British Comedy Guide
Are You Being Served?. Mrs. Betty Slocombe (Mollie Sugden). Copyright: BBC
Secrets & Scandals Of Are You Being Served?

Secrets & Scandals Of Are You Being Served?

  • TV documentary
  • Channel 5
  • 2022
  • 1 episode

Documentary looking behind the scenes at tales from the making of beloved sitcom Are You Being Served?. Features John Thomson, Robert Ross, Richard Latto, Michael Ohajuru, Roy Gould and more.

F
X
R
W
E
Are You Being Served?. Copyright: BBC

Key details

Genre
Documentary
Broadcast
2022
Channel
Channel 5
Episodes
1
Features
John Thomson, Robert Ross, Richard Latto, Michael Ohajuru, Roy Gould, Garry Bushell, Matt Irvine, Robin Moore and more
Producers
Kate Staples, Mark Roberts, Mark Harrison, Gabie Meade, Tom Evans and Debbie Nugent
Company

Are You Being Served? is one of the most popular and most outrageous British sitcoms of all time. For more than a decade, millions of viewers tuned in for its smutty innuendo and the electric chemistry between the cast. But behind the laughter were plenty of secrets and scandals.

Are You Being Served?: Secrets & Scandals reveals how the show's creators had to fight the BBC throughout the sitcom's blockbuster run to keep the show on air, how there was the off-screen jostling for top billing, the personal tragedies that befell the cast, and the behind-the-scenes secrets about how the show was made.

This revelatory documentary features contributions from actor and comedian John Thomson, cast members Mike Berry and Louise Burton, pop icon Jess Conrad (who appeared on the show), Mollie Sugden's son Robin and original crew members Robin Carr and Roy Gould.

The programme reveals memos from the BBC stating that the show needed to be 'twice as funny and half as smutty' and how bosses nearly killed off the most popular character on the series before filming began.

The documentary also uncovers the secrets behind the show's infamous innuendo, with Mollie Sugden's son Robin Moore revealing the awkwardness at home as they all had to pretend that they didn't understand the double entendre.

There are also behind-the-scenes tales of the cast's infamous parties and champagne lunches as well as how the team supported Wendy Richard as she battled a tumultuous personal life throughout the show's filming.

There are also secrets of how the show was made on a shoestring budget, including DIY hair dye, and the extraordinary lengths the BBC went to in order to stop cast and crew stealing clothes from the set.

Catch-up

Additional details

Also known as
  • Are You Being Served?: Secrets & Scandals (Billed title)
Production
Studio
Camera set-up
Single camera
Picture
Colour

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Saturday 28th May 2022 at 9pm on Channel 5
Episode length
1 hour
All previous repeats
  • Sunday 2nd June 2024 at 10:00pm on C5
  • Friday 19th May 2023 at 9:00pm on C5

Share this page