The Marriage Counselor

## Bio

The **Marriage Counselor** is a mental therapist specialist focusing on counselling married couples. His real name isn't revealed, but it is revealed he is married himself. He is also the author of the book, "Making Your Marriage Work."

During an appointment, he meets the Tredders (Benny Hill and Anna Dawson), a couple who are always complaining and bickering. Right away, she tries to control the counseling by talking for her husband, but he complains that he makes his bed every time he goes to the privy. She also mentions getting lost one night heading home from the pub because she changed the curtains in the house. When he starts insulting his wife, the counselor recommends he think of her as a lovely flower, which makes Mr. Tredder think he should dump manure on her. Called the "titular head of the family," he thinks he's been insulted and calls the counselor "fish face."

The Counselor mentions that two things cause marriages to fall apart; those things being money and sex. It can't be money because Mr. Tredder never gives her any, but when sex is mentioned, Mr. Trdder confesses the only physical contact he's had came from the end of a shovel. He also reveals Mrs. Tredder hasn't been intimate since her uncle died. Prodding forward, the Counselor tries to learn when Mr. Tredder was last intimate, and Mrs. Tredder confesses it was September 25, 1953, their wedding night. She goes on to mention all her husband ever does is watch TV. When she goes on to insult his appearance, he mumbles a vague reference to possibly having committed adultery. When she tries to get him to repeat his comment, he stifles up. She goes on to criticize his over-eating and eating habits.

When the Counselor tries to get Mrs. Tredder to be the peacemaker by kissing and making up, she reveals she can't stand the scent of beer on his breath, adding that once he sneezed, she was drunk for a month. When he tries getting Mr. Tredder to butu the hatchet, he responds by picking the place he wants to bury it. He tries to share a verse from Rabbi Bernstein, but he gets it muddled and tells her to look it up.

Not getting any where, the Counselor recommends that the Tredders read a booklet he wrote and offers it to them, but then, he gets a call from his wife, and in a hostile tone reminds her to never call him at work before starting to insult her. The Tredders soon learn that he is even more insulting to his wife than he is to his wife, and they depart leaving him his own book.

## Trivia

* The Marriage Counselor is played by Henry McGee. This character also appears in a quickie with Jon Jon Keefe and Lorraine Doyle on April 5, 1989.
* On Henry's desk, "counselor" is spelled "counsellor."
* Mr. Tredder reveals he has one distant relative: a sister who lives in New Zealand.
* Three topical references are mentioned in the sketch: "Emmerdale Farm" (a British TV series that ran from 1972 to Recent), "Coronation Street" (another British TV series that ran from 1960 to Recent) and Samantha Fox, a Late 80s pop singer known for the song, "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)."
	+ Fox was also mentioned in Celebrity Menu on January 13, 1988.
* This sketch had is included in the VHS/DVD set, "Golden Guffaws," titled "Making Your Marriage Work."

## Gallery

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