Meet the Wife
Encyclopedia
Meet the Wife is a 1960s BBC
situation comedy
written by Ronald Chesney
and Ronald Wolfe
, which featured Freddie Frinton
as Freddie Blacklock with Thora Hird
as his tyrannical wife, Thora. It ran to five series.
The series was based on a 1963 BBC television Comedy Playhouse
production, "The Bed
". The theme tune was by Russ Conway
and incidental music by Norman Percival and later Dennis Wilson. The producers were John Paddy Carstairs
and later Robin Nash
.
The Beatles
song "Good Morning, Good Morning
" on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
includes the lyric "It's time for tea and Meet the Wife".
". He was a plumber who liked a bit of betting and a drink before coming home. His wife, Thora, was noted for her incessant talking while giving her husband a hard time. The couple had at least two children, one named Peter who is now 23 and married. The series has much in common with the later BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances
, except that the central couple were unmistakably working class.
The catchphrases of the series were both Thora's. The first occurred whenever the socially-aspiring Thora introduced her husband, when she would snobbishly pronounce his name "Frayed", remarking that he was "a Master plumber", with the emphasis on the word Master. The other was to throw an irate accusative tantrum at poor, downtrodden Fred, with the words, "Every time [such-and-such happens], you always go berserk" The word berserk was given great emphasis, as "Ber-Serk", and always had a successful comedic effect as Fred would wilt under the onslaught.
. The following are currently thought to exist:
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
written by Ronald Chesney
Chesney and Wolfe
Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe are British TV comedy screenwriters, best known for their popular 1960s / 1970s sitcoms The Rag Trade and On The Buses.-Early years:...
and Ronald Wolfe
Chesney and Wolfe
Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe are British TV comedy screenwriters, best known for their popular 1960s / 1970s sitcoms The Rag Trade and On The Buses.-Early years:...
, which featured Freddie Frinton
Freddie Frinton
Freddie Frinton, born Frederick Bittiner Coo was an English comedian who remains a household name in Germany and Scandinavia because of his performance in Dinner for One....
as Freddie Blacklock with Thora Hird
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
as his tyrannical wife, Thora. It ran to five series.
The series was based on a 1963 BBC television Comedy Playhouse
Comedy Playhouse
Comedy Playhouse was a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served?...
production, "The Bed
Comedy Playhouse (series 3)
The third series of Comedy Playhouse, the long-running BBC series, aired from 28 September 1963 to 31 January 1964.-Background:The third series, which was in black-and-white, consisted of seventeen episodes, each of which had a different cast and storyline...
". The theme tune was by Russ Conway
Russ Conway
Russ Conway was a British popular music pianist. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two number one hits.-Career:...
and incidental music by Norman Percival and later Dennis Wilson. The producers were John Paddy Carstairs
John Paddy Carstairs
John Paddy Carstairs was a British film director and television director , usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and painter....
and later Robin Nash
Robin Nash
Robert Henry Douglas Drane, known professionally as Robin Nash , was a British television producer and executive, who was probably best known as producer of Top of the Pops from 1974 to 1981...
.
The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song "Good Morning, Good Morning
Good Morning Good Morning
"Good Morning Good Morning" is a song written by John Lennon and recorded by The Beatles, featured on their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.-Lyrical inspiration:...
" on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
includes the lyric "It's time for tea and Meet the Wife".
Outline
The series followed the various ups and downs of a middle-aged married couple. Of the two, Fred was the "straight manStraight man
Straight man may refer to:* Straight Man, a novel by Richard Russo* A member of a double act who plays a stooge, feed, or comic foil in theatrical comedy...
". He was a plumber who liked a bit of betting and a drink before coming home. His wife, Thora, was noted for her incessant talking while giving her husband a hard time. The couple had at least two children, one named Peter who is now 23 and married. The series has much in common with the later BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
, except that the central couple were unmistakably working class.
The catchphrases of the series were both Thora's. The first occurred whenever the socially-aspiring Thora introduced her husband, when she would snobbishly pronounce his name "Frayed", remarking that he was "a Master plumber", with the emphasis on the word Master. The other was to throw an irate accusative tantrum at poor, downtrodden Fred, with the words, "Every time [such-and-such happens], you always go berserk" The word berserk was given great emphasis, as "Ber-Serk", and always had a successful comedic effect as Fred would wilt under the onslaught.
Pilot
- The BedComedy Playhouse (series 3)The third series of Comedy Playhouse, the long-running BBC series, aired from 28 September 1963 to 31 January 1964.-Background:The third series, which was in black-and-white, consisted of seventeen episodes, each of which had a different cast and storyline...
(28 Dec 63) Fred and Thora have been using the same bed for 25 years and it is lumpy and past its best. Thora decides it's time to get not just a new bed but 2 separate beds, because Fred keeps taking the bed clothes, etc. However two beds cost much more than one so she settles on a nice bed but that night makes Fred's life a nightmare as she tries to get settled, so Fred goes to the spare room to sleep on the old bed. While still nagging him though he's now in another room, Thora finds his present and card for their Silver Anniversary tomorrow, costing the £15 she thought he'd wasted. She grabs the bed clothes and goes to the other room and gets in bed with Fred. Brian OultonBrian OultonBrian Oulton was an English character actor.Born in Liverpool, he made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor...
was the bed salesman.
Series 1
- Getting Away (21 Apr 64)
- Coming Home (28 Apr 64)
- The Back (5 May 64) Fred wants a quiet lay-in on a Sunday morning but his wife keeps him nearly as busy as her nagging tongue. He's finally had enough and goes to the pub. She is worried because he is late coming back but he has been to the other side of town to get the pills for her bad back, which she has been moaning about all morning. Harold GoodwinHarold GoodwinHarold Goodwin was an American film actor who performed in over 225 films.Born in Peoria, Illinois, Goodwin began his film career while still in his teens in the 1915 film short Mike's Elopement. One of his most popular roles of the silent era was that of Jeff Brown in the 1927 Buster Keaton...
was the milkman. - Night Out (12 May 64)
- Little Andrew (19 May 64)
- The Business Dinner (26 May 64) A couple they knew from years back are coming to dinner and Thora wants to make a good impression on them as he builds houses and could put some plumbing work Fred's way. Her patience is sorely tried as the woman keeps on about how well off they are until one of Fred's mates drops by and tells her that the man's house business is near bankruptcy because his wife spends so much.
- The Strain (2 Jun 64) Plumber's helper Sid (Brian RawlinsonBrian RawlinsonBrian Rawlinson was an English actor and writer who was prolific in films and TV from the 1950s....
) has taken the day off to get himself a new bike. Fred hurts his arm and head getting a bath upstairs on his own and comes home early. Thora takes his temperature which is 103.F (she forgot to shake the thermometer so the temperature is of the boy next door who used it last) and the doctor is called. She panics to get everything tidy before he arrives which leads to a number of disasters.
Series 2
- Shopping (12 Nov 64)
- The Teenage Niece (19 Nov 64)
- The Shelf (26 Nov 64)
- The Invitation (3 Dec 64)
- The Lesson (10 Dec 64)
- The Wallpaper (17 Dec 64)
Series 3
- The Ring (18 Apr 65)
- The Bathroom (25 Apr 65)
- Cousin Olive (2 May 65)
- The Loft (9 May 65)
- Doctor's Orders (16 May 65)
- The Picnic (23 May 65)
Series 4
- The Pain (22 Nov 65)
- Her Birthday (29 Nov 65)
- Brother Tom (6 Dec 65) Fred's brother Tom (Stanley MeadowsStanley Meadows-Selected filmography:* The Mummy * Payroll * A Prize of Arms * Panic * The Main Chance * The Masque of the Red Death * Clash by Night * The Ipcress File...
) has been in town on business and now there is a heavy fog so rather than drive the 50 miles home, Fred says it is OK for him to stay with them. However Tom brings a lady friend, Josie (Ann Kennedy) with him and Thora is determined that there should be no hanky-panky between the two, even if she and Fred has to stay up all night to keep an eye on them, and her lecherous husband who has taken a fancy to Josie. - The Hotel (13 Dec 65)
- The Merry Widow (20 Dec 65) Fred is too friendly with Mrs Jackson aka "Blossom" (Avis BunnageAvis BunnageAvis Bunnage was a British actress of film, stage and television.She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She worked as a secretary and a nursery teacher before deciding to become an actress...
) who moved in across the road last month and because of circumstances Thora thinks there is something going on between them. Arthur HowardArthur HowardFor other people with this name, see Arthur Howard Arthur Howard was an English film and television actor.-Life and career:...
as The Vicar. - Journey Home (27 Dec 65) Fred and Thora have spent xmas with their son (not seen), his wife Peggy (Jean Marlow) and two children. They go home on Boxing Day but get in the wrong part of the train which means they travel 30 miles in the wrong direction and have to spend seven hours in a freezing cold waiting room.
Series 5
- The Holiday (26 Sep 66)
- Continental Tour (3 Oct 66)
- The Return (10 Oct 66)
- The Diet (17 Oct 66)
- My Husband's Brother (24 Oct 66)
- Tilly-Ann (31 Oct 66)
- Old Time Dancing (7 Nov 66) Thora enrolls them both into a dancing contest then bullies Fred into joining her. There is a big fuss over them getting dressed on the night then Fred loses a shirt sleeve while dancing so it's all his fault they won't be there next week and on TV. Peter WestPeter WestPeter Anthony West was a BBC presenter and sports commentator best known for his work on the corporation's cricket, tennis and rugby coverage as well as occasionally commentating on field hockey. Throughout his television career he remained freelance.-Early life:He was an only child...
appears as himself, as the compere. - The Schoolboy (14 Nov 66)
- The Homework (21 Nov 66)
- The Nasty Sleeper (28 Nov 66)
- Bless 'Em All (5 Dec 66)
- This Christmas, Shop Early! (12 Dec 66)
- Christmas Travel (19 Dec 66)
- There was also a "Meet the Wife" sketch on BBC's Christmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the StarsChristmas Night with the Stars was a variety television show broadcast each Christmas night by the BBC from 1958 to 1972 and also in 1994. The show featured the top stars of the BBC as they appeared in short versions of their programmes, typically five to ten minutes long. The show was voted 24th...
for 1964.
Surviving Episodes
In common with many other series of this era, not all episodes have survivedWiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
. The following are currently thought to exist:
- Pilot
- (Series 1) 1-7
- (Series 2) 1, 2
- (Series 4) 1-6
- (Series 5) 7