1 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:27,360 What do Mollie Sugden, Joanna Lumley, EastEnders and the Munich Olympics have in common? 2 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,880 Guessed it? 3 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,920 # ..Perfumery, Stationery and Leather Goods... # 4 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,440 Yes. The answer is Are You Being Served? 5 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:43,400 We're off on a journey through 40 years of comedy - 6 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:48,280 charting the careers of the best of the golden age of sitcom. 7 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,320 From Hancock's Half Hour to 'Allo 'Allo and beyond. 8 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,920 Are You Being Served was born when, in 1969, 9 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:04,760 BBC comedy producer David Croft met fellow writer Jeremy Lloyd for the first time. 10 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:11,640 Our story begins when Lloyd was known for playing chinless toffs on an American comedy show. 11 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,720 # Here comes the Judge Here comes the Judge 12 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,240 # Order in the courtroom Here comes the Judge. # 13 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,760 Dan Rowan and...Dick Martin. 14 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:28,280 After Rowan And Martin's Laugh-in, Lloyd fell in love with an English rose and said goodbye to America. 15 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,960 Really I think what persuaded me to write Are You Being Served? 16 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,480 was Joanna Lumley, my friend and ex-wife, said, 17 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,000 "You've run out of money, you've come back from America. 18 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,960 "Why not write about something you really know about? 19 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:49,000 "How about your time at Simpson's in Piccadilly?" 20 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,200 Meanwhile, David Croft was producing a show 21 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,560 as influential in Britain as Laugh-in was in America. 22 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,080 I am wearing a toupee. 23 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,960 A wig, if that makes it any clearer. 24 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:12,440 So if any of you want a good laugh, at my expense, now's your chance. 25 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,960 Cos I'm going to show it to you. 26 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,480 While Dad's Army was going from strength to strength, 27 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,040 It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes, Darling needed expert help. 28 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,560 David Croft worked on the scripts and met Jeremy Lloyd, 29 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,560 appearing with wife Joanna Lumley. 30 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:41,600 The Croft and Lloyd partnership was to last longer than the marriage. 31 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,600 I think, while we were doing that, 32 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,920 he told me of a show in a department store. 33 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:53,200 In fact, he had written it as a gentleman's department 34 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,240 because he had experience of that. 35 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:00,560 I thought it'd be fun for them to share the department, 36 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:05,160 so there was conflict, and Are You Being Served? was born. 37 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,360 The pilot script was written in three days. 38 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,280 For Jeremy, it was easier than measuring inside legs for a living, 39 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,080 though not always as pleasurable. 40 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:21,640 - The lift operator should be here to help us move. - Never mind! Come along. 41 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,800 - Oh, Miss Brahms! - What? - Pull your skirt down! 42 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:34,760 Some of them were at Simpson's, yes. The Captain Peacocks were there. 43 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,640 Mrs Slocombes were in a department. 44 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:43,520 Slightly more upmarket Mrs Slocombes but the same. Mr Humphries was there. 45 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,120 Croft and Lloyd found their perfect Captain Peacock 46 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:51,960 in an actor displaying his tail feathers in Steptoe And Son 47 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,240 and Hancock's most famous half hour. 48 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,160 - Do you come here often? - This is my 12th time. 49 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,280 There's no need to boast! 50 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,720 - How much did you give to the Arab refugees? - Oh, really! 51 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,760 Come on. You're shouting about how much blood you've given. 52 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,240 - How much did you give to refugees? - I gave £5. 53 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,240 Oh, well, there you are. I mean... 54 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,160 'I was known as a useful type, you know. 55 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,440 'I'd do one episode of that.' 56 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,240 I didn't make a fortune but worked regularly - 57 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,760 supporting my wife and daughter. 58 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:34,920 But then, Are You Being Served? came along. 59 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:40,600 Suddenly Frank Thornton disappears and there's Captain Peacock. 60 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,240 I'm afraid the whole occasion just...overcame us. 61 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,480 Can we have a little more decorum, please? 62 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:55,800 In 1962, David Croft's first comedy caper was Hugh And I, with Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd. 63 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,320 The girl in the crash helmet 64 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,960 would soon own the most famous pussy in comedy. 65 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,920 - We're going to the coast. - Brighton? 66 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,120 Nothing so common. 67 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,160 Hove. 68 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:14,240 I thought Mollie'd be marvellous as the frosty lady behind the counter. 69 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,120 People come in for that reason - 70 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,200 you know them and they'll make a great job of it. 71 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:27,200 He said, "Oh, there's something we've written with you in mind." 72 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:29,720 I said, "Ooh, what is it?" He said, 73 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,240 "You'll know. You'll get the script quite soon." 74 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,200 In about two weeks I got Are You Being Served? 75 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:44,560 From the DM stroke CR to FW stroke L&GD stroke SP, RE: T. 76 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,240 Captain Peacock? What language are you speaking? 77 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,560 After the old battleaxe, the handsome hunk. 78 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,080 Rummaging around in the ITV hit The Dustbinmen, 79 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,160 Croft got his hands on Trevor Bannister. 80 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,240 - Hey, Mam! - What? - The Dustbinmen! 81 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:08,760 It was enormously popular - 21.5 million viewers on its first episode 82 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,280 and maintained that for 21 episodes. 83 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:17,040 Never been done before or since. It's in the Guinness Book Of Records. 84 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,880 I'm like Winston Churchill, you see. 85 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,400 Naturally brilliant, but no good at exams. 86 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,920 Or, to put it another way... 87 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:31,560 - I'm just ignorant. - Mr Breathing, I don't care about ignorance. 88 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,360 Give us a bit of pigging bliss! 89 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,840 I went down to the famous Gerry's club, which is where all of us go, 90 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:44,920 and I bumped into a man called David Croft whom I'd not met before. 91 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:51,120 He said, "I'm glad I've met you. I have a script for a pilot and I want you to do it." 92 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,640 I said, "Oh, well. Great, fine." 93 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,120 I read it and, er...thought it very amusing. 94 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,600 Croft added little-known actors Nicholas Smith, 95 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,400 John Inman and Wendy Richard to make the gang complete. 96 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:11,080 The pilot was recorded and they waited for Are You Being Served? to debut in the Comedy Playhouse. 97 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,200 If the ratings were good, and the management liked it, it was on. 98 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,720 The BBC didn't like the pilot. 99 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,400 They disliked it so much, that when the series of short plays 100 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:28,080 called Comedy Playhouse was on, they didn't show it. 101 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:33,360 And then they had a disaster at the Olympic Games in Munich, 102 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,360 where there was a terrible tragedy. 103 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,280 They suddenly had blank screens, they needed something, 104 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,680 and somebody reached for the nearest show - Are You Being Served? 105 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:51,280 They put it on, 19 million people saw it and sufficient numbers of them absolutely loved it. 106 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,160 And we took off from that. 107 00:07:55,160 --> 00:08:00,440 It got such a reaction, they said, "We'll book this one for a series." 108 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,800 And that was it. 109 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,280 But that wasn't quite it. 110 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:10,000 The BBC were unsure about giving Grace Brothers their custom. 111 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,320 One of the staff was causing a problem. 112 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,560 - Camping! - I beg your pardon... 113 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,000 Bill Cotton, running the BBC, said, 114 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,320 "The show's wonderful, get rid of the poof." 115 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,840 And I thought, which one's that? "John Inman." 116 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:31,360 I said, "He's a sissy. He's a bit of a mother's boy and he walks funny." 117 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:36,120 But it never occurred to me that he was overtly a homosexual. 118 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,000 I said, "Bill, there's no show without a poof. It's vital." 119 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:52,680 And David is reputed to have said, "Well, if the poof goes, I go!" 120 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:55,480 The poof stayed. 121 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,520 The poof stayed, Are You Being Served? opened for business 122 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:04,120 and audiences flocked to it like the first day of the Harrods sale. 123 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:10,600 There was no honeymoon period before we really got up and running on the first series after the pilot. 124 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:16,360 Sometimes you get a mix of actors and it might take them two series, 125 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,880 even longer when you've got a largish cast, 126 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,920 for them to really know each other, to trust each other. 127 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,800 And...that wasn't the case with us. 128 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:32,240 - Morning Mrs Slocombe, Miss Brahms. - Captain Peacock. - One minute late. 129 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:38,880 You're lucky to have me at all, Captain Peacock. I had to thaw me pussy out before I came. 130 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:44,560 When they came to a scene they knew how to work on it, to rehearse it, 131 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:47,000 where the laughs were, timing. 132 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,160 It took 70 million years to build resources of coal and oil. 133 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:56,840 - In the space of 70 short years, man has ravished them. - Typical of men! 134 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,400 The fact is, we cannot get enough. 135 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,680 BOTH: True. 136 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:07,640 They knew how to play an audience and hear the reaction 137 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:12,080 and it's a great art. They were absolute masters at it. 138 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:17,120 Keeping men interested in shopping was Wendy Richard as Miss Brahms. 139 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,720 Leggy, lippy - a saucy seaside postcard come to life. 140 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,600 You've got a problem there. 141 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:29,040 - Well, you men should know. - We haven't got the same problem. 142 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:33,560 I remember at work saying something about, "I'm the sex symbol" 143 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,040 and John Inman said, "No, it's me." 144 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:40,800 And I believed him. But, if you saw the fan mail and stuff I got... 145 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,320 I was so thick - Wendy, not Miss Brahms - 146 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:50,640 that I didn't realise, you know, to a load of Americans and other chaps, 147 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,160 Miss Brahms really was quite a sex symbol. 148 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,680 And I never realised. 149 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:02,400 Wendy had previously been in ITV's Please Sir! and On The Buses 150 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:07,040 and was also the first Essex girl in ancient Rome. 151 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,920 Soppia! Please! Leave him alone, the young master. 152 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:16,200 I know where he hasn't been. Now, find your straws and get out. 153 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:20,920 - I've still got them on. - Straws, not drawers! 154 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,400 Ooh, she is common! She really is. 155 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,880 - Oh, you mean those straws. - Straws, yes. Come on, then. 156 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,760 - Here you are. Having another raffle? - What? - Raffle. - Yes. 157 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:38,200 This time you aren't the prize! Oh, dear, poor soul. 158 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,120 What a weight to carry all day. 159 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:47,600 Wendy had also appeared in Dad's Army and The Likely Lads. 160 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:52,560 Her earliest link with Croft was an episode of Hugh And I, now lost. 161 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:57,160 It began her comedy partnership with Mollie Sugden. 162 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:02,200 I think it was probably one of her first jobs. She was very young. 163 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:06,560 And, er...so we had a little basis to start with. 164 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:10,960 She was wonderful to be behind the counter with. 165 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,880 We spent a lot of time behind that counter. 166 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:21,440 Mostly, if you're not doing a scene on television, you just go away and chat. 167 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,880 You couldn't in Are You Being Served?, 168 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:29,640 because there was a chance they would see you in the background. 169 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:36,360 You had to be behind the counter. I can't think of anyone I'd rather be behind a counter with than Wendy. 170 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:41,680 She was so interesting, and fascinating, and, er...great fun. 171 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:47,480 So...and there was a slight mother and daughter feeling about it. 172 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,000 There still is a bit. 173 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,840 I-I still...worry about her and... 174 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,880 ..want the best for her. 175 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:02,920 By the third series the show had entered the national consciousness 176 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,440 and workplaces would ring with, "I'm free!" 177 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:12,080 Everyone had a favourite. A number rooted for big-ears in the office. 178 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,520 - Everything down, Miss Ainsworth? - I've taken it down. 179 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,560 "Knock, knock. I believe you wanted a word. 180 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:22,080 "I've been waiting, Mr Grainger. 181 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,600 "Do you recognise this book? 182 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:29,320 "Yes. Take everything down, Miss Ainsworth. I've taken it down." 183 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,200 Don't put down what YOU say! 184 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:38,520 - Shall I put that down? - No! Let's start again. 185 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:43,680 The thing about Rumbold, I read the first script and thought, he's an eager idiot. 186 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:47,680 He misunderstands everything. He's also devious. 187 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:54,720 Like many of the cast, Nicholas Smith was no stranger to comedy when David Croft came calling. 188 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:59,760 He'd been in Doctor In The House, Up Pompeii and The Liver Birds 189 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:05,520 and had perfect preparation for Rumbold on The Frost Report. 190 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:12,080 The council has decided to advance a grant to improve your property. 191 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:16,960 You're going to have a row of pylons across your vegetable patch. 192 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:23,680 He thought hard about Are You Being Served? So pin your ears back for Mr Rumbold's theory of comedy. 193 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,840 It's extremely difficult, I think, in modern society 194 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:32,360 to write comedy either for theatre or television or films, 195 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:38,200 because most comedy is based on there being rules you can't break. 196 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,920 I think I should tell you, Sir, we're not doing the dance. 197 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,200 - But you've got to. - The answer is no. 198 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:51,320 You've got to find a situation where there are rules. 199 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:55,840 If I topple, I'll drag you with me. You get nowhere without a reference. 200 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,480 - The men are behind me, Sir. - True. 201 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:05,640 Nicholas is right. Take away the funny costumes and Bavarian Oompah band 202 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:11,360 and Are You Being Served? Is a comedy of manners in an institution. 203 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:16,200 Add some catchphrases and pussy jokes...and fame awaits. 204 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,880 I was decorating my bathroom. 205 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,680 Er...when it first happened and... 206 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:29,200 I went for some thinners, for some turpentine, to Woolworth's in Portobello Road. 207 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,720 I lived in Notting Hill Gate, then. 208 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,760 I was attacked by several ladies with prams screaming, 209 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:41,280 "There he is!" It went in a phase. It was, that's him from the shop, 210 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,280 that's Mr Humphries and then, thank God, it went to - 211 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:47,800 Ooh, look, there's John Inman. 212 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:53,080 It was a great success and at one time we had over 20 million viewers. 213 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:57,920 When it's on now there are younger viewers who enjoy it. 214 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:05,360 By 1977, Are You Being Served? was so successful that the obligatory movie of the hit series was made. 215 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:11,960 The comedy connections start shooting off in all directions as the stars get their own shows. 216 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:17,000 John Inman was lured to ITV with his own show and new character. 217 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,520 Well, sort of. 218 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,000 And THIS is what I want. 219 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,520 Hundreds on the assembly line. We must keep the wheels 220 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:31,720 of this rock factory turning faster than ever! 221 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,680 Turn the wheel and let's get cracking! 222 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,520 Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft 223 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:48,160 gave Mollie Sugden a star vehicle that sent her into space. 224 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:54,200 Do you know, I still get letters saying, when will you do more? 225 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:58,760 At my age! Can you imagine me floating about on a wire now? 226 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:12,320 Come Back Mrs Noah was a good idea which David Croft had about, um... 227 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,360 using, um...Mollie Sugden, basically, 228 00:17:15,360 --> 00:17:20,880 as a lady that won an atomic kettle in the year 2035 229 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,600 and went to the British space station to investigate it, 230 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:29,640 pressed a button and it took off with a bulb changer, two scientists 231 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,920 and somebody else who couldn't do anything. 232 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:37,760 We had great effects but only six shows cos the BBC didn't like it. 233 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,560 - But of a shock to you, Mrs Noah. - It's a bit of a shock to all of us. 234 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,640 I should think so - I've left a chicken in the oven! 235 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:51,200 Come Back Mrs Noah shows Croft's unofficial repertory company. 236 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,920 Ian Lavender from Dad's Army was the man in the specs. 237 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:59,320 Co-stars Michael Knowles and Donald Hewlett were in Dad's Army, 238 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,680 Are You Being Served? and in the 1988 comedy, You Rang M'Lord? 239 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:09,200 They're best remembered as Ashwood and Reynolds in Croft's next hit. 240 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,720 Teaming up with Jimmy Perry, 241 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:16,680 It Ain't Half Hot Mum combined a forces setting with social comedy 242 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,240 and gave us class warfare in the jungle. 243 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,320 SHUT UP! 244 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,280 The Army has its own hierarchy 245 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,560 and everybody knows what it is. 246 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,480 Is that the only hat you've got, Gunner? 247 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,880 Yes, Sergeant Major. It's MO's orders. 248 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:39,800 It protects me head from the sun. I've got very thin skull bones. 249 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:45,040 - Well, you know why that is, don't you? - No. - You've got a huge brain. 250 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,760 It's rubbing inside and wearing your head out. 251 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:53,880 When you're on location and you have a lot of extras on the show, 252 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:58,720 er...you find that the private extras gather in one section 253 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:04,400 and the officers gather in another section... They're all extras! 254 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,800 They sort of associate with their own rank. 255 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,160 I say! These are working men's caps. 256 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:17,120 I was in India, um...and Malaya 257 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:23,160 and my partner Jimmy Perry ran a concert party for the royal artillery in India. 258 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,320 - It was second nature. - Any complaints? 259 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:31,120 - If I may say so - the diet is very monotonous. - Monotonous? 260 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:36,560 Monday you had corned beef hash, Tuesday corned beef fritters. 261 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,080 What's monotonous? 262 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:45,640 - Not bad, Sir. The only trouble is they get the same thing every day. - It's as bad for us. 263 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:47,920 I'm fed up with chicken. 264 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:52,320 'Jimmy and David would observe people's mannerisms.' 265 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:57,720 I remember an incident in Ain't Half Hot when Donald was in the Navy, 266 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,400 during the war, and was chatting at my desk. 267 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:08,480 He said, "I was in the Navy. I did training - the worst two weeks of my life before I was commissioned." 268 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,320 A few weeks later, this was in the script. 269 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:19,400 - When I was in ranks the food was uneatable - worst two weeks of my life. - Carry on! 270 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:24,560 With material that close to hand, no wonder the hits kept coming. 271 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,160 David Croft moved into the '80s with Oh, Happy Band and Hi De Hi. 272 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:33,200 A kind of It Ain't Half Cold Mum in a holiday camp. 273 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,240 Meanwhile, his protegee Mollie Sugden 274 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:40,640 was larger than life in That's My Boy, which ran for six series - 275 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,920 five more than John Inman's Take A Letter, Mr Jones. 276 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,960 That was lucky because he was free to go down under 277 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:53,080 and remake Are You Being Served? which couldn't live without him. 278 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:58,640 The excuse was made that they couldn't find anybody camp enough. 279 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,720 But, when I got there, that was totally untrue. 280 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,920 Welcome, Mr Humphries. I'm Mr Dunkley I'm very proud of my floor. 281 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,640 You've got a nice shine. What polish do you use? 282 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:16,960 I wasted a lot of videotape because I couldn't remember their names. 283 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:21,000 Having done so many episodes with Slocombe and Peacock, 284 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,560 it was difficult to remember Crawford and Wagstaff. 285 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:31,600 - Mrs Crawford and Miss Buxton, her junior. - May I say how pleased we are and I am unanimous in this 286 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,080 and that goes for my assistant. 287 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:40,320 Mr Bankovitch will be over you and Mr Randall will be under you. 288 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,840 Just like being at home! 289 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:49,760 At home, audiences hadn't taken to Oh, Happy Band but Hi De Hi, with its nostalgic setting, 290 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:53,800 and familiar characters, became a ratings smash. 291 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,840 # ..Off we go again... # 292 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:03,600 I used to produce shows at Butlin's and Jimmy Perry was a redcoat. 293 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,800 We knew all about the Butlin world 294 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,000 and the structure of holiday camps. 295 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,560 # Be sincere 296 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:19,480 # In everything you do 297 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:27,000 # Be sincere Is all I ask of you. # 298 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,680 It was a world we knew well 299 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,320 and we depicted it, I think. 300 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:39,360 HI DE HI-I-I-I! 301 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:47,280 So, between 1968 and 1982, David Croft and collaborators Jimmy Perry and Jeremy Lloyd 302 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:51,280 had created Dad's Army, Are You Being Served?, 303 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,640 It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi De Hi. 304 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:59,600 That's four more sitcoms than most people manage in an entire career. 305 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,600 But the question was, what next? 306 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:09,320 We finished Are You Being Served? then we decided we'd write something sort of Upstairs Downstairs, 307 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:16,360 and we had two days on that and we were just doing the downstairs part and I wasn't enjoying it. 308 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:18,800 Either something's going or not. 309 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,840 So I lay under the table to have a think and thought, 310 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:29,880 what about the French Resistance? I phoned and he was in bed. I said, "I'm not enjoying what we're doing. 311 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,640 "What about the French Resistance?" 312 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,160 Oh, Rene! 313 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,960 - Oh, Yvette! - At last we are alone! 314 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,640 Hold me! Kiss me! 315 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,920 Oh! 316 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:46,320 It seems so very long. 317 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,640 What does? 318 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:53,560 It seemed an ideal setting because there was danger, excitement, er... 319 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:58,960 seduction. You know, generals to find out what the plans were, etc. 320 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:06,040 Um...hiding people. The central thing is a cafe everyone comes to. The perfect set, really. 321 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,320 - Good moaning. - You stupid woman! 322 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,960 When we had the best of any pair or threesome, in any scene, 323 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,840 we could cut elsewhere quickly. 324 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:21,520 - Listen very carefully - I shall say this only once. - Heil Hitler! - Club! 325 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:27,560 - It has great pace. - You will put it in 'ere and clip it to a pigeon. 326 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:31,800 You, Rene, will write about the uniforms we require. 327 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,360 Here is the paper supplied with the cylinder. 328 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:38,040 - What shall I say? - To London, 329 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,760 please supply urgently, by parachute 330 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,360 drop at your earliest convenience, 331 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:45,640 German uniforms as follows... 332 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:52,280 With 'Allo 'Allo, Croft and Lloyd perfected the style of comedy they first used on Are You Being Served? 333 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,800 Find a situation full of conflict, 334 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:59,840 fill with strong characters and add catchphrases and gags. 335 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:04,440 Make it nostalgic and satirical at the same time - et voila! 336 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:09,480 The partnership couldn't end without those who brought it together. 337 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:13,680 In 1992, they took Grace Brothers away from the shop floor 338 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,200 and gave them a country hotel. 339 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:20,240 In Grace And Favour we actually went on location. 340 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,960 Lovely locations in the Cotswolds, 341 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,640 on a farm. It was... It was great fun. 342 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,800 There's a rumour that you weren't on your own last night. 343 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,840 I wonder where that came from! 344 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,440 Well, don't look at me! 345 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:42,200 Do you know? I don't feel like breakfast. I'll go for a manly walk. 346 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,320 I might pop into the village and buy a pipe... 347 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,440 - DEEP VOICE: - ..and a couple of ounces of St Bruno. 348 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,960 In my opinion it should never have been called Grace And Favour. 349 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:03,120 It should be, as it is in America, Are You Being Served Again? 350 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:10,200 Some of the others didn't like it so much because we lost this hierarchical thing we had before. 351 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,240 I said to Jeremy, when we did the second series, 352 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:19,280 "I think it ought to be emphasised Rumbold is managing the hotel. 353 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:25,760 "Thus, we can produce friction." And he said, "I think you're right." I think that's what happened. 354 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:31,600 In 1995, David Croft OBE produced one last series for the BBC 355 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:38,320 and marked the privatisation of the railways by taking a swipe at the industry in Oh, Dr Beeching! 356 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,840 But like the age of steam, 357 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,720 it looked like Croft's style of comedy had run out of puff. 358 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,760 On the train! 359 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:52,160 Lots of us are all part of David Croft's repertory company. 360 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:56,960 In fact, years ago, on David's This Is Your Life, I sat with Mollie 361 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:03,320 and we had tears in our eyes because we're very proud of David, apart from being fond of him. 362 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:08,360 I looked at everyone and I thought, "He's made stars of all of you." 363 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:12,240 With hindsight, how fortunate to be in that period 364 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,680 of great comedies and to be part of them. 365 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:21,920 It's belonging to a fellowship, I suppose, that I don't think will be repeated. 366 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,560 That was a golden vein, no longer there. 367 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,880 For many of us they'll always be ready to serve, 368 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,600 in a store that will be forever England. 369 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:41,760 This gentleman is going to a fancy dress do and wishes to use the gent's facilities to try it on. 370 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,320 The gentleman's department will be suitable. 371 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,160 - This way, please. - Thank you. 372 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:50,920 Mr Grainger, are you free? 373 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:56,720 Sorry, Captain Peacock - I'm going to have my coffee in the staff cafe. 374 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,400 Mr Humphries, are you free? 375 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,720 I'm busy pricing ties, Captain. 376 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,880 - The gentleman wishes to try on a dress. - I'm free!