Are You Being Served?

The misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store.

Genre: Comedy

Cast:Mollie Sugden , John Inman , Frank Thornton , Wendy Richard , Nicholas Smith , Trevor Bannister , Arthur English , Harold Bennett , Arthur Brough , Vivienne Johnson , Penny Irving , Mike Berry , Larry Martyn , Freddie Wiles , Doremy Vernon , Candy Davis , Alfie Bass , Kenneth Waller

1Season 3

S3.E1 ∙ The Hand of Fate

Thu, Feb 27, 1975

Mr. Humphries' palm reading skills are put to the test when Mr.Rumbold's position becomes available for Captain Peacock and Mrs.Slocomb and Mr.Grainger compete over his position. Believing he can foretell their futures in their hands, Mr.Humphries makes surprising predictions on behalf of each member of the staff.

2Season 3

S3.E2 ∙ Coffee Morning

Thu, Mar 6, 1975

In protest to the new policy of having to sign in and out during coffee breaks and toilet usage, the staff organize a union with the help of overzealous maintenance man Mr. Mash.

3Season 3

S3.E3 ∙ Up Captain Peacock

Thu, Mar 13, 1975

Already-pompous floorwalker Captain Peacock is given the honor of the key to the executive washroom, much to the frustration of the staff, especially envious Mr. Grainger.

4Season 3

S3.E4 ∙ Cold Store

Thu, Mar 20, 1975

The department staff all fear catching a cold. Ms. Brahms swaps counters with Mr. Lucas to avoid catching anything from Mrs. Slocombe; meanwhile Mr. Lucas hopes to fake an illness so he can go home early.

5Season 3

S3.E5 ∙ Wedding Bells

Thu, Mar 27, 1975

Elderly Mr. Grace requests Mrs. Slocombe's help in "choosing a ring." This leads the staff to wonder: is Mr. Grace thinking of taking their colleague as his new wife?

6Season 3

S3.E6 ∙ German Week

Thu, Apr 3, 1975

Ordered to cooperate in the store's German themed week, the Grace Brothers' staff try to find a way to get into the Teutonic spirit.

7Season 3

S3.E7 ∙ Shoulder to Shoulder

Thu, Apr 10, 1975

The women's department is forced to share space with the reluctant men's department while their counter gets redecorated.

8Season 3

S3.E8 ∙ New Look

Thu, Apr 17, 1975

The department staff decide to kick the scenery up with new background music and store announcement voices. They all compete to be the voice on the loudspeakers, as a cash prize is being offered.

9Season 3

S3.E9 ∙ Christmas Crackers

Mon, Dec 22, 1975

With a disgusting Christmas canteen dinner, wacky novelty costumes and the fun of pulling holiday crackers, the Grace Brothers staff get into the spirit of the season.

1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ No Sale

Thu, Apr 8, 1976

When Grace Brothers' experiment with an early morning opening time proves a success, the disgruntled floor staff decide to sabotage it.

2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Top Hat and Tails

Thu, Apr 15, 1976

Mr. Grace requests that the staff participate in a ballroom dancing competition, and who better to teach everyone a few dainty moves than Mr. Humphries?

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ Forward Mr. Grainger

Thu, Apr 22, 1976

Mr. Rumbold is going away temporarily on a business conference, and out of respect he suggests the staff allow elderly Mr. Grainger to take over in his place - but Mr. Grainger quickly becomes callous and abusive to his friends.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ Fire Practice

Thu, Apr 29, 1976

Mr. Grace and Mr. Rumbold try to instill a sense of fire safety in the staff at Grace Brothers, but with the hilarity of a foreign customer, a kiss-of-life medical dummy and Mrs. Slocombe stuck in a fabric tube, it's impossible.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ Fifty Years On

Wed, May 5, 1976

The staff at Grace Brothers prepare a rather bizarre yet loving birthday tribute to Mrs. Slocombe, who is supposedly reaching her 50th birthday.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ Oh What a Tangled Web

Thu, May 13, 1976

If appearances are to be believed, Captain Peacock may have had an affair with Mr. Rumbold's pretty young secretary - an engaged secretary, no less - but do people have the wrong idea about what happened?

7Season 4

S4.E7 ∙ The Father Christmas Affair

Fri, Dec 24, 1976

After the removal of Grace Brothers' perverse Santa Claus display models, the store decides to hire one of the staff to dress up as "Father Christmas" to entertain children.

1Season 5

S5.E1 ∙ Mrs. Slocombe Expects

Fri, Feb 25, 1977

Mrs. Slocombe's cat is pregnant but Mr. Rumbold flat-out refuses to allow the kittens to be birthed in the store. Fearing that her beloved pet will be alone when the time comes, Mrs. Slocombe smuggles it into the store.

2Season 5

S5.E2 ∙ A Change Is as Good as a Rest

Fri, Mar 4, 1977

The staff have fun temporarily working in Grace Brothers' toy department. Mr. Humphries enjoys a giant dollhouse, Mrs. Slocombe sells peeing dollies and Mr. Grainger gets sentimental playing with a train set.

3Season 5

S5.E3 ∙ Founder's Day

Fri, Mar 11, 1977

Mr. Grace is reaching his 80th birthday and the staff decide to create a "This is Your Life" styled movie in tribute to him.

4Season 5

S5.E4 ∙ The Old Order Changes

Fri, Mar 18, 1977

After Mr. Grace returns to Britain from a vacation in the United States, he decides it's time for the store to get into the psychedelic seventies with casual dress, first name usage and hippie music.

5Season 5

S5.E5 ∙ Take-Over

Fri, Mar 25, 1977

The department staff pose as Grace Brothers shareholders to avoid a takeover by a rival corporation. Meanwhile Captain Peacock finds himself working under obnoxious Mr. Lucas, who treats him in turn like a butler.

6Season 5

S5.E6 ∙ Goodbye Mr. Grainger

Fri, Apr 1, 1977

Poor Mr. Grainger. He's been behaving very curmudgeonly as of late, leading the staff to want him sacked or forcibly retired. Are they being too hasty, though? Can they still repair their friendship with him?

7Season 5

S5.E7 ∙ It Pays to Advertise

Fri, Apr 8, 1977

Grace Brothers decides to use examples of the "average man and woman in the street" to sell its wares, and the staff find themselves as the living models.

1Season 7

S7.E1 ∙ The Junior

Fri, Oct 19, 1979

Mr. Tebbs has left Grace Brothers and it's time to hire a new staff member. Charming gentleman Mr. Goldberg wants a job, but Captain Peacock dislikes him - Goldberg knows a thing or two about the reality behind Peacock's military history.

2Season 7

S7.E2 ∙ Strong Stuff This Insurance

Fri, Oct 26, 1979

In order to qualify for a new pension plan, the staff have to undergo a medical examination. The men's department is embarrassed about having to undress in front of each other, and decide to try dancing to get in shape.

3Season 7

S7.E3 ∙ The Apartment

Fri, Nov 2, 1979

Mrs. Slocombe has been given permission to store her belongings at Grace Brothers during the moving to a new property. She sets up her own temporary house there, only for the staff to be stuck as flatmates with her due to a transit strike.

4Season 7

S7.E4 ∙ Mrs. Slocombe, Senior Person

Fri, Nov 9, 1979

Mr. Rumbold has fallen seriously ill, and in his place Mrs. Slocombe temporarily fills in for him. She finds that while she assumed the job would earn her respect, it's actually quite boring and lonely.

5Season 7

S7.E5 ∙ The Hero

Fri, Nov 16, 1979

Mr. Franco of the sports department reveals that Captain Peacock has an enormous boil on his buttocks, leading to the staff making jokes at his expense. In defense of his honor, Peacock challenges Franco to a boxing match.

6Season 7

S7.E6 ∙ Anything You Can Do

Fri, Nov 23, 1979

Frustrated by the repulsive conditions of the staff canteen, the department staff have a fight with the canteen manageress and end up having to fill in for the canteen staff after they all walk out in anger.

7Season 7

S7.E7 ∙ The Agent

Fri, Nov 30, 1979

Mr. Goldberg, hoping to improve his friends' monetary situations and make a little profit for himself on the side, starts working as a job agent. Unfortunately, things don't go as hoped.

8Season 7

S7.E8 ∙ The Punch and Judy Affair

Wed, Dec 26, 1979

To appease workplace tensions at Grace Brothers after a strike, the department staff decide to put on a puppet show and dinner party for the children of their fellow colleagues.

1Season 8

S8.E1 ∙ Is It Catching?

Thu, Apr 9, 1981

After catching a shellfish-related illness, the Grace Brothers staff are quarantined by Mr. Harmond. Meanwhile young assistant Mr. Spooner replaces Mr. Lucas, and Mr. Grossman replaces Mr. Goldberg, leading to new workplace antics.

2Season 8

S8.E2 ∙ A Personal Problem

Thu, Apr 16, 1981

Poor Captain Peacock. His home life is in shambles, and to make matters even worse, he's convinced Mr. Rumbold, whom Peacock considers "about as romantic as Donald Duck", is having an affair with Mrs. Peacock.

3Season 8

S8.E3 ∙ Front Page Story

Thu, Apr 23, 1981

The executive staff have noticed Mr.Humphries large social network; he knows all the latest gossip and trends and gets on well with everyone. Because of this, he is offered the position of editor in the new Grace Brothers magazine, "What's on in the store" Along with the latest tittle tattle about certain staff members, Mr.Humphries becomes the organizer of the swimsuit show. But when Miss. Brahms refuses to participate, who will represent the ladies intimate apparel?

4Season 8

S8.E4 ∙ Sit Out

Thu, Apr 30, 1981

After Mr. Grace threatens Captain Peacock's career position, Peacock and the department staff decide to strike atop the roof of the department store. A decidedly bad idea, as it proves to be quite dangerous.

5Season 8

S8.E5 ∙ Heir Apparent

Thu, May 7, 1981

A shock revelation is had in Grace Brothers when it is believed that Mr. Humphries is the illegitimate son of Old Mr. Grace.

6Season 8

S8.E6 ∙ Closed Circuit

Thu, May 21, 1981

Ms. Brahms appears in a TV commercial, but she's made to cover up her high-pitched cockney accent with a sophisticated voice stand-in. When a man wants to go on a date with her, has the voice switch ruined Ms. Brahms' chances?

7Season 8

S8.E7 ∙ The Erotic Dreams of Mrs Slocombe

Thu, May 28, 1981

Mrs. Slocombe, who has been a widow for quite a long time, begins to have weird erotic fantasies about Mr. Humphries. Her cranky behavior towards everybody else, including her customers, forces Mr. Rumbold to intervene.

8Season 8

S8.E8 ∙ Roots?

Thu, Dec 24, 1981

For yet another birthday of elderly Mr. Grace, the department staff decide to perform a musical number linked to Mr. Grace's Welsh heritage - until they realize his lineage goes way deeper than that.

1Season 10

S10.E1 ∙ Goodbye Mrs. Slocombe

Mon, Feb 18, 1985

Mrs. Slocombe has been replaced, much to the department's chagrin as her new stand-in is a rude and stuck-up woman. Mrs. Slocombe won't go down without a fight though, and takes on a cleaner's job in the meantime.

2Season 10

S10.E2 ∙ Grounds for Divorce

Mon, Feb 25, 1985

Captain Peacock claims to want a divorce because he's interested in a younger girl, but Mrs. Peacock won't hear of it. Thus, he plans to make his wife jealous by staging an affair in the fitting room.

3Season 10

S10.E3 ∙ The Hold Up

Mon, Mar 4, 1985

After three staff members are held hostage by burglars, it's up to Mrs. Slocombe, Mr. Harmond and Mr. Humphries to save the day - by posing as members of a mafia crime syndicate.

4Season 10

S10.E4 ∙ Gambling Fever

Mon, Mar 11, 1985

After Mr. Harman assures the staff that they will win, they all bet their bonuses on a horse - is it a sure deal, or will they lose everything?

5Season 10

S10.E5 ∙ The Night Club

Mon, Mar 18, 1985

After receiving permission to earn extra money on the floor at night, the department staff decide to start up a nightclub, filming a commercial to get the word out.

6Season 10

S10.E6 ∙ Friends and Neighbours

Mon, Mar 25, 1985

With the high transport fees, the staff have taken drastic measures to get to and from work without going broke. To help with cutting the expense, Mr.Grace has offered small apartments for the staff. With only the basic residence fees, the staff are quite excited about living together. But they'll soon find out that being neighbors has its ups, and downs.

7Season 10

S10.E7 ∙ The Pop Star

Mon, Apr 1, 1985

Mr. Spooner faces the prospect of being sacked, but after a random musical performance he might just have a chance at stardom. With some help from the staff in this final episode, will he be rescued from misfortune?