About this season
Now Take My Wife was a BBC situation comedy which ran for only one series of 14 episodes in 1971. It starred Sheila Hancock and Donald Houston as a suburban middle-class couple, Claire and Harry Love. He would start each episode by turning to the camera and saying "Now ... take my wife". They had a teenage daughter, played by Liz Edmiston. Their next-door neighbour was an eccentric German woman, who also had a daughter. Of the 14 episodes, two are currently missing from the BBC archives; they were either wiped to reuse the tapes or possibly lost at one stage after their first broadcast. Several years later, in a Guardian interview, Hancock indicated that she was not very happy with the programme, seeing it as an example of the sort of stereotyped role for women actors she landed. However, her character often got the better of her husband during each episode.
Episodes (14)
1. Just Harry And Me
Aired 1 April 1971 • 30 min
2. One Of Those Days
Aired 13 September 1971 • 30 min
3. Claire's Demo
Aired 20 September 1971 • 30 min
4. Is There Anyone There?
Aired 27 September 1971 • 30 min
5. The Singing Garbo
Aired 4 October 1971 • 30 min
6. Instant Orange
Aired 11 October 1971 • 30 min
7. Thanks For The Memory
Aired 18 October 1971 • 30 min
8. A Python Called Monty
Aired 25 October 1971 • 30 min
9. On The Wagon
Aired 1 November 1971 • 30 min
10. Things That Go Bump
Aired 8 November 1971 • 30 min
11. Keep The Home Fires Burning
Aired 15 November 1971 • 30 min
12. Rembrandt's Mother
Aired 22 November 1971 • 30 min
13. Housewives' Choice
Aired 29 November 1971 • 30 min
14. There's A Lot Of It About
Aired 6 December 1971 • 30 min