Ground Floor, Going Up!

In tribute to the passing of John Inman earlier to day, I have decided to bring you the delights, laughs and sheer good clean fun of one of the greatest sitcoms ever to grace the screens from the BBC. In the serial set in the department store called Grace Brothers, we asked the question every week, ‘Are Your Being Served..?

In another classic piece of writing from the Lloyd and Croft pairing, it ran from 1972 to 1985. Set in a fictional department store somewhere in London, it traced a strong outline to the running of a large store but used old fashioned and well tested gags based upon sexual references, crossed dressing, mild slapstick and misheard stories. Each episode saw the same floor where the characters worked including the offices of Mr Grace, the Chairman and Mr Rumbold, his second in command. On occasions, the scene would be set in the staff canteen, where it was surprising to see the whole floor staff take their breaks and lunch together - the viewer would sometimes wonder who was minding the floor…

It ran for a massive ten series and 69 episodes. The principle characters didn’t change, apart from the exit of Bannister and the entrance of Berry. The sets didn’t change hence the sturdiness of the show which never let the viewing public down. Unpredictable, it held as strong towards the end of its run as it did in the first series. Making it one of the most loved sitcoms in the history of the BBC.

One of the great institutions of the seventies was the department store. When pickets were everywhere, and our dads were fighting for their jobs, the only places we could not just shelter from the rain and the riots but loose ourselves in the joy of perfect living were the big stores in town were you could buy everything under one roof - apart from the very house itself.

One could stroll out into the street laidened with bags bearing gifts for yourself and your home - you could be carrying an ironing board, a new tweed suit, slippers, a Fondue set, an electric blanket for a double bed and a fake pair of diamante earrings. Your list of shopping bargains not just filled your home with the luxury that the seventies could manage but may also be the selection found on the conveyer belt on ‘The Generation Game’ on the following Saturday night…

The land of the department store seems to be fading fast - from the recent boom of bargain basement styled shops offering clothes so cheap, you would think they were made by the peasants still, it’s just now they are living over here. The comfort and style of the dated department store is now choking on the new trendy air of buy it as cheap as possible - the one thing that the good old dept. stores couldn’t do and that was lower their prices - even on a Blue Cross day….

So that was what made such a show as ‘Are You Being Served..?’ so special - it gives us now a chance to look back on a piece of our lives that was sacred. We wonder were on Earth are those mannequins now? Were can you go to get a nylon wrap over house coat now for heavens sake?

The staff, in any department store, naturally, were a wonderment themselves. If you have a spot on memory for such detail then I won’t have to remind you that there was a Mrs Slocombe on every floor - with her different rinses each week, she dazzled us with her language describing her ‘pussy.’ particularly clever when on a couple of occasions, she phone the animal from the store. She was a single woman - not surprising who spent many an evening out on the pull - in the hope of picking up some rough old truck driver with dirty fingernails, she would exhume a grace and presence about her at work which display an air of upper class and would on no account declare that she had been in some boozer the night before. The only person whom she felt a great closeness was the unmistakeable Mr Humphries. A sweet, camper than a row of tents, man who glided along the store floor from ‘menswear’ to ‘ladies undergarments’ and back again when ever he was called to do so. Living at home with his mother still, it was seen that when Mrs Humphries appeared at the store, it was Inman dressed in drag. Alerted to the sound of ‘Mr Humphries, are you free?’ from the authoritarian, Captain Peacock, Mr Humphries became the star of the show when, from the top of the staircase and out of the lift door, he would mince down the stairs in the most outlandish outfits imaginable, sometimes pairing up with Mrs Slocombe whom shared his taste in wild nights out at the strangest of fancy dress parties.

Our dolly bird Miss Brahms was a cutesy girl who appeared to be dim but on occasions, was known to be the one person with her head screwed on properly. She was eyed up constantly by Mr Lucas, played by Trevor Bannister who left the series in 1979 and was replaced by Mike Berry who played Mr Spooner. A different character but both bachelors who fancied the young Miss Brahms with boyish charm and equally unflattering comments. It was at these times that the battle axe of Mrs Slocombe would come to her aid and challenge the young man who would quickly turn tail at her presence.

Captain Peacock, strutted around the floor as his name would suggest. As floor walker, keeping the staff in check, he would call the staff by their proper titles and surnames and ordered respect in return. Of military background, he remained stiff and asked for his staff to still call him captain.

Additional characters played strong parts and gained the same recognition. Arthur English, an actor in his own right and probably the series best known name when the show began played head caretaker who got under the nose of the regimental Captain Peacock on more than one occasion. Then there came the tweetier, air headed, big busted girls who floated in and out of Mr Grace’s office as supposed ‘secretaries,’ who filed their nails and took occasional notes, but usually spent the time sitting on the aging Mr Grace’s lap. These characters all showed great importance although never held any good story lines of their own. Each episode sat around it’s five main characters.

Calm, pleasant, funny and beautifully entertaining, event the mild, unassuming ‘Are Your Being Served..?’ came under it’s own scrutiny on odd occasions. It was criticized for its strong stereotypical references in both characters and plotlines. All accusations that as the viewers thought, was unjust. Reports suggested that gay men and women were finding Mr Humphries offensive, although it was never confirmed by either character or script writer what his preferences were, if it really mattered. Other also complained of too much usage of references to Mrs Slocomb’s ‘pussy,’ used as a double entendre - again, it was how the viewer interpreted it. Many just thought she was talking about her cat, which of course, she was….

The theme tune became a cult of it’s own including being part of a Australian band’s recent album. The tune featured the voice of a female lift operator - another reference to the era of the grand department store when young people were employed to operate the lift and call out what goods could be brought on the approaching floor. This was due to shoppers hopefully not being able to reach the buttons themselves due to too many carrier bags.

The series, however British it was, became a great hit the other side of the Atlantic. A feature film was made in 1977 which saw the staff leave the safety net of the store and venture on a holiday together to fiction yet funny resort of the Costa Plonka in Spain. A failing flop, the film has not recently been shown on TV. The cast reunited again for a spin off of the best loved series but this failed too. In 1992, this off shoot titled, ‘Grace And Favour,’ only appeared with some of the original cast. It appealed in the US more than over here. Ten years previous, John Inman had gone over to Australia to do ‘Are Your Being Served..?’ which successfully ran for 16 episodes.

The idealism behind the show stays with us in these dark times of corrupt governments and war. It was a piece of timeless history that was dated but welcomingly so. We look forward to repeats now on UKGold and think back warmly to the good old days - which of course, had their own dark times.


My thoughts are with Ron Lynch, his partner of 33 years today and those who were close to him. He made us smile and entertained us over decades. I will fondly remember a particular day when I was lucky enough to be in his company…..


Back in 1986, I went on holiday with my grandmother to a dilapidated hotel somewhere just off the sea front in Eastbourne, East Sussex. I was 14 at the time and bored as only 14 year olds could be. Whilst settling into out rooms filled with frilly pillow cases and damp walls, we noticed that there seemed to be a little garden party going on in the small garden of the building next door. Being up for something more entertaining, we went to go and investigate.

It turned out to be a warden assisted place full of small retirement flats for the elderly. Okay, no the best of discoveries for a 14 year old miles away from home with nothing to do, but all the same, it meant getting away from the smell of luncheon meat and candle wick bed spreads so I was up for it.

The fete, as it was, was not doing too well. The home made jams were turning warm and the cakes where melting under their badly wrapped cellophane so someone thought it was a good idea to go to the theatre over the road and drum up a bit of publicity since everyone had forgot to hand out leaflets about the fair to people in the town before hand.

In a shower of excitement, an old man came back to inform the flat crowd that someone was coming over and it would be put to John Inman, who was playing at the theatre in a comedy show, if he could pop over and jolly everyone up a bit, if only for half an hour.

Half an hour passed and yes, Mr Inman did arrive, but not alone. Starring along side him at the theatre were Kenny Lynch and Bobby Crush, they stayed, chatting, buying cakes, making teas, all afternoon! We took photos of the stars signing autographs and helping the old dears around the garden. The fete was a magical piece in time when these people mingled in with the public that had loved them so. All were big names in those days and yes, thankfully, very little amounts of people showed up for the rest of the day, which meant that we had the stars to ourselves.

By the end of the afternoon, Lynch, Inman and Crush was out in force with the bin liners helping to clear up and put tables away - it was a brilliant day and many of our pictures remain of the day that we held company with the nicest people in showbiz….

Pictures yet to be scanned in and loaded!

(above pictures appear here from the BBC archives)