Are You Being Served?. Image shows from L to R: Mrs. Betty Slocombe (Mollie Sugden), Miss Shirley Brahms (Wendy Richard), Mr. Dick Lucas (Trevor Bannister), Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold (Nicholas Smith), Mr. Mash (Larry Martyn), Mr. Ernest Grainger (Arthur Brough), Mr. Wilberforce Humphries (John Inman), Captain Stephen Peacock (Frank Thornton). Copyright: BBC
Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served? (1972)

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC One
  • 1972 - 1985
  • 69 episodes (10 series)

Sitcom set in London department store Grace Bros., where the Ladies' Intimate Apparel and Men's Ready To Wear departments are forced to share a floor. Stars Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Nicholas Smith and more.

Press clippings Page 2

Why the original Are You Being Served? was so true

Ahead of Derren Litten's take on the classic sitcom, we ask: what would it actually be like to work at Grace Brothers?

Piers Ford, Radio Times, 28th August 2016

10 AYBS? quotes that won't be repeated in the remake

David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, whose back catalogue included 'Allo 'Allo!, Dad's Army and Hi-de-Hi! created the original show, which was littered with innuendo and double-entendres, many of which would struggle to make family viewing times in the current era. And as for the sexual politics of the show, Twitter would be lit up like Mrs. Slocombe's pink rinse.

Paul Vale, The Huffington Post, 22nd February 2016

New Are You Being Served? cast revealed

Jason Watkins, Jorgie Porter and Sherrie Hewson are amongst the stars of BBC's Are You Being Served? revival, it has been revealed.

British Comedy Guide, 22nd February 2016

Are You Being Served? to return to screens

Legendary sitcom Are You Being Served? is to return to screens later this year for a brand new episode.

British Comedy Guide, 15th February 2016

A Labor Day salute to the employees of Grace Brothers

n the United States, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement, dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. As we settle in for the final day of a 3-day weekend, we pause to pay tribute to some of the hardest working people in U.K. retail...the staff of Grace Brothers Department Store.

Bill Young, Tellyspotting, 2nd September 2013

At its peak, an episode of Jeremy Lloyd's innuendo engorged department-store sitcom could glue a heady 22 million bums on sofas - but series one, which was up against Coronation Street, slipped by unnoticed, only acquiring a fanbase when it was re-shown. Are You Being Served? finally went off air in 1985, apart from the occasional repeat, so sauce-starved aficionados will gobble up this post-Christmas clip-and-comment treat. We discover how the show was promoted from a pilot (first aired as a Comedy Playhouse in 1972) to a long-running series, destined always to conjure up words like "best-loved" and "iconic". Cast, crew and writers gather to tell the AYBS? back story (Lloyd got the idea from working at Simpsons of Piccadilly) and reel off anecdotes from the 13-year run. We'll also find out just how the only surviving black-and-white recording of the pilot was recently remastered in full colour. We can't say for sure, as this preview comes to you without the benefit of an advance viewing, but the explanation as to how this was achieved is likely to be less amusing than the finished product.

Ruth Margolis, Radio Times, 1st January 2010

Pussy galore: a tribute to Mrs Slocombe

With her immortal 'pussy', Mrs Slocombe turned the airwaves as blue as her rinse. Mollie Sugden's creation will be remembered as one of the strongest, sauciest female characters of the 70s.

Andrew Collins, The Guardian, 2nd July 2009

Mollie Sugden: a fearsome screen battleaxe

Mollie Sugden was one of Britain's top television sitcom actresses, renowned for her portrayal of fearsome battleaxes.

The Telegraph, 2nd July 2009

Mollie Sugden: Her career in clips

Best known for her portrayal of Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?, Mollie Sugden's comic talent lives on in these YouTube clips...

James Donaghy, The Guardian, 2nd July 2009

Store that inspired AYBS forced to shut

Almost 24 years after Grace Brothers shut up shop, the family-run department store which inspired the classic sitcom has closed its doors for good. A victim of the credit crunch, Rossiters, which had been trading for more than 150 years, shut this weekend after being hit by falling sales in the bleak economic climate.

Rebecca Camber, Daily Mail, 1st February 2009

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