Saturdays at 9:00 PM

 

The Grace Brothers store must be the most old fashioned department store in the world. It’s hard to do much business when you spend most of your time trying to referee the battles between the people in your women’s and men’s sections. That’s the job facing the pompous Captain Peacock (Frank Thornton) as he tries to keep the peace between the acid-tongued Mrs. Slocombe (Mollie Sugden), her curvaceous assistant Miss Brahms (Wendy Richards) on one side and womanizing Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), the mincing Mr. Humphries (John Inman) and the bumbling Mr. Grainger (Arthur Brough) on the other.

Series 1 • Series 2 • Series 3 • Series 4 • Series 5
Series 6 • Series 7 • Series 8 • Series 9 • Series 10 • Christmas

Episode Descriptions:

#101 Are You Being Served?
The Ladies’ Intimate Apparel Department must share a floor of Grace Brothers department store with the Gentlemen’s Department. In fact, Mr. Grainger is forced to take down his trousers and let Mrs. Slocombe put her knickers there instead.

#102 Dear Sexy Knickers
Mr. Lucas continues his attempts to win the heart (or at least the body) of Miss Brahms, this time through a love letter addressed to “Sexy Knickers”. His attempt at delivery creates even greater problems, however, as Mrs. Slocombe receives the note and assumes it is from Captain Peacock.

#103 Our Figures are Slipping
The staff are concerned about the decrease in sales. Mr. Rumbold decides to hold a staff training session for the departments on Captain Peacock’s floor, but the staff find its timing most unfortunate.

#104 Camping In
The staff must spend the night in Grace Brothers due to a transport strike, camping out in tents on the sales floor. Mrs. Slocombe refuses to share her tent with Miss Brahms, who then won’t leave Captain Peacock’s. Mr. Lucas has great trouble getting his to stay up (which is unusual for him).

#105 His and Hers
A perfume retailer causes agitation among the staff by giving away free ties and knickers with each sale. The sales staff feel she will reduce their sales, but Captain Peacock’s agitation is of an entirely different sort — he immediately attempts to chat her up.

#106 Diamonds are a Man’s Best Friends
A wealthy client loses a valuable diamond in the store. A reward is offered for the missing diamond, but at the same time a shipment of rhinestones is dropped in the store. The staff each finds a rhinestone which they think is the missing diamond.

#201 The Clock
Mr. Grainger fears he will be forcibly retired. At his going-away party, Mr. Grace misunderstands and accepts the clock that is Mr. Grainger’s retirement present from Grace Brothers, and Mr. Grainger continues on in his old position.

#202 Cold Comfort
The staff try to cope with a shortage of heat. Mr. Lucas creates a bewildering array of heating devices, ranging from two hairdryers to aim up one’s pants to a new sales line — Novelty Foot Warmers.

#203 The Think Tank
At Grace Brothers, all eyes are on the bottom line. When sales begin to slip in the Ladies’ Lingerie and Gentlemen’s Ready-Made departments, the staff are asked to pool their ideas for improving sales.

#204 Big Brother
Surveillance cameras are installed at Grace Brothers. Mr. Rumbold begins to carefully watch their every move,. He counts Mrs. Slocombe’s visits to the ladies’ room, observes Miss Brahms adjusting her “stock”, and catches Mr. Lucas smoking.

#205 Hoorah for the Holidays
The staff must suddenly staff try to choose a group holiday package, as the store is being closed for renovations and they are ordered to take vacation. They are shown a selection of slides from a short list of the worst hotels to be found.

#301 The Hand of Fate
Everyone on staff hopes the hand of fate is working for their own particular promotion. Mr. Humphries displays his talent for telling fortunes.

#302 Coffee Morning
The staff protest the monitoring of their breaks and trips to the restroom, in the form of a signing in and out book. A union meeting is convened, and Mr. Grace finally arranges for the coffee to be brought to the staff to avoid them losing their break time in transit to the canteen.

#303 Up Captain Peacock
Captain Peacock, as a reward for his many years of service, gains privileges to the Executive Washroom and Dining Room, to the great consternation of Mr. Grainger. In the Executive Dining Room he is treated to “Le Shepard’s Pie” and an “amusing” little wine.

#304 Cold Store
Seasonal illnesses have most of the staff down. Mr. Lucas first feigns illness to get home to his girl. He next pretends to sprain his ankle, in an act of supreme frustration, but is sent to the hospital by Mr. Grace, spoiling his plans for the day.

#305 Wedding Bells
Mrs. Slocombe is greatly disturbed to learn that she has no say in the garments she sells — namely, knickers with slogans such as “In Case of Emergency, Pull Down”. Young Mr. Grace says he is going to marry one of the staff. Could it be Mrs. Slocombe?

#306 German Week
The staff try to promote the sale of their goods, by dressing up in German fashion. Mrs. Slocombe does her duty in sampling the German wine, gets drunk, and ends up fighting Captain Peacock during their dance.

#307 Shoulder to Shoulder
The ladies’ department temporarily move into the gentlemen’s while their department is remodeled, and tensions run high. No one is more pleased than Mrs. Slocombe when the men learn that they now must move into the ladies’ while their side is redone and she gets her chance at pay back.

#308 New Look
Ever on the look to improve their level of sales, the staff try a Twenties sales theme. The floor promotes the Great Gatsby style, complete with appropriate musical accompaniment.

#401 No Sale
Mr. Rumbold tries an experiment —opening the store earlier in the morning. Sales are good, but the staff are not pleased at having to come in so early. Through a variety of techniques they try not to sell anything to avoid the longer hours.

#402 Top Hat and Tails (“The Lost Episode”)
The staff forms a team to compete in the Grace Brothers ballroom dancing competition, ably led by Mr. Humprhies, who calls upon his theatrical background to train the team. He runs into difficulty, however, when he discovers he does not have an equal number of men and women to pair up. Costumes provided by the dress rental department prove inadequate to solve his dilema, and he soon realizes that only a dummy would volunteer for the job of dancer — and sets out to recruit one!

(Note: This episode was never sold in the U.S. as a part of the original set of 69 Are You Being Served? episodes because the BBC had inadvertently erased its master tape of the program. Recently, however, a copy of this lost episode from the 1976 season was discovered and refurbished.)

#403 Forward Mr. Grainger
Mr. Grainger temporarily takes over Mr. Rumbold’s position, to Captain Peacock’s envy. The staff are no less amazed — they were sure Captain Peacock would get anything going in that office, especially the new secretary.

#404 Fire Practice
A surprise fire drill reveals a horrible lack of organization in the store’s fire procedures. So panic measures are taken to turn the staff into expert escapists, anti-arsonists and paramedics.

#405 Fifty Years On
The staff celebrate Mrs. Slocombe’s birthday. The major task is to confirm her age, which is finally determined by finding the age of her pussy, Tiddles. From the records they decide that she must be turning 50. But is that right?

#406 Oh What A Tangled Web
Captain Peacock appears to be having an affair with Miss Hazlewood, bringing Mrs. Peacock to Grace Brothers with the intention of determining the truth. It all comes out at the board of inquiry after Mr. Grainger is attacked by Miss Hazlewood’s irate father.

#501 Mrs. Slocombe Expects
The staff think Mrs. Slocombe has requested leave in order to have a baby, but they find that the expectant mother is her cat. Denied time off, Mr. Slocombe smuggles Tiddles into work.

#502 A Change Is As Good As A Rest
Mr. Grace likes to play musical chairs with his departments. He orders Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Wear into the toy department where they start slowly but quickly warm to the change.

#503 Founder’s Day
The staff compile a retrospective for Mr. Grace’s 80th birthday. After all, he is the creator of the Grace Brothers enterprise and deserves to be brought into full glory.

#504 The Old Order Changes
The staff dress in mod fashion as a sales gimmick, after Mr. Grave’s visit to the States. Mr. Grace next goes to China and gives them his new sales proposal, described in his Little Red Book.

#505 Takeover
The staff prevent another firm’s hostile takeover of Grace Brothers by impersonating the shareholders. Mr. Harman gives a rousing speech, and Grace Brothers is saved.

#506 Goodbye Mr. Grainger
Mr. Grainger’s temper as become extremely short. The staff, in a private meeting with Mr. Rumbold, decide he must go. However, when he wins the lottery, his bad mood vanishes and he makes his peace with the staff and stays on.

#507 It Pays To Advertise
The staff star in a TV commercial for Grace Brothers, produced by Mr. Humphries. Could Mr. Grace’s cheapness be the reason for using his staff in such fashion?

#601 By Appointment
The staff prepare for a visit by the Queen. The visit is abruptly ended when Mrs. Slocombe accidentally pushes a flower pot out the window, nearly hitting the Royal Couple.

#602 The Club
Young Mr. Grace invites his workers to form a social club in a dismal cellar badly in need of decoration. Undeterred, the staff tackle the paint and paper job with vigor.

#603 Do You Take This Man?
Mrs. Slocombe has fallen for a bouzouki player in a Greek restaurant. When he returns home to his wife, Mrs. Slocombe stages a wedding for her wealthy uncle so she can get the house promised her if she marries a Greek.

#604 Shedding the Load
Sales figures are down; profits are low. Young Mr. Grace is forced to make some economies. The threat of redundancies is looming. Someone is going to have to go — but who is it to be?

#605 A Bliss Girl
A new display of perfume arrives from Bliss, but there is no Bliss Girl to man the counter. Mrs. Slocombe refuses the position, so Mr. Humphries becomes the Bliss Girl for the day.

#606 Happy Returns
It is Young Mr. Grace’s birthday and there is the traditional free lunch for staff in the canteen. Afterwards, the staff plan a much more festive event for the celebration.

#701 The Juniors
Mr. Goldberg is hired as a junior after having recently run his own small tailoring business. To Captain Peacock’s chagrin, the staff learn that Mr. Goldberg had served under the Captain but recalls those army days differently.

#702 Strong Stuff This Insurance
The staff must take physicals to get insurance. Listening through the door of Mr. Grace’s office, they hear Mr. Harman describing the state of the furniture, which they misunderstand as being the results of their physicals.

#703 The Apartment
By permission of Mr. Grace, Mrs. Slocombe moves into a display apartment in Grace Brothers, because her new home is occupied by squatters. Due to a transport strike, Mr. Humphries seeks to join her in her new accommodation.

#704 Mrs. Slocombe, Senior Person
Mrs. Slocombe temporarily takes the place of Mr. Rumbold, who has taken ill. She eats the cream cakes she finds in his office. But she then gets a call from the hospital warning that the ice cream is what made him ill.

#705 The Hero
Captain Peacock is challenged to a boxing match by a member of another department. He backs out, and Mr. ‘Hugger’ Humphries is ‘elected’ to take his place in a wrestling match. He loses that match, but Mrs. Slocombe enters the ring and defeats the challenger.

#706 Anything You Can Do
The standard of the canteen food of Grace Brothers is rapidly going from bad to worse. After confronting the catering workers with their complaints, the staff are told to get on with the food preparation on their on.

#707 The Agent
Mr. Goldberg runs an agency to get the staff better jobs. After Captain Peacock and Mr. Rumbold become aware of this, Mr. Humphries and Mrs. Slocombe are given raises, and decide to stay with the store.

#801 Is It Catching?
The staff contract a strange tropical illness, Marine’s Disease, from Mr. Humphries. They are quarantined in the basement until the disease is past.

#802 A Personal Problem
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.

#803 Front Page Story
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.

#804 Sit Out
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

#805 Heir Apparent
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.

#806 Closed Circuit
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.

#807 The Erotic Dreams of Mrs. Slocombe
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.

#901 The Sweet Smell of Success
Mrs. Slocombe sells her home-made perfume. After a misunderstanding, Mrs. Peacock finds Captain Peacock without his pants (perfume had spilled on them) and the ill-fated trousers in the hands of Mr. Rumbold’s secretary.

#902 Conduct Unbecoming
Mr. Humphries is accused of stealing and his distinguished career could end in disgrace. In a trial, he is found guilty and dismissed, but Mr. Harman finds the missing money in the back of the till from which it was supposedly stolen.

#903 Memories Are Made of This
When the handsome golf pro from Sports comes to the floor for a demonstration, he accidentally hits Mrs. Slocombe. She then thinks she’s a little girl, wrecking havoc on the store as she cavorts around the department.

#904 Calling All Customers
The staff perform a play on CB radio to advertise Grace Brothers. The play results in the store being swamped by truck drivers who are driven off by Mr. Humphries and Mrs. Slocombe.

#905 Monkey Business
Bad news. Grace Brothers may be bought by the Japanese. The staff take their problems to Number Ten, where they contact President Reagan by the phone. Mrs. Thatcher gets fashion tips from Mr. Humphries.

#906 Lost and Found
Mrs. Slocombe’s cat is missing, and in comforting her, Mr. Humphries finds himself entangled more deeply than he would have expected. It appears that he is to be Tiddles’ replacement.

#1001 Goodbye Mrs. Slocombe
Mrs. Slocombe is forcibly retired from her position. Mr. Humphries and Captain Peacock get her job back, but they are retired in the same manner. They end the show as the cleaner and the lift operator.

#1002 Grounds for Divorce
Captain Peacock’s marriage appears to be in trouble. The rest of the staff soon discover that Miss Bagnold is his unwanted paramour.

#1003 The Hold Up
It is closing time when two ruthless criminals enter the scene. What can be done to save the assets of the store? The staff hatch an incredible plan, and it almost works.

#1004 Gambling Fevers
The staff like to bet on horse races. After being caught watching the race in Mr. Rumbold’s office, Mr. Humphries goes to the sports department and mimes the race to the rest of the staff over the security camera.

#1005 The Night Club
The staff film a commercial for a nightclub to the run in the store. The picture is lost when the ad is shown, leaving only the sound, making the nightclub sound like a harem.

#1006 Friends and Neighbors
The staff are offered accommodation on the premises to save time and money on traveling. But they soon find that flatsharing is not altogether a bed of roses.

#1007 The Pop Star
Mr. Spooner’s vocal talents are discovered during the staff show. He is signed by a record company, and the staff appears on TV performing the song when Mr. Spooner loses his voice.

Christmas Specials
1975 Christmas Crackers
The holidays are at hand and the staff dress up to try to boost sales. Mrs. Slocombe dresses as Robin Hood, which explains the funny quiver she has in back. The department is remodeled, and they enjoy their holiday dinner in the canteen.

1976 The Father Christmas Affair
Everyone wants to play Father Christmas after a mechanical version flashes the staff and crushes a small boy. Who will finally be selected to personify the season?

1979 The Punch and Judy Affair
The floor staff enact a life-size Punch and Judy show to try to placate the rest of the Grace Brothers employees, whose picket lines they crossed.

1981 Roots
It is the occasion of Old Mr. Grace’s 90th birthday. The staff attempt to make him a coat of arms, leading to the tracing of his roots.