Ahhhh, Love Thy Neighbour.

Agreed, it was laughed at because it was funny. The two long suffering wives were best of friends, exasperated by the antics of their husbands. The joke was on BOTH of the lead men, both gave as good as they got.

The same sort of scenario when Johnny Speight created Alf Garnett. A predujiced bigot but bloody funny and totally harmless.