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Are You Being Served?

  • TV-PG
  • 1972–1985
  • 10 seasons
  • Comedy
  • 7.3

This comedy series, which follows the exploits of employees at London's fictional "Grace Brothers" department store, is full of sexual innuendo, slapstick, visual gags, and double entendres. Much of the show's humor parodies Britain's class system, and many of the show's characters are based on stereotypes of the period, including the effeminate Mr. Humphries and the rich, but stingy, store owner.

Episodes

8 episodes
  1. 1Is It Catching?

    30 minApr 9, 1981

    The staff contract a strange tropical illness, Marine's Disease, from Mr. Humphries. They are quarantined in the basement until the disease is past.

  2. 2A Personal Problem

    30 minApr 16, 1981

    Captain Peacock's wife works at Grace Brothers, as Mr. Rumbold's secretary. He is intensely jealous and is absolutely convinced that the two of them are having an affair.

  3. 3Front Page Story

    30 minApr 23, 1981

    Mr. Humphries is made editor of the new staff magazine. The 1st Floor staff is not pleased with the stories he writes about them causing friction in the relations between floors.

  4. 4Sit Out

    30 minApr 30, 1981

    The staff go on strike after being threatened with a pay cut or being moved to the bargain basement. They stage a protest on the roof which is interrupted by a fire which destroys the basement.

  5. 5Heir Apparent

    30 minMay 7, 1981

    Old Mr. Grace becomes convinced that Mr. Humphries is his long-lost son. Mrs. Humphries (also played by Mr. Inman) arrives, and shows that she has never had relations with Mr. Grace.

  6. 6Closed Circuit

    30 minMay 21, 1981

    Grace Brothers has decided to enter the video age and display advertisements on closed circuit television throughout the store. Meanwhile, there is a new face in Menswear.

  7. 7The Erotic Dreams of Mrs. Slocombe

    30 minMay 28, 1981

    Mrs. Slocombe has dreams in which she and Mr. Humphries become romantically embroiled. When she attempts to turn fantasy into reality, the situation becomes most difficult to handle.

  8. 8Roots?

    30 minDec 24, 1981

    The staff decide to obtain a coat-of-arms for Old Mr. Grace's 90th birthday, but problems arise when they're unable to figure out exactly from where his ancestors came.

Where to watch Are You Being Served?

Availability from JustWatch, via TMDB. Full listing for United States

Series cast

Frank ThorntonCaptain Peacock69 episodes
John InmanMr. Humphries69 episodes
Mollie SugdenMrs. Slocombe69 episodes
Wendy RichardMiss Brahms69 episodes
Nicholas SmithMr. Rumbold69 episodes
Harold BennettYoung Mr. Grace50 episodes
Arthur EnglishMr. Harman49 episodes
Trevor BannisterMr. Lucas48 episodes
Arthur BroughMr. Grainger34 episodes
Vivienne JohnsonMr. Grace's Nurse22 episodes
Mike BerryMr. Spooner21 episodes
Larry MartynMr. Mash18 episodes
Candy DavisMiss Belfridge13 episodes
Alfie BassMr. Goldberg8 episodes
Kenneth WallerOld Mr. Henry Grace8 episodes
Penny IrvingMiss Bakewell8 episodes
James HayterMr. Tebbs6 episodes
Debbie Linden5 episodes

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