loved the shows so much that he has penned a book which hits bookstores in a few days time.
And despite other lads his age being more interested in going out and playing sports, the teenager says he is proud to shout about his passion for the series.
He said: “Some of my friends thought it was a bit strange when I told them I had written a book about a show in the 70s. They thought it sounded like something a person in their 30s would do.
“But I’m pleased that I’ve written something that will help preserve the memory of these much-loved shows and proud to come out of the closet and declare myself a fan!”
Tex, of Elland, says his parents watched the shows when they aired on TV the first time around.
Man About the House was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976.
The series, staring Richard O’Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett, was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of a man sharing a flat with two single girls.
The spin-off series, George and Mildred, followed in 1976 and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper.
Tex remembers laughing at an episode aired at Christmas when he was just six and his love of both shows grew from there as he watched other repeats and eventually collected all of the episodes on DVD.
He said: “I loved the show when I first saw it and as I grew up I watched episodes as they were repeated on TV.
“It seems strange as I wasn’t born until 20 years after the series finished, but I just really enjoyed them.
“I like the comedy from the era so much more than the style of the shows that are on TV today – it’s so different and far funnier.
“There’s nothing of this type of genre in comedy today, it’s all politically correct stuff and it doesn’t really have new situations as most things have been done in the past.
“George and Mildred was a clever comedy mirroring what life was like for people in the suburbs and was quite different to some of the other shows at the time like On the Buses which were more slapstick.”
Tex found that many people still follow the shows and decided to preserve their place in history by writing a book.
He spent hours researching archives and even tracked down former cast members for his book, entitled ‘Man About the House, George and Mildred – The Definitive Companion’.
Tex said: “I spent hours at Bradford Central Library sifting though old TV magazines and I managed to find and speak to cast members like Brian Murphy, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett who helped an awful lot.
“I was astonished to find how incredibly popular the show was – 20m people watched it – and how at one public event with the cast in London so many people packed onto the stage to see them that it collapsed!
“I took about seven months putting the book together and I was very proud to get it published.
“It’s been an enjoyable hobby and I’m hoping a lot of people will find it interesting.”
Tex’s book will be available in bookshops from July 15. He aims to continue writing about classic sitcoms and a book about On the Buses is planned for next year.
Factfile:
George and Mildred was a British sitcom produced by Thames Television.
It aired from 1976 to 1979
It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper
Brian Murphy later starred in Last of The Summer Wine
The series was written by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer
It was also turned into a film, which was dedicated to actress Yootha Joyce who died suddenly in 1980 aged 53.
