TV SERIES · 1972– · UK
Are You Being Served?
28 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (28)
- #001
Mrs Slocombe's cat was named Tiddles.
- #002
The "lift voice" heard during the theme song played in every episode belongs to Stephanie Gathercole, who played Mr Rumbold's secretary in the early episodes.
- #003
The series was conceived as a vehicle for Trevor Bannister (Mr Lucas) following his popularity in the ITV comedy series The Dustbinmen (1969).
- #004
Frank Thornton, Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Wendy Richard and Nicholas Smith are the only actors to appear in all 10 series.
- #005
Grace Brothers was largely based on Simpsons, a department store on Piccadilly in London. The series' co-creator and writer Jeremy Lloyd worked there as a trainee for a time in the early 1950s, and was later fired for selling soft drinks in the changing room during a heatwave.
- #006
Mr Lucas's first name is given as James in the early series, but he is later referred to as Dick Lucas.
- #007
A running joke throughout the series is Mrs Slocombe's constantly changing hair colour — a different colour in every episode.
- #008
Producer and co-creator David Croft stated that BBC executives never liked or were enthusiastic about the series, believing it was too low-brow and 'common' for the BBC, and suggested he (Croft) take it to Thames/London Weekend on the ITV network, where they thought it would be more suitable. Even when the series quickly broke major ratings records and became hugely popular with viewers, it was still a struggle to persuade the BBC to recommission it after each series, and they continued to suggest taking it to ITV (which would undoubtedly have accepted the offer). In 1981 (two years after the series had officially ended after its 7th series), the BBC suddenly found an unexpected gap in its schedules and needed a show to fill it quickly. They approached David Croft to see if he had any ideas and he proposed reviving Are You Being Served, saying he could quickly reassemble most of the main cast (except Trevor Bannister, who did not want to return, and Harold Bennett, who was too frail and ill to return as 'Young' Mr Grace), and that several unused scripts from the previous run were available. Unsurprisingly, the executives were not keen on the idea and claimed there was no time or budget to build entirely new sets for the series, at which point Croft pointed out that he had kept all the series' original sets in storage in a barn at his country home. In the end the decision was made to continue, and the series returned for 3 more series until its final cancellation in 1985.
- #009
Producer Garry Marshall created a pilot in 1979 for an American version of Are You Being Served? (1972). It was called Beane's of Boston (1979) and was shown, but it never found a network buyer.
- #010
Nicholas Smith (Mr Rumbold) was the last surviving main cast member and died on 6 December 2015. However, two other regular performers survived — actors who were not floor staff, management or maintenance. These are Penny Irving, who played Miss Bakewell (recurring in series 4, regular in series 5-7), and Vivienne Johnson, who played Young/Old Mr Grace's Nurse. It is a common misconception that Doremy Vernon was a regular cast member as the canteen manager in the later series, but according to Penny Irving she was contracted only as a recurring performer in series 4 and in many episodes, like most of the other secretaries. She appeared in multiple episodes over the years.
- #011
Before moving into show business, John Inman spent several years working as a window dresser at prestigious men's clothing stores on Blackpool and Regent St. in London.
- #012
Oddly, the Grace Brothers store appeared to close at 5 p.m. and was never open at weekends.
- #013
Mrs Slocombe's best friend, Mrs Axelby, is the only person regularly mentioned who is a main character never seen in the series (and, to a lesser extent, Mr Lucas's mother). Throughout the series, numerous characters are repeatedly mentioned who eventually appear on screen several series later. These include Old Mr Grace, Mrs Peacock, Mrs Rumbold, Mrs Grainger, Miss Comlozi from cosmetics, Miss Hurst from Novelty Candles, Mr Patel from Accounts, Seymour from Maintenance, Mr Humphries's mother and, most notably, Mrs Slocombe's beloved cat Tiddles, who appears only in somewhat suppressed forms such as a tail, a silhouette or an off-screen sound effect.
- #014
Mr Tebbs (James Hayter) and Young Mr Grace (Harold Bennett) were the only characters given a departure story (Tebbs retired and Young Mr Grace reduced his working hours to take a holiday), although Bennett reprised his role once in "Roots?". After his replacement, Old Mr Grace, also departed, the characters were "merged", and although not seen in the final two series, he was referred to as "Mr. Grace" in every episode, with the "young/old" nicknames added. Everyone who left the series simply disappeared and was never mentioned again.
- #015
Toys is the other single-episode department of Grace Brothers seen throughout the series. Part of the Radio Department (and Packing) was seen via CCTV in the final series; the store's other areas shown on screen were the boardroom, the management offices, the basement, the nurse's station, the roof, the fifth floor (empty at the time), three "apartments" on the top floor and, of course, the canteen. At various points in the series, Sports, Cosmetics and Shoes were temporarily moved to the Men's and Ladies' floor, while many other departments were mentioned but never seen (despite having staff).
- #016
Before becoming an actor, John Inman briefly worked in the toy department at Selfridges in London.
- #017
Mrs Slocombe's first name is usually Betty, but is sometimes Rachel.
- #018
Although Grace Brothers was a fictional store created for the series, an Australian department store chain named Grace Bros. existed at the time the programme was made (which is why the Grace brothers lent their cousins Mr Humphries's Bone Brothers store in the film Are You Being Served? (1980), set in Australia). Grace Bros. was founded in 1885 and had 25 stores at the time of its founding. After a series of mergers and takeovers, the name disappeared in 2004 when the stores were rebranded as Myer.
- #019
Every scene in every episode was filmed entirely at the BBC Television Centre studios in Shepherds Bush.
- #020
Although Trevor Bannister (Mr Lucas) was the junior, he was in fact ten months older than the senior partner John Inman (Mr Humphries).
- #021
Whenever Mr Rumbold refers to decisions taken 'in the boardroom', he looks upwards.
- #022
In one episode (fifty years later), Mrs Slocombe celebrates her 46th birthday.
- #023
Although they occupy very different levels of the Grace Brothers hierarchy, the actors who played Mr Rumbold, Mr Mash and Mr Lucas were all born in 1934.
- #024
Throughout the entire series, it is mentioned that there is a Grace Brothers store in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Portsmouth and Chatham, as well as the main store in London.
- #025
Before Miss Axelby, Mrs Slocombe had a friend named Miss Alethrope, but her name was mentioned only once.
- #026
Larry Martyn, who played the grey-haired maintenance man/security guard Mr Mash (series 1-3), was only 38 at the time, the same age as Trevor Bannister (Mr Lucas).
- #027
Following the death of Mike Berry (Mr Spooner) in April 2025, no main cast member from either the original series (1972-78) or the revival (1982-85) is still alive.
- #028
When John Inman died in 2007 at the age of 71, he left £2.8 million in his will to his partner of 20 years.
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