Meet the Wife was a 1960s BBC black-and-white sitcom, written by Chesney and Wolfe, which featured Freddie Frinton as Freddie Blacklock with Thora Hird as his tyrannical wife, Thora. It ran to five seasons.
The catchphrases of the series were both Thora's. The first occurred when ever the socially-aspiring Thora introduced her husband, when she would snobbily 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, "Everytime (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 series was based on a 1963 BBC television Comedy Playhouse production, The Bed.
The series had much in common with the later BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, except that the central couple were unmistakably working class.
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".
