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''Are You Being Served?'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and

Jeremy Lloyd John Jeremy Lloyd, OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful British sitcoms, including ''Are You Being Served?'' and Allo 'Allo!''. Ear ...

, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

. Set in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the show follows the misadventures and mishaps of the staff of the retail ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments in the flagship

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

of a fictional chain called Grace Brothers. The series was broadcast on the BBC for ten series, totalling 69 episodes between 8 September 1972 and 1 April 1985 – and included five Christmas specials. There was also a 1977 film, a spin-off series ''

Grace & Favour ''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of '' Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...

'' with the same main cast in 1991–1992, and a one-off episode with a new cast in 2016. Since its original release, all 69 episodes, the pilot, the Christmas specials, the sequel and the film have been released on DVD. ''Are You Being Served?'' was a success in the UK audience ratings. The series was screened in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the Republic of Ireland, and was aired in the Netherlands and Belgium with Dutch subtitles. The show was also broadcast in Israel and in the United States, where it gained a loyal following when

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television stations began airing

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word ...

s of it in the mid-1980s, along with other British sitcoms. In 2004, it was ranked 20th in a television countdown of ''

Britain's Best Sitcom ''Britain's Best Sitcom'' was a BBC media campaign in which television viewers were asked to decide the best British situation comedy. Viewers could vote via telephone, SMS, or BBC Online. This first round of voting was conducted in 2003, aft ...

''. It is regularly rebroadcast in the English-speaking world.

Production

Programme conception

The idea for the show came from Lloyd's brief period in the early 1950s working at Simpsons of Piccadilly, a clothing store which traded for over 60 years until its closing in 1999. The inspiration for the store has also been credited to the former Clements of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

where the concept of the floor walker character Captain Peacock was devised.

Airing

The pilot episode was created as part of the ''

Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...

'' series, although the

...
had originally chosen not to broadcast the programme. The pilot was used as a filler during the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

when the coverage of the games was interrupted by the

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two member ...

on 8 September 1972, leading to a full series being produced. The pilot episode was repeated before the first series began, on 14 March 1973. Although the first series was aired in the same timeslot as '' Coronation Street'' on ITV, consequently receiving relatively little attention, the repeats shown later in the year were much more successful. The show became a ratings hit and, after a successful 13-year run, ''Are You Being Served?'' came to an end on 1 April 1985. Of the original cast, only Frank Thornton,

Mollie Sugden Mary Isobel Sugden (21 July 19221 July 2009), known professionally as Mollie Sugden was an English actress. She was best known for being an original cast member in the British sitcom '' Are You Being Served?'' (1972–1985) as senior saleswoman ...

John Inman Frederick John Inman (28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007) was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in '' Are You Being Served?'', a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and was the only actor from that series to featu ...

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soa ...

and Nicholas Smith appeared in all 69 episodes. The same five later featured in the sequel sitcom, ''

'' (also known as ''Are You Being Served? Again!''). The cast performed in character for a stage sketch on the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

programme ''Variety'' on 19 June 1976.

Restoration of the 1972 pilot

Although the pilot was produced in colour, the

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...

was wiped in the 1970s, leaving only a 16mm

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film telerecording, which was made for international syndication to countries where colour television broadcasts had not been adopted. In 2009, the pilot episode was restored to colour using the colour recovery technique previously used for the ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'' episode " Room at the Bottom". The restored colour version was first shown on BBC2 on 1 January 2010 as part of a special ''Are You Being Served?'' night. As of 2022, the colour version has yet to be released on DVD or Blu Ray.

Theme song

Audio samples of ''Are You Being Served?'' ( media help)

The theme song, written by the show's co-writer David Croft and composer

Ronnie Hazlehurst Ronald Hazlehurst (13 March 1928 – 1 October 2007) was an English composer and conductor who, having joined the BBC in 1961, became its Light Entertainment Musical Director. Hazlehurst composed the theme tunes for many well-known Briti ...

, consists of an imaginary lift girl, voiced by Stephanie Gathercole, also Mr Rumbold's first secretary, (r.n. Reeve), (1944-2011), announcing each floor over the '' musique concrète'' sounds of a

cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other ...

(which effectively serves as the only percussion instrument) and a simple musical accompaniment. The 1977 ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

'' film has a different version of the theme song which is longer, in a different key and without the floor announcements. A remix of the theme was released in 1996 by a dance act calling itself "Grace Brothers", and featured vocal samples of John Inman and Frank Thornton. There is a homage to the theme song in the

Ladytron Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synth ...

song "Paco!" from the album ''

604 __NOTOC__ Year 604 (Roman numerals, DCIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 604 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini ...

'', and New Zealand band Minuit's "I hate guns". A lugubrious version of the theme song is featured on the album '' The Ape of Naples'' by the experimental music group Coil. The theme song has also been covered by Australian band

Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, '' ...

on their 1999 album '' ...art''. Pop singer Jamelia's song "Window Shopping" (from her 2006 album '' Walk with Me'') begins with a sample of the familiar cash register sound effect as well as Mrs Slocombe's voice inquiring, "Good morning, Mr Grainger; are you free?" The song was also used in a 2016

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

advertisement for their Quattro range.

International broadcasts

The series was shown in the United States on

stations and on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary seri ...

, as well as in many Commonwealth nations around the world. PBS first began airing it (on 24 stations) in 1987, and viewership steadily climbed as more stations carried it. By the early 1990s, it had gained such a loyal following that American viewers of the show formed fan clubs and were in large attendance wherever cast members made guest appearances. ''Are You Being Served?'' aired in Canada in prime time on Global Television Network in the mid 1980s and late night on YTV. The show aired on Saturday evening prime time from the mid 1980s to late 1990s. It was also available to Canadian viewers from most border PBS stations in the United States. The series was successfully screened in Australia. It began on ABC Television in 1974 and was repeated by ABC in Australia several times.Collier, Shayne. Again and again and again. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

– The Guide'': 2 June 1986, p.1, 6

/ref> By 1978, the rights to early episodes had been acquired by the commercial

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

who gained a larger audience than it had received on the ABC.Semmler, Clement. Why 'Are You Being Served?' is our top-rating program. ''

'': 25 October 1978, p.8

/ref> ''Are You Being Served?'' was ranked as the top-rated show on Australian television for 1978, being watched by 2,255,000 people in five cities. New episodes were aired on ABC until 1984. After that, the last series was broadcast on the

Characters and casting

''Are You Being Served?'' featured humour based on sexual

innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

, misunderstanding, mistaken identity, farce, and occasional slapstick. In addition, there were

sight gag In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretation ...

s generated by outrageous costumes which the characters were sometimes required to wear for store promotions, and gaudy store displays sometimes featuring malfunctioning robotic mannequins. The show is remembered for its prolific use of

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s. A key humorous base of the series was a parody of the

British class system The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, w ...

. This permeated a range of relationships and interactions, such as conversations between the maintenance men and sales personnel, or between sales staff and management. The episodes rarely featured locations outside the store. Characters rarely addressed each other by their first names, even after work, instead using their titles (commonly Mr, Mrs, Miss, or Captain).

Original main cast

*Mr Wilberforce Claybourne Humphries (

), a sales assistant in gents'; a camp-acting man who lives with his mother, also played on several occasions by Inman. He made frequent use of

, especially related to his implied

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

lifestyle. (After the first five episodes, a senior

...
executive ordered David Croft to "Get rid of the poof". Croft declined, saying: "If the poof goes, I go.") The character was played by actor

Jason Watkins Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...

in the 2016 revival. *Mrs Betty Slocombe (

), a senior sales assistant and head of the ladies' department. She is known for her changing hair colour and telling double entendre stories about her cat Tiddles, which she refers to as "my pussy". Although usually called by her first name Betty, in one episode she is referred to as ''Rachel'', one of her middle names. *Miss Shirley Brahms (

), a young, attractive, working-class,

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

-speaking junior sales assistant to Mrs Slocombe. *Captain Stephen Peacock ( Frank Thornton), the haughty floorwalker who purportedly fought in the North Africa Campaign of World War II (and in the Pacific theatre) but was accused of actually being a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the Service Corps and never seeing combat. * Mr Cuthbert Rumbold ( Nicholas Smith), the autocratic, obsequious (to the Grace brothers), yet bumbling and incompetent floor manager. * Mr James/Dick Lucas ( Trevor Bannister) (series 1–7), the young, penniless, womanising junior salesman; a source of irritation to the female sales staff. Always referred to as the department 'junior', but Bannister was one year older than Inman. The character left the series after Series 7 (1979), due to Bannister's prior commitments. His character leaving within the show was not mentioned or referenced. Wendy Richard claimed in an interview that the series was originally devised as a vehicle for Trevor Bannister. * Mr Ernest Grainger (

Arthur Brough Arthur Brough (born Frederick Arthur Baker; 26 February 1905 – 28 May 1978) was a British actor and theatre founder, producer and director best known for portraying the character of bumbling senior menswear salesman Ernest Grainger on the BBC ...

) (series 1–5), a 40-year veteran of Grace Brothers, a senior sales assistant and head of the gents' department, who often falls asleep on the job, is usually grumpy, and wears a measuring tape over his shoulders. Arthur Brough died before the filming of Series 6. The character of Mr Grainger was brought back for the 2016 revival with

Roy Barraclough Roy Senior Barraclough (12 July 1935 – 1 June 2017) was an English comic actor. He was best known for his role as Alec Gilroy, the devious, mournful landlord of the Rovers Return in the long-running British TV soap '' Coronation Street'', ...

replacing Arthur Brough. * "Young" Mr Grace (

Harold Bennett Harold Frank Bennett (17 November 1898 – 11 September 1981) was an English actor, active in stage, television and film best remembered for being in sitcoms written and produced by David Croft, having played 'Young Mr. Grace' in the 1970s Bri ...

) (series 1–8), the very old, rich but stingy store owner, surrounded by attractive young women. The character's final appearance was in 1981 following Bennett's death. The character was killed off in the first episode of the spinoff series ''

''. * Mr Mash ( Larry Martyn) (series 1–3), the stock and maintenance man who installed mechanised display units in store and was often scolded by Captain Peacock for being on the floor during opening hours. There was no mention of his character leaving Grace Brothers or being transferred.

Subsequent main cast

* Diana Yardswick (Doremy Vernon) (series 3–4, 6–10), the manageress of Grace Brothers' canteen at which the staff had their lunch. Known for serving grossly unappetising food, and for her ill temper and sarcasm, as well as for enforcing strict social order, which dictated that management, sales staff and the maintenance crew and lift operators all dine separately. Initially a minor character, she gradually increased in prominence as the series progressed. * Mr Beverley Harman (

Arthur English Arthur Leslie Norman English (9 May 1919 – 16 April 1995) was an English television, film and stage actor and comedian from the music hall tradition. Early life English was born at 22 Lysons Road in Aldershot,'Arthur English, ''Aldershot H ...

) (series 4–10), Mr Mash's replacement. Although he holds the same position as his predecessor, the staff have a more friendly relationship with him than they did with Mr Mash. Mr Rumbold calls him Harry in series 5, but in series 9 he states his name is actually Beverley. * Mr Percival Tebbs ( James Hayter) (series 6), Mr Grainger's replacement. He retired after only one year in the men's department, and his departure paves the way for Mr Goldberg's arrival in the next series. * Mr Harry Goldberg (

Alfie Bass Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born. He a ...

) (series 7), Mr Tebbs's replacement. Originally the junior salesman, he was quickly promoted to senior after proving to be a master salesman. Like Tebbs, Goldberg lasted only one year. * Mr Bert Spooner ( Mike Berry) (series 8–10), eventually replaced Mr Lucas as gents' junior sales assistant and was similar to him in many ways. * "Old" Mr Grace (

Kenneth Waller Kenneth Waller (5 November 1927 – 28 January 2000) was an English actor. He was known for portraying Grandad in ''Bread'' and Old Mr. Grace in ''Are You Being Served?'' Early life Kenneth Waller was born in Lowerhouses Huddersfield, Yorks ...

) (series 8), "Young" Mr Grace's even-older brother – replaced him at the store when he took a sabbatical to write his memoirs. In final two series', the management of the store was again attributed to "Young" Mr Grace, who was by then an invisible character. * Mr Grossman (

Milo Sperber Milo Sperber (20 March 1911 – 22 December 1992) was a British actor, director and writer, who was born in Poland. Early life Sperber was born in 1911 into a family of Polish Hasidic Jews who fled anti-Semitism during the Second World War. Hi ...

) (series 8), an expert shoe salesman, joined the gents' department, when some of the floor space was given over to shoes. He lasted only four episodes. * Mr Abraham Klein ( Benny Lee) (series 8), joined the gents' department to help out with upcoming sales in the store. Klein lasted only four episodes. * Miss Belfridge ( Candy Davis) (series 9–10), the last and longest-running of Mr Rumbold's secretaries. She was admired by all male staff, including Mr Humphries and especially Captain Peacock, who dined her at The Ritz Hotel.

Episodes

''Are You Being Served?'' was initially broadcast from 1973 to 1985. Each series had between five and nine episodes. Counting the pilot episode, all episodes and specials from the series, and the film, the show ran for sixty-nine episodes and ten series. Each episode was self-contained, with no continuing story or theme throughout the series.

Film

In 1977, as for many other

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

sitcoms of the time, a feature film was released. The film version of ''Are You Being Served?'' followed the staff of Grace Brothers taking a package holiday together while the store is closed for redecoration, a loose adaptation of the play version from the year before. Set in the fictional resort of Costa Plonka, in Spain, the entire cast of the television series reprised their roles in the film. Reviews of the film were generally negative, with the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...

'' reviewer John Pym declaring, "The humour consists mainly of withering selection of patent British puns; an inflatable brassiere, some let's-insult-the-Germans jokes and a rickey thunder-box which bolts from the outside are thrown in for good measure."

''The Best of Are You Being Served?'' (1992)

Buoyed by the huge success of the series in the United States,

commissioned a special straight-to-VHS compilation in 1992. Running at 78 minutes, ''The Best of Are You Being Served'' featured newly-shot scenes of Mr Humphries reminiscing with his elderly mother, Annie, about his time working at Grace Brothers. Both roles were played by

. The additional sequences were filmed in America, and directed by Don Hopfer.

2016 revival

In 2016, a one-off revival episode was announced and filmed at dock10 studios. It was broadcast as part of BBC's Landmark Sitcom Season, a celebration of 60 years of television sitcoms. It was set in 1988 with the original characters, played by a new cast. Former ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

'' actor

John Challis John Spurley Challis (16 August 1942 – 19 September 2021) was an English actor. He had an extensive theatre and television career but is best known for portraying Terrance Aubrey "Boycie" Boyce in the long-running BBC Television sitcom ''Only ...

portrayed Captain Peacock; former '' Coronation Street'' actors Sherrie Hewson and

were cast as Mrs Slocombe and Mr Grainger respectively, and comedian Arthur Smith as Mr Harman. Mr Humphries was portrayed by

, Miss Brahms by Niky Wardley, and Mr Rumbold by Justin Edwards. New characters introduced in the show included Young Mr Grace's grandson, also called Young Mr Grace, played by

Mathew Horne Mathew Frazer Horne (born 6 September 1978) is an English actor, comedian, television presenter and narrator. He is best known for appearing on several BBC sketch shows and sitcoms, most notably ''Gavin & Stacey'' (as Gavin Shipman), ''The C ...

; Miss Croft, named as a tribute to series co-creator David Croft, played by Jorgie Porter; and newcomer Mr Conway, played by Kayode Ewumi. The episode was written by

Derren Litten Derren Ronald Litten (born 21 December 1970) is an English comedy writer and actor, best known as the creator and writer of the sitcom ''Benidorm''. Litten also co-wrote ''The Catherine Tate Show'', for which he both wrote and appeared as seve ...

. The BBC issued a press release saying: "It's 1988 and Young Mr Grace is determined to drag Grace Brothers into, well 1988, but he has a problem on his hands. Mr Humphries, Captain Peacock, Mr Rumbold and Mrs Slocombe all seem to be stuck in another era. A new member of staff, Mr Conway, joins the team but will he help shake things up or will he just put a pussy amongst the pigeons?" The episode was aired in August 2016 to universally poor reviews for both the writing and the acting. No further episodes were commissioned.

Other adaptations

Spin-off

Almost immediately after the cancellation of ''Are You Being Served?'' in 1985, the cast began suggesting a spin-off to

and David Croft. Though all felt the department store format was exhausted, it was suggested the characters could be moved to a new location. In 1992, most of the original cast reunited for ''

'' (known as ''Are You Being Served Again!'' in the United States and Canada). The new series followed the characters after Young Mr Grace's death, when they are forced to run a hotel in a dilapidated manor house that was purchased using their pension fund. ''Grace & Favour'' ran for two series.

Play

In the summer of 1976, a stage adaptation of ''Are You Being Served?'' ran at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Directed by Robert Redfarn,

, Frank Thornton,

, and Nicholas Smith reprised their characters from the television show while the characters of Mr Lucas, Mr Grainger, and Mr Mash were recast. The play had basically the same plot as the film version which would debut the next year, though Young Mr Grace's role was omitted entirely and Mr Mash had less to do than Mr Harman in the film. Reviews for the play were mixed; a writer for the Blackpool ''Diarist of the Stage'' declared it the funniest show he had seen in thirty years, while Michael Leapman from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' declared the play to be worthless except for the final line, though he admitted he had never seen the television show. The play has occasionally been run at other theatres since.

American adaptation

In 1979,

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...

, in the midst of success producing and directing ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' and its spin-offs, produced a pilot for an American version of ''Are You Being Served?'', ''Beane's of Boston'', remaking the episode, "German Week" for the

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

. At the time, Americanised versions of British series, including ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...

'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', and '' Sanford and Son'' were doing well in the ratings, and Marshall hoped to capitalise on this with his script for the production. Most of the characters were substantially similar to those of the UK version, with slight name changes in some instances. The one significant difference was that the Rumbold character was replaced by “Franklin Beane” ( George O’Hanlan, Jr.), the young nephew of the proprietor who has recently been put in charge of the department. Jeremy Lloyd's ''

Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

'' partner, Alan Sues, was cast as Mr Humphries, a decision Lloyd regretted, saying Sues had been miscast. Other cast included future ''

Magnum PI ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on t ...

'' star

John Hillerman John Benedict Hillerman (December 20, 1932 – November 9, 2017) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III on the television series '' Magnum, P.I.'' that aired from 1980 to 1988. For his role as ...

as Mr Peacock,

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, '' ...

as Mrs Slocombe, Lorna Patterson as Miss Brahms, Tom Poston as Mr. Beane (the Mr. Grace equivalent),

Larry Bishop Larry Bishop (born November 30, 1948) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He is the son of Sylvia Ruzga and comedian Joey Bishop. He has been featured in many Hollywood movies including '' Hell Ride''. Early life Bishop atte ...

as Mr. Lucas, Morgan Farley as Mr. Granger, and Don Bexley as Mr. Johnson (the Mash/Harman role). Ultimately, CBS passed on ''Beane's of Boston'' and a full series was not produced.

Australian adaptation

An Australian adaptation, also called ''

'', ran for two series and sixteen episodes from 1980 to 1981 on Network Ten. It starred

as Mr Humphries, who travels to Australia on loan from Grace Brothers to work for the Grace brothers' cousin, Mr Bone at his department store, Bone Brothers. Renamed versions of characters from the original series rounded out the cast including June Bronhill as Mrs Crawford, a copy of Mrs Slocombe, and Reg Gillam as Captain Wagstaff, a copy of Captain Peacock.

adapted episodes for the show from his own scripts from the British ''Are You Being Served'', drawing from the then-new episodes of the seventh series for series one of the Australian version, and a selection of older episodes for series two. Lloyd would later say he hated the process of adapting the episodes, which were mostly left intact with the exception of some topical jokes, which were changed or deleted.

Dutch specials

The

TROS Tros or TROS may refer to: * 18281 Tros, an asteroid * Transformer read-only storage, a type of read-only memory * TROS, a Dutch broadcasting union, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting * Tros (mythology) In Greek mytholo ...

, the Dutch broadcaster that showed ''AYBS?'' in the Netherlands, invited over the key faces of the original cast twice to reprise their characters on Dutch television (albeit not for a full, half-hour episode). First in 1976, Dutch comedian

André van Duin André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variat ...

entered a shop and ran into Mr Humphries, Miss Brahms and Mrs Slocombe. A different special was made 1994, on the occasion of the 30 years jubilee of the

. This time, the search was for a replacement for Mrs Slocombe, with Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton, Wendy Richard, and Trevor Bannister all reprising their roles. In 1985 John Inman also assisted in character as co-presenter for a quiz.

Reception

The series gained much of its popularity with TV viewers by " pushing the envelope" through its deliberate-yet-subtle use of risqué

visual gag In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretatio ...

-infused dialogue and cleverly-disguised sophomoric humour. These comical devices also attracted some mild criticism, in part for relying on sexual stereotypes and

s – e.g., Mrs Slocombe discussing her cat: "Animals are very psychic; the least sign of danger and my pussy's hair stands on end". John Inman's portrayal of Humphries' over-the-top antics and sharp-tongued, witty responses, along with his trademark catch-phrase "I'm free!", were enthusiastically embraced by many audience members, and the character evolved into a gay icon in popular culture. Despite this, Inman pointed out that Mr Humphries' true sexual orientation was never explicitly stated in the series, and David Croft said in an interview that the character was not homosexual, but "just a mother's boy". In an episode of the spin-off ''

'', the character is further described as neither a "woman's man" nor a "man's man" and as being "in limbo".

Merchandise

Seven early episodes were novelised for a book, written by Jeremy Lloyd, called ''Are You Being Served? – Camping in and other Fiascos''. This was written in 1976, and republished in 1997 by ''KQED Books''. The seven episodes featured are "Camping In", "Up Captain Peacock", "Wedding Bells", "His and Hers", "Coffee Morning", "The Hand of Fate" and "The Clock". In 1995, KQED Books published ''Are You Being Served – The Inside Story'' by Adrian Rigelsford, Anthony Brown, and Geoff Tibbals, with a foreword by Jeremy Lloyd, and sub-titled: ''The Inside Story of Britain's Funniest – and Public Television's Favorite – Comedy Series''. In 212 pages, the book's six chapters cover: The Cast of Characters, Behind the Scenes, The Episodes, The Spin-offs, Trivia Quiz, and Glossary. . In 1999, ''I'm Free! The Complete Are You Being Served?'', a guide to the series, was published by

Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

. It was written by Richard Webber, with contributions from David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. A board game was also produced in the 1970s. Players moved round a board resembling the shop floor to purchase one item from each of the four counters and leave the store, before their opponents and without going over budget.

DVD releases

All episodes exist in the BBC Archives. All ten series, including a black and white version of the pilot episode, and all five Christmas specials from those years, as well as both series of ''Grace & Favour'' are now available on DVD in the UK (Region 2). ''Are You Being Served?: the Movie'' was released in 2002. A colour-restored version of the original pilot episode has yet to be released commercially. All ten series, as well as both series of ''Grace & Favour'' (in packaging titled ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') and the film are available on DVD in Region 1 (North America). All ten series, as well as both series of ''Grace & Favour'' and the film have been released in Australia (Region 4). A DVD titled ''Are You Being Served? – Best of The Early Years'' and ''Are You Being Served? Christmas Specials'' have also been released.

Notes

References

External links

*
''Are You Being Served?''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

* * *
''Are You Being Served? Virtual Video Vault''''Are You Being Served? Forever''''The Grace Brothers' Multimedia Department''''Are You Being Served? Central (Official site)''
{{Authority control 1972 British television series debuts 1985 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms 1970s British workplace comedy television series 1970s LGBT-related sitcoms 1970s sex comedy television series 1980s British sitcoms 1980s British workplace comedy television series 1980s LGBT-related sitcoms 1980s sex comedy television series BBC television sitcoms Comedy Playhouse David Croft sitcoms Department stores in fiction English-language television shows Television shows set in London Television shows adapted into films Television shows adapted into novels Television series by BBC Studios Television series set in shops