Now Take My Wife(1971)

Now Take My Wife is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC for a single series of 14 episodes in 1971. Sheila Hancock and Donald Houston star as Claire and Harry Love, a suburban middle-class couple whose husband opens each episode with a wink to the camera: "Now... take my wife." Their teenage daughter and an eccentric German neighbour with her own daughter round out the household dynamics. Though Harry sets up the joke, Claire frequently outwits him as the episodes unfold. Two of the original 14 episodes have been lost from the BBC archives, either wiped for tape reuse or misplaced after broadcast. Years later, Hancock expressed reservations about the role in interviews, viewing it as typical of the stereotyped parts offered to female actors at the time, despite her character's sharp comedic edge throughout the series.