"Ground floor: perfumery, stationery and leather goods." Step out of the lift on the first floor of Grace Brothers and you were among the most quotable shop assistants in British comedy. Are You Being Served? ran on BBC One from 1972 to 1985.
Behind the counter
The show was written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. Lloyd had once worked in a London department store himself, and the stuffy rules, the pecking order and the petty rivalries of shop life all found their way into the scripts.
It began as a one-off for the BBC's Comedy Playhouse in September 1972. A full series followed in 1973, and Grace Brothers stayed open for ten series and 70 episodes.
The staff of Grace Brothers
The ladies' and gentlemen's departments shared a floor, and a running battle over counter space.
- Mollie Sugden as Mrs Slocombe, with hair a new colour every week
- John Inman as Mr Humphries, always ready to measure an inside leg
- Frank Thornton as Captain Peacock, the floorwalker with an eye on his status
- Wendy Richard as Miss Brahms
- Trevor Bannister as Mr Lucas
- Arthur Brough as Mr Grainger
- Nicholas Smith as Mr Rumbold, the manager
- Harold Bennett as Young Mr Grace, the elderly owner
"I'm free!"
The show was built on catchphrases, and audiences waited for them.
"I'm free!"
Mr Humphries' sing-song reply to "Are you free?" got a laugh every time. Young Mr Grace would wobble in, look round and tell everyone "You've all done very well!" And Mrs Slocombe's endless remarks about her cat were the cheekiest double entendre on television.
More than a sitcom
Are You Being Served? became one of the BBC's biggest comedy exports and found a devoted following overseas, especially on public television in America. A film version arrived in 1977, sending the staff on holiday to the Costa Plonka.
Several of the cast came back for a follow-up series, Grace & Favour, in 1992 and 1993, in which the old staff ran a country hotel.
Which Grace Brothers character was your favourite?