Norman Eshley

Norman Eshley (30 May 1945 – 2 August 2025) was an English character actor and writer. He started his career on stage but was best known for his television roles, notably as Jeffrey Fourmile in the sitcom George and Mildred.^[1]

Norman Eshley
Born	(1945-05-30)30 May 1945 Bristol, England
Died	2 August 2025(2025-08-02) (aged 80) Gloucester, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, writer
Years active	c. early 1960s–2021[1]
Spouses	Millicent Martin ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1973)​ [citation needed] Lynette Braid ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1981)​ [citation needed] Rachel Spiers ​ (m. 2015)​ [citation needed]

Early life and career

Eshley who was born in Bristol, England on 30 May 1945. He attended Bristol Grammar School, worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many Shakespearean roles on stage. before establishing himself as a theatre performer on the West End theatre circuit.

His first screen role was in the 1968 film The Immortal Story, directed by Orson Welles. He played a lead character, Steve, in Blind Terror (1971) and appeared in the Pete Walker horror film House of Mortal Sin in 1975.^[2]

In 1969, Eshley appeared alongside Dudley Sutton in two very similar villainous roles: in the Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) episode "Could You Recognise the Man Again?", and in the Department S episode, "Handicap Dead". However, he is possibly best known for his role in the sitcom George and Mildred (1976–79) as the snobbish, right-wing estate agent Jeffrey Fourmile, the foil to George. In the show's direct predecessor, Man About the House, (1973–76) he had previously featured in several episodes as Robin Tripp's brother Norman, who married Chrissy (Paula Wilcox), and Jeffrey was mentioned in the spin-off show, Robin's Nest in the episode "Love and Marriage" as Robin's best man, who never turned up to the wedding due to having mumps. In an earlier Man About the House episode, "In Praise of Older Men" (1974), Eshley played a sleazy married executive named Ian Cross who tried to seduce Chrissy.^[2]

In 1985, Eshley played the Reverend Redwood, a benevolent vicar who runs a social club with a view to rehabilitating ex-convicts in the Minder episode "Give Us This Day Arthur Daley's Bread".^[3]

Eshley's other TV credits include: Thriller ("The Colour of Blood"/US title: "The Carnation Killer", 1973) as an escaped serial killer, Warship (1973–74), The Duchess of Duke Street, I, Claudius, The Sweeney (all 1976), Return of the Saint (1978), a former SAS colleague of Bodie in The Professionals' episode "Kickback" (1980), a vicar in Minder (1985), Taggart (1990), Cadfael (1994), One Foot in the Grave (1997), Dangerfield (1998), and The Bill (1999–2000).

In 1988 he appeared in a public information film about road safety called Accident in Park Road. His character is seen driving a Ford Escort, before running over a child who dashes out between cars in front of him. He is questioned by Graham Cole who plays a policeman, a role Cole played as PC Tony Stamp in The Bill.^[2]

Along with Douglas Fielding, Eshley provided the narration for the Blind Guardian album Nightfall in Middle-Earth.^[4] He had roles in the BBC TV series New Tricks (2007) and A Christmas Campaign (short, 2011).^[2] In 2019, he appeared in the documentary The Immortal Orson Welles, directed by Chris Wade.

Personal life and death

In 1969, Eshley married actress Millicent Martin in Brighton.^[5]

In 1993, Eshley was a passenger in a car which was involved in a crash in the Dordogne in France. When cut from the wreckage he had a punctured lung, cracked sternum, broken shoulder blade and a fractured arm, plus head and neck injuries.^[6]

Eshley lived with his wife Rachel in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England.^{[citation needed]}

Eshley died from cancer at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, on 2 August 2025, aged 80.^[1]

Filmography

Film

• The Immortal Story (1968) – Paul, the sailor.^[7]
• The Lost Continent (1968) – Jonathan, the Prisoner
• Crossplot (1969) – Athol
• See No Evil (1971) – Steve Reding
• House of Mortal Sin (1976) – Father Bernard Cutler
• The Disappearance (1977) – Young Husband
• George and Mildred (1980) – Jeffrey Fourmile
• Empty Mirror (2000) – Oz Riley
• A Christmas Campaign (2011) - Creative Director
• The Immortal Orson Welles (2019) - Himself
• Cold Sun (2021) - Head of Counter Terrorism Commander

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	A Most Unfortunate Accident	Roger
	A Man of Our Times	Simon	Episode: "Sally Go Round the Moon"
	Mystery and Imagination	Jean Lemaistre	Episode: "The Telltale Heart"
	City '68	Jeremy	Episode: "The System: The Fleapit"
1968–1972	ITV Playhouse	Roger/Jude	2 episodes
1969	Department S	Red	Episode: "Handicap Dead"
	Thirty-Minute Theatre	Rab	Episode: "Trespassers"
	Canterbury Tales	Lover	Episode: "The Merchant's Tale/The Manciple's Tale"
1970	Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)	Mike Hales	Episode: "Could You Recognise the Man Again?"
	Parkin's Patch	Vickory	Episode: "Vickory"
1972	The Regiment	Simon Howarth	Episode: "Christmas at the Cape"
	Play for Today	Dave Osmond	Episode: "The Bouncing Boy"
1973	Justice	Nick Adams	Episode: "Malicious Damage"
	Thriller	Arthur Page	Episode: "The Carnation Killer"
	Between the Wars	Vincent	Episode: "Voyage in the Dark"
	Vienna 1900	Alfred Beratoner	2 episodes
	Warship	Lieutenant Bob Last	Series 1-2
1974–1976	Man About the House	Ian Cross/ Norman Tripp	4 episodes
1974	The Onedin Line	Hon. Hugh Kernan	Episode: "Port Out, Starboard Home"
	Zodiac	Paul Deening	Episode: "The Strength of Gemini"
	BBC Play of the Month	Charles Hornblower	Episode: "The Skin Game"
	And Mother Makes Five	Mr. Witherspoon	Episode: "To the Aid of the Party"
1975	Whodunnit?	Roy Sharp	Episode: "Beware, Wet Paint"
1976	Orde Wingate	Cpl. Thomas	Episode: "If I Forget Thee of Jerusalem"
1976–1979	George and Mildred	Jeffrey Fourmile
1976	The Sweeney	Det. Sgt. Robert Hargreaves	Episode: "Taste of Fear"
	The Duchess of Duke Street	Wilson	Episode: "A Matter of Honour"
	I, Claudius	Marcus Vinicius	2 episodes
	Centre Play	William Wilson	Episode: "William Wilson"
1977	Supernatural	Edward	Episode: "Viktoria"
	Yanks Go Home	Lt. Beamish Cooke-Cooke	Episode: "Cooke-Cooke"
	Secret Army	Sgt. Clifford Howson	Episode: "Growing Up"
1978	1990	Tony Borden	Episode: "Trapline"
	Out	Turpitt	Episode: "A Little Heart to Heart With Miss Bangor"
	Return of the Saint	Detective George Caufield	2 episodes
1979	Crown Court	Peter Fisher	Serial: "Rebel at Law"
1980	The Professionals	Jimmy Keller	Episode: "Kickback"
1983	Maybury	Larry Chalmers	2 episodes
	The Outsider	Donald Harper	Miniseries
1985	Hilary	Dr. Fenwick	1 episode
	Minder	Reverend Redwood	Episode: "Give Us This Day Arthur Daley's Bread"
	The Black Tower	Victor Holroyd	Pilot
1985–1986	Brookside	Alun Jones	11 episodes
1986	Executive Stress	Gascoigne	1 episode
1987	Late Expectations	Harry
1989	William Tell	Woodsman	Episode: "Goldilocks"
	After Henry	Philip	Episode: "Upstagers"
1990	Taggart	Commander Gunner	Episode: "Death Comes Softly"
1991	The Ruth Rendell Mysteries	Jon Walsh	Episode: "Achilles Heel"
1994	Cadfael	Baron Huon de Domville	Episode: "The Leper of St. Giles"
	All Night Long	Roy Morris	1 episode
1997	The New Adventures of Robin Hood	Baron Royston	Episode: "The Road to Royston"
	Thief Takers	CI Samson	Episode: "Road Rage"
	One Foot in the Grave	Detective Inspector Rickles	Episode: "Endgame"
1998	The Broker's Man	Leigh Dunwell	Episode: "Playback"
	Get Real	Martin	Episode: "Hero"
	Dangerfield	Superintendent Studley	Episode: "Double Helix"
1999–2000	The Bill	Terry Riley/Mr. Gibbs	4 episodes
1999	Murder Most Horrid	DCI Reed	Episode: "Whoopi Stone"
	Harbour Lights	Mayor	Episode: "The Last Supper"
	Goodnight Sweetheart	Priestley	Episode: "Something Fishie"
2007	New Tricks	Billy Pierce	Episode: "God's Waiting Room"
2017	The White Princess	The Abbot	Episode: "English Blood on English Soil"