0:00:04 > 0:00:06The family could be watching it and roaring with laughter
0:00:06 > 0:00:11and the children would think, "I don't know what they're laughing at, "but it does seem to be funny."
0:00:11 > 0:00:15Take the customer into the changing room, Mr Grainger, put his clothes on a coat hanger.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18And come straight back, Mr Humphries.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23It was fun and it was playful and it was good-natured, and it was sort of innocent.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Oh, Miss Brahms, that was very naughty.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Hee hee hee!
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It was a big show. Everyone would watch it. For years.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It ran for years. It was a big event.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Display went to a lot of trouble with that animal. Pull the reins.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Aagh!
0:00:40 > 0:00:44David Croft had to fight every year to get them to... "Couldn't you get Thames to do it?
0:00:44 > 0:00:46"It's a bit down-market for the BBC."
0:00:49 > 0:00:54We were a breath of fresh air with comedy at that particular time.
0:00:54 > 0:01:00- Are you free, Mr Lucas?- I'm sorry, Captain Peacock, this lady's looking for something large in Y-fronts.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05It got such an audience reaction, they said, "Hello, we've got a success on our hands."
0:01:05 > 0:01:07I'm free!
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Are You Being Served? first aired in 1972 and became a firm family favourite,
0:01:14 > 0:01:21running for 13 years on BBC One, chock-full of innuendo, dodgy lifts and the occasional customer.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Madam would care to see the shorts.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Oh!
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Are You Being Served? told the story of life on the clothing floor of Grace Brothers department store.
0:01:31 > 0:01:38It ran for ten series, sold across the globe, but it was a show that the BBC never really wanted.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42- They all wanted to give you the sack except Mr Lucas.- Ha-ha!
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- Dear boy.- Yeah, he wanted to send you to the knackers yard.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51From the word go it was a struggle, dreamt up out of financial
0:01:51 > 0:01:54desperation by the writer and performer Jeremy Lloyd.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59He'd just given up his career in America to be with his new wife, Joanna Lumley, back in the UK.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Bobby! Oh, come on. The party's over.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Oh, darling, what are you doing here?
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Well, I live here. I'm trying to get you to go home.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11I came back and I'd spent most of my money and Joanna said,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13"Write about something you know."
0:02:13 > 0:02:15I said, "Well, I know about Simpson's."
0:02:15 > 0:02:19She said, "Well, there you are, Simpson's. Write about a store."
0:02:19 > 0:02:21And I said, "That's a rather good idea."
0:02:21 > 0:02:26During Jeremy Lloyd's youth, he'd worked at the department store Simpson of Piccadilly.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32He lasted only two and a half years, but it gave him enough insight to put pen to paper.
0:02:32 > 0:02:39I met David Croft when he and I were called in to help with a show that had been written by Jilly Cooper...
0:02:41 > 0:02:44..starring my ex-wife, I think at the time, Joanna Lumley.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49He mentioned this show and we agreed to meet and talk about it.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52He'd already sold it in point of fact to ATV, I think.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00I said, "Look, if you get it back, I'll gladly work with you and produce it."
0:03:00 > 0:03:02David Croft is a genius, there's no doubt about that
0:03:02 > 0:03:04when you consider his background.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10David Croft was a producer at the BBC at the time, working for head of light entertainment Bill Cotton,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12and was the department's golden boy
0:03:12 > 0:03:15after creating the hit sitcom Dad's Army.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17I am wearing a toupee.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23A wig, if that makes it any clearer.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28So if any of you want a good laugh at my expense, now's your chance,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30cos I'm going to show it to you.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42The reason it was commissioned is that the BBC wanted six comedy pilots.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46In those early days, the BBC used to do a series of pilot shows
0:03:46 > 0:03:49under the banner of Comedy Playhouse
0:03:49 > 0:03:51and they were half-hour pilots
0:03:51 > 0:03:56that people had thought might have a bit of mileage
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and were worth exploring with a view to running into series.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05And so they'd all be shown and, according to audience reaction and the way things went, they'd say,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09"Yeah, I think that's the one we're gonna go for this year and give it a try."
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Comedy Playhouse was an idea that was designed
0:04:12 > 0:04:16to keep successful comedy writers Galton and Simpson at the BBC.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21They'd come up with Steptoe And Son and Croft wanted to get in on the act.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26David, who was very popular at the BBC, said, "Well, I've got one."
0:04:26 > 0:04:30And they didn't even ask what it was. They said, "Well, just write it."
0:04:30 > 0:04:35I had nobody to answer to, particularly. Bill Cotton liked the idea.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41There were other shows on at the same time, like On The Buses, My Wife Next Door.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Nobody had ever written a show about a store.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47So it was original and unique.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Aye-aye, opening time.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- Stand by for the stampede. - Tie, Mr Lucas.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57- Yes, of course, Captain Peacock. Anything in particular, sir? - Straighten your tie.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It was an outline of what people said and the departments and the sort of conversations
0:05:01 > 0:05:04that I remembered, and the floor walkers and everything like that.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07They were all based on characters that actually were at Simpson's.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10If you would trouble to read the memo from the accounts department,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13you would know they prefer ballpoints. Correct, Mr Humphries?
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Ballpoints, Captain Peacock.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22Captain Peacock was Major Huskisson, who was a director.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Major Huskisson always wore a carnation, red carnation,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26in his button hole,
0:05:26 > 0:05:34which was delivered to his office by a local Jermyn Street florist every day, every morning.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40I was at Catterick in my early days, yes, and I was a corporal for a few weeks.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42They were exaggerations, obviously,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and Mrs Slocombe was Evelyn Whiteside,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48who had immaculate white hair.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53She was similar in build to Mrs Slocombe.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58She always looked as though she'd just come from the hairdresser, every day.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Of course, it's for madam to decide.
0:06:00 > 0:06:07It's either cold and interesting in these. Or warm and safe in these.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10She wouldn't suffer fools, though, but she was a great lady.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Listened to The Archers lately, have you?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Ooh, you're as common as muck.
0:06:18 > 0:06:25We had a pecking order and that was the man with the carnation, who was the floorwalker,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29who was usually an ex-major, would point to assistants to say, "Are you free?"
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And that pecking order would be depending how well-off the customer looked.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37- Mr Grainger, are you free? - I'm very sorry, I'm afraid I can't help you, Captain Peacock.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42If the head assistant didn't think he was going to spend very much, he'd pass him on to the second.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Are you available for a clip-on bow tie?
0:06:46 > 0:06:49I have never been available for a clip-on bow tie.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51The second would pass him on to the third.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Mr Lucas will attend to the customer. Forward, Mr Lucas.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55They might even get to me.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57I'd usually find somebody who looked very badly dressed
0:06:57 > 0:07:00who wanted to spend a fortune, which annoyed everybody.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- Let me serve him. I didn't make any commission last Friday. - You sold that 38" long.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06I know, but the man brought it back. His wife didn't like it.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08It didn't fit her. Go on please, let me have him.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- It's Grainger's first. - Well, he hasn't seen him.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- I'm going to serve him. - Well, don't mess it up.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Simpson's would deny it to their dying day, if any of them were still alive.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22But the thing about putting their knee into the armhole of a jacket...
0:07:22 > 0:07:26And you pull until you break all the stitches.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30If you listen you can hear them go.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36..to make it seem larger and bring it back to the customer. "I've found one slightly larger.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39"You must try this on, but don't wave your arms about too much."
0:07:39 > 0:07:44Well, the trick in this, Mr Lucas, is to make sure the customer gets it home before the sleeves drop off.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48I never saw it, so I don't know. But if he says it's true, then it must be true.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I am just about to find the "other pair" of trousers.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59We don't knee trousers, Mr Lucas.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00- Don't we?- No.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Well, you might have told me before.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06By hook or by crook, you were going to make that sale.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09If you had to jam the jacket on to the person, which I did frequently.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11If you literally had to pull it on,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15drag it around his waist and just get his belly in...
0:08:15 > 0:08:19It's you, sir. Definitely you. Don't you think so, Mr Lucas?
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Yes, it's definitely the customer.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23It seems a little tight to me.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25They are being worn tight this year, sir.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28You played on their vanity to secure the sale.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Oh, that does suit madam.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Oh, that does suit madam.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Oh, that does suit madam.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46With the seed of an idea and a basic plot, Croft and Lloyd set about fleshing out the script.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Well, David had an extremely good idea,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53which was to put the ladies' and gentlemen's department on the same floor.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Who ever heard of a woman's department on this floor?
0:08:55 > 0:08:58It's been men's ever since I was a boy.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00That Mrs Pankhurst really started something.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02That really made the show, I must say,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05because there was all the conflict between the ladies and gentlemen.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Mrs Slocombe didn't like to take down your trousers without asking you first.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17I think that if Mrs Slocombe wants to make any further inroads into my department,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20she had better inform me personally.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22David, actually, is brilliant at casting.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26We'd all worked together at some time or another, I think.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Except Young Mr Grace, of course.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Young Mr Grace I saw in pantomime in Golders Green, I think.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35He was very, very old and I rung up one of his fellow artists
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and said, "Do you think he can learn it all right?"
0:09:38 > 0:09:40And they said, "Oh, yes. He'll be all right."
0:09:40 > 0:09:44You've all done very well.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48David has this phenomenal brain.
0:09:48 > 0:09:54It's like a casting filing system in his brain
0:09:54 > 0:09:58and he'll see you in a small role or something
0:09:58 > 0:10:00and he'll file it away in there.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04- Down Berrick Road, 35.- Berrick Road.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05Yes. I live with my dad.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08He's six foot three, so don't you go getting any ideas.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15But then when he gets an idea for something new, because his writing
0:10:15 > 0:10:21is so good, he'll know exactly who is to play whatever role.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26And then it will be your turn to be one of the main characters.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Oh, gosh, my suspender has gone!
0:10:34 > 0:10:39- You're not wearing suspenders. - That's what I mean. They've gone. - Oh, get back to...
0:10:39 > 0:10:41They knew us all. They knew what we could do.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43They knew how to write for us, you know.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45So it fitted like a glove.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49They were all people who'd done a lot of things before, a lot of shows before.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Trevor Bannister, for instance, had done an awful lot before.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Trevor Bannister had also worked with Croft and Lloyd,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59but he was the only person in the cast to be well known to the public,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01having been in a huge ITV hit, The Dustbinmen.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05To Joe Soap the public, he was more well known than the others.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I mean, the others had done a lot of other stuff, but they hadn't been
0:11:08 > 0:11:11on a weekly series in the same way that Trevor had.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15I lead a very demanding social life.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Doing what?- You dirty pig.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Pardon?
0:11:21 > 0:11:25I'm a sex symbol. Highly irresistible to the feminine gender.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Every housewife bin I empty. They can't help it, you see. They all want to undress me.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31As for John Inman, he was just a jobbing actor at the time
0:11:31 > 0:11:35and was not really known, apart from occasional stage and TV work.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40When John Inman joined the cast, I think he was working selling hats at Austin Reed's
0:11:40 > 0:11:45and he came in for the interview and never went back to Austin Reed's, although he'd been doing lots
0:11:45 > 0:11:48of things before then, but when actors are not working,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51they have to go and do something else that's not acting.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56So when David Croft offered him the part of Mr Humphries, he was only going to give one answer.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01Yes, of course John would, because John was out of work.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04With the cast in place, work started on the pilot
0:12:04 > 0:12:10and its aim was to replicate the success of a gang-show sitcom that Croft had initiated with Dad's Army.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13I didn't realise till recently, but apparently, my claim to fame
0:12:13 > 0:12:16is that I was actually the very first customer
0:12:16 > 0:12:18to walk through the doors of Grace Brothers.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23- What size are you, sir? - Well, as a matter of fact, I was looking for the gents.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26The trouble with pilots is that it's new
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and the actors are a bit uptight, of course,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32and you don't quite know how it's going to go.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Look, what's me not having a baby got to do with him not taking his trousers down?
0:12:38 > 0:12:42The original character was only supposed to appear in the pilot.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Their idea was that they needed Rumbold
0:12:45 > 0:12:49to introduce people and that they wouldn't need Rumbold after that.
0:12:49 > 0:12:55But, and I took it as rather a nice compliment, they decided that they did need Rumbold after all.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57So there I was throughout the whole thing.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01- Did you and Mrs Rumbold have a nice holiday?- Oh, yes, thank you. We went to the Coconut Islands.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Oh.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Also, Croft and Lloyd felt the store Mr Rumbold was to manage would need
0:13:08 > 0:13:11to be a bit more down-market than the one it had been based on.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15It was a kind of old-fashioned shop, if you know what I mean,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18in a funny sort of way, because shops were changing at that time.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Don't worry about me. I don't wear 'em.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24Bras, I mean.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26I'm sure it's against staff regulations.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Still, I'm always prepared to look the other way.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30You could've fooled me.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36The set that we had, actually, was a sort of down-market Simpson's.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38It was a sort of Bon Marche type of set.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43And we didn't want it to look too up-market and it certainly didn't.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I would have thought more like Gamages actually,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52because it was such a sort of a muddle.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57Probably Pontings and Barkers could have been similar from the way they acted.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02That's better... Ooh, look what you've done to the nose!
0:14:02 > 0:14:07- Ooh, you've ruined it!- No, I haven't. I haven't ruined it.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Well, they always look too perfect, these models anyway, don't they?
0:14:10 > 0:14:13I mean, people do have crooked noses, you know.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Somebody might come in one day with a crooked nose, look at that dress
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and say, "I'll have that dress. It'll go with my crooked nose."
0:14:19 > 0:14:22It does make me laugh when you see interviews with the writers
0:14:22 > 0:14:25and they talk about how they actually worked in shops like that
0:14:25 > 0:14:29and all their research was based on their real-life experiences
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and you think, "There was never anywhere like that ever!"
0:14:32 > 0:14:35This is from our kung-fu range.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Quite a little relaxing thing it is.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Plenty of room under the arms for movement.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43I get quite carried away when I put one of... HE SCREAMS
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Some people would say it was set at the time it was actually filmed
0:14:49 > 0:14:53and some people would say it was set earlier.
0:14:53 > 0:14:59I think the look was based on a sort of '50s look
0:14:59 > 0:15:06with Art Deco design put into the set itself.
0:15:06 > 0:15:14Even though cast and crew felt the pilot had potential, the BBC decided it wasn't for them.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16They didn't show it cos they didn't like it.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20It was looking like only a miracle would save Are You Being Served?
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Instead, it was a tragedy.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27The Olympics of serenity have become the one thing the Germans didn't want them to be -
0:15:27 > 0:15:28the Olympics of terror.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It was during the 1972 Munich Olympics
0:15:32 > 0:15:37when terrorists kidnapped and murdered members of the Israeli team.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40The games were postponed as a mark of respect for the dead.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43The Olympic Games stands still.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47The flags in the stadium at half mast.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Suddenly, the BBC found themselves with a gap in their schedules.
0:15:53 > 0:15:59The BBC were desperate, with the blank screens, to put something on and they had a shelf with tapes on.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03They said, "We've got that third-rate Comedy Playhouse thing. We'll stick that on."
0:16:03 > 0:16:07As a result of that exposure, it got a very, very large audience.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Gawd blimey! Women drivers!
0:16:12 > 0:16:17That'll do, Mr Mash. Instead of standing there making your sarcastic remarks, you could give us a hand.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21They said, "Hello, we've got a success on our hands."
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Having trouble with Mrs Slocombe?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- All that women's lib's gone to her head, mate.- Oh, I hope not.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31If she burns her bra, we'll have to call out the London Fire Brigade.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36Bill Cotton, who was the head of the BBC comedy department at the time, said, "Get rid of John Inman."
0:16:36 > 0:16:38We'll take the series, but I don't want the poof."
0:16:38 > 0:16:41There, there, Mr Grainger. Now you mustn't upset yourself.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- We're right behind you, aren't we, Mr Lucas?- Oh, right up to the hilt.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47And we said, "No, he's marvellous,"
0:16:47 > 0:16:54you know, "and if you could bottle his charismatic charm, it would be of industrial strength."
0:16:54 > 0:16:55- She's got a nerve! - What's the matter now?
0:16:55 > 0:16:58She wants to remove my shirt and put a bra there instead.
0:16:58 > 0:17:05So we went into series and did another half dozen, I think it was, to go out as a whole package.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14One major development from the pilot was Mrs Slocombe's hair.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Mollie Sugden felt her character would give
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Grace Brothers' hairdressing department a run for their money.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22When David rang and said it was going to a series,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25I thought, "Well, I've got to do something about my hair."
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And that's when I got the idea.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32And so I just... When I turned up for the first rehearsal,
0:17:32 > 0:17:34I suggested that would it be a good idea
0:17:34 > 0:17:37to have different coloured hair every week and David...
0:17:39 > 0:17:41..which I took to mean "yes".
0:17:41 > 0:17:43It was a very funny idea.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45It was a damn nuisance actually,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47because it meant if you wanted to do a retake,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50you had to make your mind up whether the scene was over.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57It was during the first series that John Inman began to make his mark on the gangshow comedy.
0:17:57 > 0:18:04I wasn't aware that he'd suddenly shine out in the way that he did, but I think the first time
0:18:04 > 0:18:08people roared with laughter was when Captain Peacock said, "Are you free?"
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Yes, I'm free, Captain Peacock.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13He had an extraordinary walk as he walked across the floor,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16which got a tremendous laugh, so we kept that in.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21It actually came from a shop assistant in Austin Reed's,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23who had metal bits on his heels.
0:18:23 > 0:18:30Gradually, his part built up just because of his charismatic character, I would say.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32What is the reason for this masquerade?
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Well, I just wanted to look like an average man in the street.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42The mannerisms came and he blossomed into this full-blown figure, which is, you know,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44"I'm free!", Mr Humphries, you see.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Yes, I'm free, Mr Grainger.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51We've never deliberately written a catchphrase, because you don't know what will take off.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54But when one does take off, you hear about it afterwards.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Suddenly, everybody's saying it.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I'm free. I'm free, Mr Lucas.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- The gentleman wishes to try on a dress.- I'm free.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07It did catch on very quickly because it was something that everybody said.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09- I'm free.- I'm free.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11- I'm free.- I'm free.- I'm free.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14- I'm free.- I'm free.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20I think the viewers appreciated series two onwards more,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24purely because they were more aware of the characters,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26the idiosyncrasies of the characters.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32- Your customer's approaching, Mr Lucas.- Carry on, Mr Lucas.
0:19:32 > 0:19:33Just my luck!
0:19:35 > 0:19:38None of the characters actually liked each other very much.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43It's rather strange. We used to find that the public would say, "Oh, you all look as if you're such a team.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45"You get on so well." We didn't.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47We were stabbing each other in the back all the time.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Ernest, I've just had a complaint from Mrs Slocombe about young Mr Lucas.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56- Go on.- Apparently, he allowed one of his customers to appear
0:19:56 > 0:19:58in full view of her department in a state of undress.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03It's the friction between two people that makes it comedy.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Where are you going, Mr Lucas?
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I was just stretching my legs, Captain Peacock.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10- Back to your own area.- Sir!
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Blimey, it's like being in Colditz.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16There were always sub-plots and, of course, Mr Lucas was always keen on Miss Brahms
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and would occasionally fire the odd note with an elastic band over to her,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22saying, "I don't half fancy you."
0:20:22 > 0:20:25And Captain Peacock would pick it up and hand it to Mrs Slocombe,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27who thought it was from him. That sort of thing.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33"Dear sexy knickers..."
0:20:35 > 0:20:38There was always something that happened. Mr Grace's birthday.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41# Happy birthday to you
0:20:41 > 0:20:44# Happy birthday to you
0:20:44 > 0:20:47# Happy birthday, Mr Grace
0:20:47 > 0:20:51# Happy birthday to you. #
0:20:51 > 0:20:53I'm stuck!
0:20:53 > 0:20:59There was always a plot and that's all you needed, just the basis of the plot, to hang all the words on.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01It even had industrial relations from time to time.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06The unions were very strong at that time and people were having a lot of strikes.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08"They're out. Traffic chaos."
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Ha! Up the workers!
0:21:10 > 0:21:11Particularly years in the '70s...
0:21:11 > 0:21:14'72, '73, '74 and again at the end of the '70s,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16during the Winter of Discontent...
0:21:16 > 0:21:20there were great surges of strike action on a scale that had not been seen
0:21:20 > 0:21:22since the General Strike 50 years before.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25So strikes, the experience of being on strike, the experience of suffering
0:21:25 > 0:21:30from a strike as a consumer, were very familiar to people who were watching Are You Being Served?
0:21:30 > 0:21:32in a way that they wouldn't be to viewers now.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Look, one of the ways of bringing our grievances to the attention
0:21:35 > 0:21:39of the hierarchy is to bung up the loos with plaster of Paris.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44We did have Mr Mash, who was head of the union, calling everybody out on strike.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47It has everything to do with me, Brother Slocombe.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53I am shop steward and in that capacity I am convening an emergency
0:21:53 > 0:21:56meeting in accordance with section 23 of the rule book.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Mrs Slocombe said, "I'm not a brother."
0:21:58 > 0:22:00He said, "You're a brother now, cos you're in the union."
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Your tea should start when you sit and actually dip your biscuit in the cup.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11- Ooh, doesn't he speak well? - Thank you, brother.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I am now about to put the motion on the table.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Some of the phrases are strange.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Now you could take that as a double entendre or not, as you like.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27And one of the most iconic things
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Are You Being Served? was famous for was its double entendres.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Are you all right, sir?
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Well, it's not very often an 81-year-old man
0:22:38 > 0:22:41gets stuck in the lift with a 19-year-old secretary.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Course I'm all right. Shut the doors.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47The family could be watching it and roaring with laughter.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51The children would think, "I don't know what they're laughing at, but it does seem to be funny."
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Don't let Peacock see you fraternising over there,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57otherwise you'll get the rough edge of his tongue
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and I can tell you, it isn't very pleasant.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04I don't think David and I thought it was risque humour, because it was our sort of humour.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07I never have any trouble in getting up in the morning.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10My pussy's just like an alarm clock.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13All the pussy jokes were about a cat, you do understand?
0:23:13 > 0:23:19Any other inferences are entirely in your mind.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22You're lucky to have me at all, Captain Peacock.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I had to thaw me pussy out before I came.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Mollie never played it with anything but truth and sincerity.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Oh, Mr Rumbold, I hope this isn't going to take long.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37My pussy's been locked up for eight hours.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39I'm afraid it's just not convenient.
0:23:39 > 0:23:45I think it was obligatory to have at least one pussy joke, yes, per episode, yes.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47All totally harmless and above board.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Well, the central heating broke down.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54I had to light the oven and hold my pussy in front of it.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Having worked for David Croft in many productions, you don't chip in with ideas.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02You can suggest something, possibly, and one in 100 might get accepted.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07It isn't an actor's job actually to invent lines. It's our job.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10So this was not encouraged.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12However, real-life experiences of the actors
0:24:12 > 0:24:16would sometimes get a hearing and find their way into the scripts.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Thank you, sir. Don't worry about the sleeves.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21- They'll ride up with wear. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I'd gone to my local little tailor
0:24:23 > 0:24:30and I bought a corduroy jacket off the peg, you know.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32And I put it on and it was a bit...
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Like this.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39And I think the sleeves were a bit long, you see.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43And he said, "It'll ride up with wear."
0:24:43 > 0:24:48I thought, "That's a good line. We must use that." And we did.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Don't worry about the sleeves, sir.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52They'll ride up with wear.
0:24:52 > 0:24:53They'll come down, sir, with wear.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56They'll ride up with wear.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Don't worry if the wig is a little loose, madam.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00You'll find it will ride up with wear.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03They'll ride up with wear.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Don't worry, madam, they'll ride up with wear. Everything does.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12And sometimes the scripts would require something a bit different,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15aided and abetted by the props department.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29The special effects department loved doing the show because they could invent things.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Anything I asked them for, they would just make it that much better.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36An exploding cat, for instance.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41They were like a lot of schoolboys and they loved doing the show.
0:25:41 > 0:25:47I remember the Father Christmas one that opened his raincoat.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Ho ho ho, little boy.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50Have I got a surprise for you.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06And we used to look forward to Friday, when the special effects men came.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08What are they gonna do?
0:26:08 > 0:26:13However wayward your figure, the Flexi-bra will cling to it and control it.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19What worked less well were Grace Brothers' famous lift doors.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Give us a hand. I've got Mrs Slocombe in here.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27You push that side. I'll push this.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- Now, push! - Push!
0:26:31 > 0:26:33The lift, yes!
0:26:33 > 0:26:36We had a lot of different devices in order to open those doors
0:26:36 > 0:26:39to the right cue and none of them seemed to work.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42So the lift was... I used to say, "Cue the lift,"
0:26:42 > 0:26:46and I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best, you know.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Shut, sesame!
0:26:49 > 0:26:5318. Two 18s, 36...
0:26:53 > 0:27:00It was only two fellas at the back pushing two doors across on cue and, erm...
0:27:00 > 0:27:02But even so, they'd get stuck.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Captain Peacock, in acknowledgement of your... Mr Lucas, the button!
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Sometimes we'd be stood in there for ages
0:27:09 > 0:27:12while they messed on with the lift doors. But erm...
0:27:12 > 0:27:16There weren't really such things as retakes then and we had to do that
0:27:16 > 0:27:19or otherwise you wouldn't have got the cast out and on the floor.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Gawd, blimey!
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Ain't there no privacy anywhere?
0:27:30 > 0:27:34They were a wonderful cast. The thing is, they'd rehearse in the morning.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40They'd go out for lunch and have a drink in the local pub and sometimes they'd come back in the afternoon.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43And on studio days, lunch became a production in itself.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Do you know, I can't remember whether this is chicken soup or vegetable.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- Well, taste it.- Well, that's not going to make any difference.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55The canteen was more or less shut then, or it was a very small
0:27:55 > 0:27:59attendance, so we used to have a sort of picnic in the dressing rooms.
0:27:59 > 0:28:05It was probably Wendy initiating good food and she would do the main course.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07John would do the dessert.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Trevor would do the crisps and the biscuits.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Poor Mollie would be having her hair done, which was so ornate for the most time.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18We used to look in the script at the beginning of the week
0:28:18 > 0:28:20to see if there was any canteen scenes,
0:28:20 > 0:28:21so we could nick the cutlery and china.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23We put it back. Wash it and put it back afterwards.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- It was nearly always in my room. - Yeah.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30Usually after lunch, whoever wasn't back first had to do the washing-up.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32But we had to do it in the bath, you know.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33- They have bathrooms in... - As you do, yes.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38As the series developed, the cast fast became household names
0:28:38 > 0:28:42and would often be in demand on the entertainment shows of the '70s.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Pay a visit to this absolutely diddy-filarious
0:28:45 > 0:28:51new store in Blackpool, Grace Brothers, where all the cast say, "Are you being served?"
0:28:58 > 0:29:02However, John Inman began to outshine the others.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05He was a very funny man. Easy to exploit his talent.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10He did become terribly popular.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Let's have a big hand on his entrance, if you please,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15ladies and gentlemen, for that wayward Peter Pan from men's outfitters.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Please welcome Mr John Inman. Are you free?
0:29:21 > 0:29:27John sort of came to the fore and didn't eclipse the others, but was the main focus a lot of the time.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30- I shall warm the end for you first. - Oh, please do.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34He's done all of Big Fun's stage gear...
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Now then...
0:29:36 > 0:29:40We were doing the summer season of Are You Being Served? in Blackpool
0:29:40 > 0:29:41and John's a Blackpool boy.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Walking along the street with him and I was just a tiny bit behind him,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48but looking at people's faces as they walked towards him,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50they were all so pleased to see him.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52I mean, they really loved him.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55The BBC's Television Personality of the Year.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Forward, Mr Inman!
0:29:58 > 0:30:01APPLAUSE
0:30:01 > 0:30:06In some of the episodes, obviously, they relied on him,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09because some of them were a bit flat.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12Oh, it's started me leg off.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16This hasn't happened to me since I was a prefect in me primary.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20- Is there anything we can do to stop it?- No, it's all right. It'll turn to hiccups in a minute.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23- HIC! Told you.- Now what do we do?
0:30:23 > 0:30:30Well, my teacher, Miss Hasswell, she used to get one of the boys to creep up behind me and give me a surprise.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34John was such a hit that in the middle of the series,
0:30:34 > 0:30:41he was offered a job running a rock factory by ITV, I think, and he sort of abandoned us for a short while.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48And this is what I want.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51Hundreds of them coming off the assembly line.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53We must keep going like we did before,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57keeping the wheels of the Littlehampton Rock Factory turning faster than ever.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Percy, turn the wheel and let's get cracking.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12It was quite inevitable that certain people in the cast
0:31:12 > 0:31:13would have their own shows afterwards,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15like Mollie and John Inman.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22He was offered so much more money if he would sign an exclusive contract.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26I mean, David Croft, I don't think it's any secret, was very annoyed.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29He just said, "That's all right. We'll just replace him.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32"Or we'll get somebody else to fit in that part."
0:31:32 > 0:31:37But the BBC said, to everyone's surprise, you can't do it without John Inman.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39So for 18 months we didn't do it.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41And then, of course, they did This Is Your Life.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50And I think I said to him, "How's the rock factory going?"
0:31:50 > 0:31:53as I was congratulating him. He said, "Don't ask."
0:31:53 > 0:31:59With John Inman not available, Croft and Lloyd signed Mollie Sugden up for her own series on the BBC.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02We wrote a thing called Come Back Mrs Noah,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04which was an idea of David's,
0:32:04 > 0:32:09which was Britain's first spaceship, which she's won a knitting competition.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12And she's the first person to be shown round it and it accidentally...
0:32:12 > 0:32:16She presses a button and it takes off.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20Now, can I go to the little girls' room?
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Often unfairly described as the worst sitcom ever.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24It wasn't really. It was quite funny.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26Agh! Agh!
0:32:26 > 0:32:31In those days, unfortunately, the special effects weren't really up to scratch.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36You could, if you looked clearly at the screen, you could see the wires supporting her in the air.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Mrs Noah didn't come back and John Inman's rock factory closed.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50The series that he went into was a complete disaster,
0:32:50 > 0:32:52sad to say,
0:32:52 > 0:32:57and so he then came back and we then went on with Are You Being Served?
0:33:02 > 0:33:06So John Inman returned to the BBC and his role of Mr Humphries,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09only to have to deal with problems off-screen.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Whilst the series was very popular,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16John Inman got a lot of flak from gay organisations,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19saying that he was taking the mickey out of gay actors.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Are you free, Mr Grainger?
0:33:21 > 0:33:24I couldn't see what they were objecting to, personally.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27He was portraying a character that I've certainly met.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32I've met actually being served by characters like that in big stores.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Mr Humphries, Mr Lucas, are you free?
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Yes, we're free, Captain Peacock.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40We never wrote him as a homosexual.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44I thought he was very like people I'd worked with at Simpson's
0:33:44 > 0:33:49who were, you know, just rather sort of, slightly effete.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Mummy's boy, used to put his slippers in the oven at regulo four
0:33:52 > 0:33:55to be switched on just before he got home, so they'd be warm.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Yes, of course I'm still your little boy.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02No, I haven't changed a bit.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Well, not much.
0:34:04 > 0:34:05I think he's fun.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09I think he's funny and don't tell me that gay men like that don't exist.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11They absolutely do.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Just think of the thousands of inside legs that that's done.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20The only time I do have a problem with it is when you see the writers of Are You Being Served?
0:34:20 > 0:34:22claiming he's not gay.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24- What sort of a school did you go to, Mr Humphries?- Mixed.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Oh, yeah, girls and boys?
0:34:26 > 0:34:28No, just boys.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33Then I simply have to shrug and say that a writer does not know
0:34:33 > 0:34:37his own text, because Mr Humphries is absolutely a gay man.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42Oh, it's the Masked Stranger. Take my body but leave my jewels alone.
0:34:42 > 0:34:47I was in New Zealand playing a club, a cabaret club,
0:34:47 > 0:34:53and I got there and there were pickets outside,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57saying don't go and see this.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00They thought that Mr Humphries was a homosexual,
0:35:00 > 0:35:04which I fought against for most of the series, you know.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07I'm always saying unless you see him doing it over the counter, how do you know?
0:35:07 > 0:35:10You know, I'm surprised you didn't wear the whole uniform.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Oh, well, I used to, but people kept wanting to touch me collar for luck.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16I bet you met a lot of nice girls that way.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18I did.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Not to mention a roving reporter, a trendy bishop, a string-vestite
0:35:22 > 0:35:25and a dustman with a very interesting tale to tell.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27That camp...
0:35:27 > 0:35:31And camp itself is very much part of the showbusiness tradition
0:35:31 > 0:35:35and people enjoy it and it's not even to do with your sexuality. It's to do with camp.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38I like to make it quite clear that being of an affectionate
0:35:38 > 0:35:43nature I have many friends of all shapes, sizes and sexes.
0:35:43 > 0:35:50Even this morning I had some amorous advances from a rag and bone man's horse which I repulsed.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53You can see in John Inman that development of Kenneth Williams
0:35:53 > 0:35:57in Round The Horne, Julian and Sandy, all the Polari and stuff like that.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Sort of carnival language I think that gay men would use as a secret code.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04We do our own edition of Shakespeare, don't we?
0:36:04 > 0:36:07- Lovely, mm!- We've rewritten it ourselves in up to date Polari.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11Includes such things as Much Ado About Nanti.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14All's Bona That Ends Bona.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Two Omis of Verona.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20And As They Like It.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23It's like smuggling things in under mainstream television.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Mr Humphries was a step on from that and actually it was overt.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29He didn't need Polari so much.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31He didn't need to speak in code.
0:36:31 > 0:36:32He is a sense that things are getting better.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Ooow!
0:36:35 > 0:36:38What on earth are you doing, Mr Humphries?
0:36:38 > 0:36:40There's a mouse round my drawers!
0:36:42 > 0:36:46Fellow cast member Wendy Richard was also doing battle
0:36:46 > 0:36:50with outside elements, only these were closer to home.
0:36:50 > 0:36:55I was aware that Wendy had some personal problems,
0:36:55 > 0:36:58usually to do with her boyfriends at the time.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03I think she arrived with a black eye now and then.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09We would hear about it, but the make-up department would take care of it.
0:37:09 > 0:37:15Jo Austin, a PA on the show, would often stay with Wendy Richard after the recordings.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20You'd hear the arguments and other worse things and so on.
0:37:20 > 0:37:26I mean, there was one particular sort of thing.
0:37:26 > 0:37:32I heard her saying, "Don't hit my face! Don't cut my face!"
0:37:32 > 0:37:36You know, and what do you say?
0:37:38 > 0:37:43She'd come perhaps and talk to me about it and I'd understand.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48So maybe I hope that I reciprocated.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51With what she gave me I was able to give her something back.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53Wendy did talk about those things.
0:37:53 > 0:38:00One was sympathetic and so on, but that was within our little confine.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07I do hope I'm not too late.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12I'm afraid Mrs Grainger failed to rouse me this morning.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16Well, that's understandable, Mr Grainger.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Then in 1978, Are You Being Served?
0:38:18 > 0:38:22lost one of its most popular characters, the wonderful Mr Grainger.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26He was such a lovely character and so important in the show.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28It's the knack, you know.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33Arthur Brough, who played Mr Grainger, was a very dear friend
0:38:33 > 0:38:36and it was very, very sad when we lost him.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38An irreplaceable colleague.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43Yes, indeed. One of nature's gentlemen.
0:38:43 > 0:38:50And from then on, of course, they wanted to find someone to fill that niche and various people took over.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53James Hayter came in, lovely James Hayter.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Ah, Mr Tebbs was also 18 months in soft furnishings.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00I resigned when they introduced bean bags.
0:39:00 > 0:39:06He sadly died later on, too, and then Alfie Bass came into that character.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Wouldn't you rather split the commission three ways at the end of the week?
0:39:10 > 0:39:13No. This is the way we've always done it and this is the way we'll carry on.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- Right, Mr Lucas? - Entirely, Mr Humphries.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17So be it.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20- Harry!- Hello!
0:39:24 > 0:39:29It's awful to say, but he, sadly, died, too, so, erm...
0:39:29 > 0:39:33This is to do with the fact that all of the people we're talking about
0:39:33 > 0:39:35were reasonable ages when they were employed.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38There must be something in there.
0:39:38 > 0:39:39Keep on trying.
0:39:41 > 0:39:48- If I'd known my body was going to last this long, I'd have treated it better.- Oh!
0:39:48 > 0:39:50I'll get my other machine.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55Mr Grace. Mr Grace, can I send down to stock for another pair of tights?
0:39:55 > 0:39:59- Only I've just caught these on my desk and I've laddered 'em, look. - Oh.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06The public would always say, of course, you've had no changes of cast, have you?
0:40:06 > 0:40:07It's exactly the same people.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09We had constant cast changes.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14Just as Croft and Lloyd were trying to fill Mr Grainger's shoes,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17another position came up for grabs in the men's department.
0:40:17 > 0:40:23We sadly lost Trevor Bannister because it didn't fit in with some of his acting dates.
0:40:23 > 0:40:28I suppose the gentleman couldn't come and stick his leg up on the counter and I could do it from here?
0:40:28 > 0:40:31It was unfortunate. He was sort of double booked, as it were.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33No, I suppose I couldn't!
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I had been offered a tour of a play just finishing in London.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41It was very difficult then to suddenly find that,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44"Oh, they're now going to do another series."
0:40:44 > 0:40:49And you say, "Well, I'm sorry, I can't do the series."
0:40:49 > 0:40:51"What do you mean, you can't do the series?"
0:40:51 > 0:40:55But you went, "Well, I'm sorry. Because you've either got to change your dates.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57Well, no, I'm not giving up my job.
0:40:57 > 0:41:02"What d'you mean? I've got to give up my job, which pays
0:41:02 > 0:41:0620 times more money than you're going to pay me for doing seven weeks' work."
0:41:06 > 0:41:10That was basically what happened.
0:41:10 > 0:41:18It was just sort of a letter between his agency and the BBC perhaps.
0:41:18 > 0:41:19It may have been my department.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21Mind you, I'm still behind him.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23We're all behind him!
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Only not so close.
0:41:26 > 0:41:34I'd done it for eight years anyway and I spied one or two jokes that we'd already done, so...
0:41:34 > 0:41:38- Yeah, I'm right behind you, Captain Peacock. - I'm right behind you, Mr Lucas.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41I'd rather you were behind Captain Peacock.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46If you're top of the bill and suddenly you find someone
0:41:46 > 0:41:49who's not the top of the bill is getting all the laughs, it can be difficult.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54BOTH: Are you being served, sir? Good.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07Mr Lucas's position was hastily filled by pop singer Mike Berry as new boy Mr Spooner.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10# I love your smile. #
0:42:10 > 0:42:14I've got to be very honest, the first script I got,
0:42:14 > 0:42:20it had Mr Lucas in it, but scrubbed out and "Mr Spooner".
0:42:20 > 0:42:23And I saw the odd "Mr Lucas" was left in.
0:42:23 > 0:42:29And if Trevor had been given that script having done all the episodes he'd done,
0:42:29 > 0:42:34I must say I would probably have turned it down, too, cos there wasn't much to do.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38It didn't matter to me. I mean, to me, it was a big break and I thought, "Wow, fantastic!"
0:42:38 > 0:42:42I want you to welcome your new assistant to this department, Mr Spooner.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46I'm sure you're all aware that Mr Spooner has already served time
0:42:46 > 0:42:49in the paint department, bedding and sports.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Now, you'll be under Mr Humphries, who's under Mr Grossman, who's under Captain Peacock.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56I see. Like the bottom bun on a triple hamburger.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58I was terrified. I can't tell you.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00They probably didn't realise how terrified I was.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03This was a series I'd admired and loved and laughed.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07You'd have to fork out a few bob if you expected me to sit on your knee!
0:43:07 > 0:43:10I agree. I'd want danger money.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13- If you sat on me knee, - I'd- want danger money.
0:43:13 > 0:43:14Not to mention scaffolding.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17I went along to read for Jeremy and David.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Trying to keep my lips from sticking to my teeth
0:43:20 > 0:43:24while I was reading wasn't easy, but I was very pleased to get it.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Well, let's see how comfy the bed is.
0:43:27 > 0:43:34Ah! I supposed Mr Grace used to ring for his secretary when he wanted her to take something down in an hurry!
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Ooh! Agh!
0:43:38 > 0:43:44They were brilliant. Wendy, bless her, said to me that when she'd spoken to John,
0:43:44 > 0:43:50his praise of me was, "He can do it." And that was all I needed to hear.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55Even with a full cast in place,
0:43:55 > 0:43:58the BBC were never that keen to re-commission the show.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02It was popular with the audience, but this was not the case with management.
0:44:02 > 0:44:07It goes back to the general distaste that the BBC had for Are You Being Served?
0:44:07 > 0:44:11David Croft had to fight every year to get them... "Oh, couldn't you get Thames to do it?
0:44:11 > 0:44:15It's a bit down-market for the BBC," and so on.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19Then the last two years, they realised they'd got something rather good on their hands.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23For what you are about to receive may you be truly grateful.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28- Surely, sir, you mean "For what- we - are about to receive may- we- be truly grateful"?- No, no, for what- you
0:44:28 > 0:44:32are about to receive. We're lunching at the Savoy, aren't we, dear?
0:44:32 > 0:44:34I think everybody was surprised.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36We thought it had gone.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39And they decided they needed a comedy series quite quickly
0:44:39 > 0:44:41and there they were all coming back.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44Thanks for the lift.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46- Oh!- This is most irregular.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48I was only using my initiative.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51I knew that the outside of the building was being painted
0:44:51 > 0:44:54and after a little light banter with the workmen every morning,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58I took the advantage of their kind offer of a lift.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00There's white paint on the back of your coat.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04The last couple of series, we were writing Are You Being Served?
0:45:04 > 0:45:08and I said to David, "I've seen a psychic who's very, very good
0:45:08 > 0:45:11and he tells me my partner's about to have a heart attack.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14As you're my partner, it must be you. You'd better go and check."
0:45:14 > 0:45:17He said, "I'm with BUPA. I have one every six months.
0:45:17 > 0:45:22I said, "Look, I'm not going to write unless you go and get checked out."
0:45:22 > 0:45:25He said, "You're really difficult."
0:45:25 > 0:45:29So I think he went the next day and as he lay on the table being checked out, he had the heart attack.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32So it saved his life. So he was out of action for a bit.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36So I think I had to finish off the last 12 Are You Being Serveds without him.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40And suddenly all the pussy stuff wasn't there.
0:45:40 > 0:45:45And my dirty lines weren't there. So I thought, "Oh!" you know.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49And then suddenly David came back for the last run-through or whatever,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51early run-through, and suddenly all the lines came back.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55So we thought, "Ah, you're the one with the dirty mind."
0:45:55 > 0:45:59Come and sit next to me, Mr Humphries, and give me a baby.
0:46:01 > 0:46:07As it got more successful, so the fees of the artists went up, so the costs went up.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12By now in its ninth series, as popular as ever and with more money, Grace Brothers opened its doors
0:46:12 > 0:46:16to more and more outlandish plots and elaborate set pieces.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20Did you say "trouble"? You don't know the meaning of the word.
0:46:22 > 0:46:30I think perhaps Jeremy was finding it a little difficult to come up with stories of things that could
0:46:30 > 0:46:36probably happen in a big store and so began to get a little bit more fantastic.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40You must lower me over the edge and I'll go and get the police.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42- Isn't it a bit risky?- I must do it.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46If I'm not home by one o'clock, me mother locks the door.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49I remember watching it and once they started Mrs Slocombe
0:46:49 > 0:46:52having a crush on Mr Humphries and that was a whole episode's plot
0:46:52 > 0:46:55that then got forgotten the next week and you sort of thought,
0:46:55 > 0:46:57"That's running out of stories, slightly."
0:47:00 > 0:47:03Ooh, that's lovely.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05They simply did everything and it ran out of steam.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09It's karma! It's kismet!
0:47:09 > 0:47:10It's... Kiss me!
0:47:13 > 0:47:18The bigger and bigger things got, it was because they'd run out of ideas.
0:47:21 > 0:47:27Are You Being Served? was bordering more on light entertainment
0:47:27 > 0:47:29really than on comedy drama.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34'It was sort of very revue-ish, but we all were, you see.'
0:47:34 > 0:47:36# ..To be like we were.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38# Perfect in every way.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42# What's the matter With kids today...? #
0:47:42 > 0:47:45'It was a bit, sort of, stretching it, you know,'
0:47:45 > 0:47:51to imagine that the staff in a store like that would do that kind of thing.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54# Ask me, "When will the day be?"
0:47:54 > 0:47:58# The sweet day may be tonight! #
0:47:58 > 0:48:02When we got to the very end, we shot this big musical number,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06thinking, "Well, if this is the end, we're going out with a bang here."
0:48:06 > 0:48:08But we didn't really know whether it WOULD be the end.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16# Chanson... #
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Nobody quite knew it was the very, very end,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22so there wasn't that feeling of, we'll-never-meet-again sort of thing.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25It was, maybe we'll see each other next spring.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28# ..Encore... #
0:48:28 > 0:48:32I think, to be honest, that the BBC decided that enough was enough.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35# ..In my heart... #
0:48:35 > 0:48:39And therefore, I think, you just have to say, "OK, let's move on.".
0:48:41 > 0:48:42# More and... #
0:48:42 > 0:48:46I think there comes a time when you know it's time to stop, really.
0:48:46 > 0:48:52# ..Chanson d'amour... #
0:48:52 > 0:48:54You just run out of plots.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57# Rat, ta, ta, ta, ta! #
0:48:57 > 0:49:02The BBC were very reluctant to let it go really, but they went along with the idea
0:49:02 > 0:49:06that when we said we'd done enough, that was about it, you know?
0:49:06 > 0:49:10# Each time I hear... #
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Grace Brothers finally closed its doors on 1st April, 1985,
0:49:16 > 0:49:18when times were changing.
0:49:18 > 0:49:19# ..D'amour.... #
0:49:19 > 0:49:23We were beginning to see, even in the mid '80s, alternative comedy arriving.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26In fact, I think it was probably '87 that you would have seen
0:49:26 > 0:49:28French And Saunders appear on television.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32- Have I seen that dress somewhere before? - No, I had it specially made for me.
0:49:32 > 0:49:38I've seen Marti Caine wearing this on her show, That's Not My Dog. Look, look at this!
0:49:38 > 0:49:41So a new generation was beginning to emerge.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44However, Alan Yentob, then controller of BBC One,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47decided to give the characters another go in 1992
0:49:47 > 0:49:51in a comedy called Grace And Favour, which transported the action
0:49:51 > 0:49:54to a country house hotel.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Perhaps you'd all like to sit down, we're not in the store now, are we?
0:49:58 > 0:50:00This is all quite informal.
0:50:00 > 0:50:01Are you free, Mr Humphries?
0:50:01 > 0:50:03I'm free!
0:50:03 > 0:50:07They were so well known for being in Are You Being Served?,
0:50:07 > 0:50:10you can't say it really worked out in another situation,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13although Mrs Slocombe was very funny playing cricket.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16- Yes!- Not out!
0:50:18 > 0:50:21- What did you say? - He said, "Not out.".
0:50:21 > 0:50:23Do you wanna make something out of it?
0:50:23 > 0:50:26It's tough to re-invent things and to move them on in that kind of way,
0:50:26 > 0:50:32and, although it did OK, I mean, it never really...
0:50:32 > 0:50:38it never really worked well enough for one to say, "Yes, let's persist and persevere,"
0:50:38 > 0:50:40beyond the two series that we gave it.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43Despite the lack of desire for Grace And Favour,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46both series remain hugely popular in America to this day.
0:50:46 > 0:50:52They'd have Mrs Slocombe lookalike contests, and about 20 gentlemen would turn up
0:50:52 > 0:50:56dressed as Mrs Slocombe, with a stuffed cat under their arms.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00Are You Being Served? became truly international, with the show selling worldwide.
0:51:00 > 0:51:06Australia even made its own version, importing John Inman in a starring role.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10Mr Mankowitz will be over you, and Mr Randel will be under you.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15It's just like being at home!
0:51:15 > 0:51:18And in Britain, the series may not get as repeated as often,
0:51:18 > 0:51:24but the stars are still remembered affectionately, and will always be resolutely British.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27People watched it cos it was funny.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29It's very short notice.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32There's my pussy to consider.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34We remember it cos it was fun.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39RECORD PLAYS AT HIGH SPEED: # Mammy, Mammy
0:51:39 > 0:51:41# The sun shines east The sun shines west... #
0:51:41 > 0:51:44Programmes like Are You Being Served?,
0:51:44 > 0:51:48they're timeless, because they're wholly inoffensive.
0:51:48 > 0:51:53RECORD PLAYS AT LOW SPEED: # Mammy
0:51:53 > 0:51:57# Mammy... #
0:51:57 > 0:52:01When David and I are not here, they'll still be making people laugh with things we thought of.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04- Mr Humphries!- Don't talk to me!
0:52:08 > 0:52:11It'll never end, you see. They'll never age.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14They'll always be the same age on television.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18They'll never fade away, and they'll always be there.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22TITTERING
0:52:22 > 0:52:24LAUGHTER
0:52:33 > 0:52:35RIOTOUS LAUGHTER
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Luckily, for those fans of Are You Being Served?,
0:52:43 > 0:52:49all 68 episodes still exist today in full, glorious Technicolor...
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Ooh, no...!
0:52:53 > 0:52:55..apart from the pilot.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Oh, is that the best you can do, Miss Brahms?
0:52:58 > 0:53:00Well, it's not my job! I'll try again.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Are You Being Served?, at that time,
0:53:02 > 0:53:07was transmitted on what we call two-inch videotape,
0:53:07 > 0:53:13which is an enormous tape, and it was very, very expensive,
0:53:13 > 0:53:18as a medium to record on, so what happened was, those tapes were used over and over again.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22In the past, the BBC only kept television copies
0:53:22 > 0:53:25of programmes they felt had historical importance,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28and comedy shows were not deemed significant enough to keep.
0:53:28 > 0:53:33- Never mind. Come along. - Fortunately, the pilot episode of Are You Being Served?
0:53:33 > 0:53:36had been kept in black and white for international sales.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41Because we didn't keep the two-inch tape that Are You Being Served? was transmitted on,
0:53:41 > 0:53:46what we did actually do was record the programme off air on to film,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49which is how this whole process of restoration has occurred.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53Now, unfortunately, people thought the colour was lost
0:53:53 > 0:53:55on this black-and-white copy,
0:53:55 > 0:53:59but the actual means in which this film recording was made
0:53:59 > 0:54:06meant that the colour information was actually accidentally preserved in the film as a pattern of dots.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Before I was involved, a couple of the other people
0:54:09 > 0:54:14who were working on it had managed to recover quite reasonably convincing-looking colours,
0:54:14 > 0:54:15but they weren't the full set.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18For example, there were no blues or greens,
0:54:18 > 0:54:21but there were yellows and there were reds, and, erm...
0:54:21 > 0:54:24If you didn't know what the original colour was,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27they actually looked quite good, but when you compared them...
0:54:27 > 0:54:30That was an advantage of having the tape of Top Of The Pops.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33When you compared them, you realised there were colours missing.
0:54:33 > 0:54:38My contribution was to work out how to find these extra colours,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41and the software that I wrote, then, sort of examines the picture,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44and looks for these characteristic patterns of lines and dots,
0:54:44 > 0:54:48which is the residue of the original colour, and from those,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52it works out both what the colour is, and it works out its intensity,
0:54:52 > 0:54:56so that the end result is a full colour picture.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Operator, get me Mr Rumbold's office.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Hello. Could I speak to Mr Rumbold, please?
0:55:03 > 0:55:08Well, I'm sorry, Mrs Slocombe, but I'm afraid Mr Rumbold's still with Young Mr Grace at the moment.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11Oh, hang on a second. I think he's just leaving.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15So now the pilot episode has been restored to its former glory,
0:55:15 > 0:55:21and has taken pride of place back on the shelves, with all ten series of Are You Being Served?.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23HE CACKLES
0:55:24 > 0:55:25BOTH: Yes, we're free.
0:55:28 > 0:55:29'I like it!'
0:55:31 > 0:55:35I will not have rough, workman's hands inside my bra!
0:55:39 > 0:55:40Pompous twit!
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Mrs Slocombe!
0:55:50 > 0:55:53Oh, yes, we are. Yes, we are free, Mr Humphries, yes.
0:55:59 > 0:56:04- Mind you, five minutes ago, we wouldn't have been free, would we? - No, we would not have been free!
0:56:04 > 0:56:08But I never told him the sleeves would ride up with wear!
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:56:27 > 0:56:30Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk