List of Are You Being Served? characters
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This is a list of characters that appeared in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?, that aired from 1972 to 1985. A number of the characters later reappeared in the 1990s sitcom Grace & Favour.
[edit] Mr. Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries
The senior menswear assistant, who later became head of the Gentleman's Department. His ambiguous sexuality is used as a catalyst for many comedic situations and one-liners. Mr. Humphries was particularly noted for his mincing walk and his high pitched voice, which he discarded when answering the phone: "Mennnnnnswear," he intoned in a falsified baritone. He had one of the most famous catchphrases of the era and when asked by a colleague, "Mr. Humphries, are you free? (to serve someone)", always gave the camp and exaggerated response, "I'm free!" He often arrived at work in outrageous attire ranging from punk rocker clothing and hair, motorcycle leather jacket and chaps and sailor uniform, with an equally outrageous accounting of his previous night's activities and efforts to nonetheless make it to work on time. Mr. Humphries frequently spoke of a companion or companions referred to only as "my friend." The precise status of this friend was never elaborated upon. Though Mr. Humphries exhibited many stereotypical gay male traits his true sexual orientation was never explicitly confirmed in the series. At times there were suggestions that he might harbour some heterosexual attractions. He was also, arguably, the most pleasant character on the show. In an episode, where the employees were to vote on which should be made redundant, each employee received exactly one nomination with the exception of Mr. Humphries, who himself voted: "don't know". In one episode, he claims to have served briefly in the Royal Navy.
[edit] Mrs. Betty Slocombe
Mrs. Slocombe, born Mary Elizabeth Jennifer Rachel Abergavanny Yiddell in 1926 [1] in Blackpool, is the Head of the Ladies Department who frequently dyes her hair unusual colours such as lime green or orange. Mrs. Slocombe's husband left her, or was possibly arrested by the fraud squad, and she lived with her cat Tiddles. Indeed, implementing some child-friendly innuendo (for the benefit of the older viewer and not generally for a reaction from the other characters), Mrs Slocombe regularly referred to "My pussy". She also tried to sound refined and 'posh', but when exasperated or annoyed she revealed more than a trace of a Northern accent. Mrs. Slocombe's catch phrases were "...and I am unanimous in that..." and "Weak as water!" She spent much of her free time prowling gin mills, roller rinks and discos with her friend Mrs. Axelby, who is never seen, but due to her middle age, men were less and less attracted to her, which she dismissed as extreme politeness on the part of all men. It is often suggested that when she was younger she had quite a wild life and possibly even worked in a bar.
[edit] Captain Stephen Peacock
Captain Peacock, the somewhat stuffy floorwalker, considers himself above the assistants with both his position and his dubious military record, which wouldn't be so shameful except Peacock feels the need to brag about his experiences fighting Rommel in North Africa. Mr. Mash likes to tell the staff that Peacock served in the NAAFI instead, and probably didn't ever leave England, and Mr. Goldberg hints that Peacock's real rank was a Corporal. Allegedly, despite his rank, Peacock began as a sweeper in the stockroom. Although Peacock usually talks as if he were a member of the elite Commando unit, on two occasions he admits he was in the Royal Army Service Corps. By 1978 he has been working at Grace Brothers for 15 years. He also has a penchant for leering at Miss Brahms, Mr. Grace's and Mr. Rumbold's secretaries, and sometimes Mrs. Slocombe. Mrs. Peacock appears in a few episodes, often amidst marital trouble.
[edit] Miss Shirley Brahms
Miss Brahms was the busty junior ladieswear assistant who was often cheeky to Mrs. Slocombe. Known for her Cockney accent, Miss Brahms was sometimes unintelligible to the person with whom she was speaking, but often put on her best voice when answering the telephone. Under Mrs. Slocombe's guidance, she became a more useful assistant throughout the series, though the hierarchy of Grace Brothers is such that she would move up only when Mrs. Slocombe leaves. Attractive and somewhat voluptuous, she was sometimes (but usually not) receptive to the advances of Mr. Lucas. Despite this, she considers herself to have standards. In one incident, when she was approached to participate in a store-wide Holiday Girl contest with the assumption that she would easily win, Miss Brahms refuses, mainly because one of the prizes is a vacation aboard the yacht of Old Mr. Grace, who had tried to indecently assault her hitherto. While she is proud of her Cockney heritage, she bemoans her present existence and yearns for a more glamorous and exciting life. The largest sale she ever made occurred when Mrs. Slocombe, who had temporarily replaced Mr. Rumbold, was not by her side.
[edit] Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold
Mr. Rumbold, the manager of the floor, who was in the Army Catering Corps during the war, was often mocked for his bald head, jug-ears, and lack of intelligence. He frequently took slang phrases literally, leading to his formulating far-fetched explanations of incidents between staff members. He often took credit for others' ideas but subsequently tried to deny all involvement when the idea inevitably proved disastrous. Mr. Rumbold's greatest ambition was to be called to the board of directors at Grace Bros. (he looks up dreamily whenever the word "boardroom" is mentioned), and was usually oblivious to the sex appeal of his attractive secretaries.
[edit] Mr. James (later Dick) Lucas
Mr. Lucas was the 'Jack the lad' junior menswear assistant, who was nearly always late for work but always had a creative excuse. He wasn't very concerned about the pecking order, and thus made many sarcastic remarks (usually towards Mrs. Slocombe). He directed much of his attention toward Miss Brahms, but only went out with her once. His departure is never explained, although Captain Peacock remarked in an episode after Mr. Lucas left, in which the departments had performed no business for the day, that the last time the departments had no sale, "we fired the junior."
[edit] Mr. Ernest Grainger
The original head of the menswear department, he had been with Grace Brothers for over four decades. He resented being forced to share the floor with the Ladies Department. He vaguely resembled Winston Churchill, in both appearance and demeanour, and did impressions of him during the war while in ENSA. Mr. Grainger often fell asleep while in the store, and failed to wake up when being called, unless Mr. Humphries asked him "Are you free, Mr. Grainger?" His character left as Arthur Brough retired from acting in 1978 following the death of his wife Elizabeth Addyman, to whom he had been married for 50 years. As fate would have it, Arthur Brough himself died several weeks later.
[edit] Mr. Percival Tebbs
Mr. Grainger's first replacement as head of menswear. Although he shared many traits with Mr. Grainger, he appeared to be obsessed with order and propriety and (in his own mind at least) was an extraordinary salesman. He was also an overachiever, having received a number of recognitions from Grace Brothers for his achievements.
[edit] Mr. Harry Goldberg
Mr. Goldberg replaced Mr. Tebbs as Head of Menswear. He often tried to make a bit of extra cash to supplement his wages, for example by establishing his own recruitment agency (and recruiting Grace Brothers' employees away to better-paying jobs). Mr. Goldberg was much more relaxed than his predecessors, and was in general a friendly presence.
[edit] Mr. Grossman
Mr. Grossman replaced Mr. Goldberg as Head of Menswear. Not much is known about him as he only appeared in four episodes, although his first episode revealed him to be an expert in shoe sales.
[edit] Mr. Klein
He replaced Mr. Grossman as Menswear Head. He was formerly from the Cutting Department. Speaks often of his wife, generally in disparaging tones, and doesn't object to quietly making jokes at Captain Peacock's expense. Other than that, his character remained undeveloped over his brief tenure.
[edit] Mr. Bert Spooner
Mr. Lucas' replacement, who was similar to him in many ways, made rude remarks and had a crush on Miss Brahms. In the final episode he became a pop star.
[edit] Mr. Mash & Mr. Harry (or Beverley) Harman
Mr. Mash and Mr. Harman were the maintenance men, Mr. Harman replacing Mr. Mash in series 4. Neither had a fear of their superiors, and both had a thorough knowledge of store operations and union workers' rights (and took home much larger paycheques than the sales assistants due to overtime). Both were "common" and were frequently reprimanded by Captain Peacock for appearing on the sales floor during business hours. Mr. Mash was rather weedy and made sneering comments towards the sales staff; Harman was rather knockabout but was more friendly towards the sales staff, and the other staff were much more accepting of him than they were of Mr. Mash.
[edit] The Grace Brothers
The Grace Brothers, Young Mr. Grace and Henry, Old Mr. Grace, were the old-fashioned owners of the store. Both were old but loved young, curvaceous women. They both treated their employees with respect and encouragement, hence Young Mr. Grace's catch phrase, "You've all done very well!" Young Mr. Grace started off as a fish salesman before inheriting the store from an uncle.
[edit] Canteen Manageress
Manager of the canteen, once addressed as Diane and again as Mrs. Yardwick, mostly cooked disgraceful food, and had a large rubbish-strewn kitchen. She frequently had arguments with the senior staff and wasn't worried about being fired due to her union, 'National Associated Canteen Employees, Restaurant and Domestic' (NACERD, a play on the term knackered).
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "I'm Free! - The Complete Are You Being Served?", Orion Books, 1999.
