Grace & Favour

This article is about the sitcom. For the term, see Grace and favour.

Grace & Favour (known as Are You Being Served? Again! in the United States and Canada)^[1] is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on BBC1 from 10 January 1992 to 8 February 1993. It served as a sequel series to Are You Being Served?, and was written by Are You Being Served? creators and writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. The series starred Mollie Sugden, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard and Nicholas Smith reprising their Are You Being Served? roles, and also starred Fleur Bennett, Joanne Heywood and Billy Burden.

Grace & Favour
Also known as	Are You Being Served? Again!
Written by	Jeremy Lloyd David Croft
Directed by	Mike Stephens
Starring	Mollie Sugden Frank Thornton John Inman Wendy Richard Nicholas Smith Fleur Bennett Joanne Heywood Billy Burden
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	12
Production
Producer	Mike Stephens
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC1
Release	10 January 1992 (1992-01-10) – 8 February 1993 (1993-02-08)
Related
Are You Being Served?

Plot

The series begins with the staff of Grace Bros returning to the store to read the will of Young Mr Grace, the former head of the department store, recently deceased while scuba diving on holiday in the Caribbean with his personal secretary, Miss Jessica Lovelock. Young Mr Grace had invested their pension funds in a multitude of antiquated businesses, the largest of which is a country manor house called Millstone Manor. The will stipulates that they cannot sell the house and split the profits, but can use the property in the manner of their choosing.

After a trip to Millstone Manor to view the property, the staff discover that Mr Rumbold has caused the Millstone Manor staff to leave, due to his excellent managerial skills, and that Miss Lovelock, given accommodation in the grooms' quarters and charge of the horses, also lives at the manor. In addition, the staff learn that their pensions are minuscule. As a result, the staff decide to live in the manor in order to run it as an inn and live off the proceeds.

Meanwhile, Mr Humphries is forced by circumstance to share a bed with Mavis, the daughter of the manor's farmer, and finds that she develops a crush on him. Mrs Slocombe discovers that the manor's uncouth farmer, Maurice Moulterd, is a former lover from the war years, and tries to insist that the relationship never happened, while Captain Peacock is keen to pursue a relationship with Miss Lovelock, despite their difference in age.

Cast

Audio samples of Grace & Favour (media help)

Main

The cast of Grace & Favour (left to right): Frank Thornton (Captain Peacock), Mollie Sugden (Mrs Slocombe), John Inman (Mr Humphries), Wendy Richard (Miss Brahms), Nicholas Smith (Mr Rumbold).

• Mollie Sugden as Mrs Betty Slocombe
• John Inman as Mr Wilberforce Clayborne Humphries
• Wendy Richard as Miss Shirley Brahms
• Frank Thornton as Captain Stephen Peacock
• Nicholas Smith as Mr Cuthbert Rumbold
• Fleur Bennett as Mavis Moulterd
• Joanne Heywood as Jessica Lovelock
• Billy Burden as Maurice Moulterd

Recurring

• Michael Bilton as Mr Thorpe
• Shirley Cheriton as Miss Prescott
• Gregory Cox as Mr Frobisher
• Andrew Barclay as Malcolm Heathcliff
• Diane Holland as Celia Littlewood
• Andy Joseph as Joseph Lee
• Eric Dodson as Sir Robert
• Maggie Holland as Mrs Cleghampton

Episodes

Series 1 (1992)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original release date
1	1	"The Inheritance"	10 January 1992 (1992-01-10)
Young Mr Grace has died and Grace Bros has closed down. On behalf of the pension fund, Mr Grace acquired a Tudor manor house with farm which at the moment is being run as a country house hotel. Being the only source of pension money for the retired staff, they all decide to visit for the weekend to investigate its possibilities.
2	2	"Under Arrest"	17 January 1992 (1992-01-17)
The staff decide to take over Millstone Manor and run it for themselves. The home farm, run by Maurice Moulterd and his daughter Mavis, provides fresh eggs for breakfast, but Mrs Slocombe gets a shock whilst collecting them. Mr Humphries and Mavis "to and fro" in the woodshed.
3	3	"The Court Case"	24 January 1992 (1992-01-24)
Mrs Slocombe finds herself in court, charged with stealing a gypsy cart. Captain Peacock and the others travel to town on the back of Moulterd's pig cart. Once in court the staff come forward as character witnesses.
4	4	"Looking for Staff"	31 January 1992 (1992-01-31)
A group of American tourists, the hotel's first guests, are due to arrive at the weekend but there are still very few replies to Mr Rumbold's advertisement for staff. The only alternative is for them all to knuckle down and try to make the place presentable.
5	5	"Things That Go Bump in the Night"	7 February 1992 (1992-02-07)
A photograph is organised for the hotel brochure. The staff decide to fill the vacant positions at the Manor themselves. Something ghastly (with a bald head and big ears) walks about the manor on a dark and stormy night.
6	6	"American Tourists"	14 February 1992 (1992-02-14)
A group of American tourists arrive for the weekend as part of their European tour. The former shop workers do their best, but the Americans are expecting a church service and the traditional Harvest Thanksgiving dance.

Series 2 (1993)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original release date
7	1	"The Gun"	4 January 1993 (1993-01-04)
Mrs Slocombe's cat, Tiddles, gets gummed up. A gun discovered by Captain Peacock brings the riot police to Millstone Manor where the criminal records of such notorious characters as "Knuckles Rumbold" are revealed.
8	2	"The Cricket Match"	11 January 1993 (1993-01-11)
The staff organize a cricket match against the townspeople. The match is marred by the jealousy of Malcolm Heathcliff, who sees Mr Humphries as a rival for Mavis's affections. The highlights of the match are a fantastic dive by Mrs Slocombe and a winning stroke by Mr Humphries.
9	3	"Mr Slocombe"	18 January 1993 (1993-01-18)
Mrs Slocombe's long-lost husband pays an unexpected visit after an absence of 42 years, forcing Mrs Slocombe into hiding. When the staff find that he intends to purchase the hotel, they temporarily expand the staff to make the idea seem unprofitable.
10	4	"A Mummified Cat"	25 January 1993 (1993-01-25)
Mr Rumbold, Mrs Slocombe, Mr Humphries and Miss Brahms plant potatoes. Captain Peacock removes a petrified cat from a niche in the attic, precipitating a series of supernatural events.
11	5	"The Darts Match"	1 February 1993 (1993-02-01)
After Mr Rumbold complains that he gets no respect, the staff vote to share authority democratically. The staff play darts against the local team at the village pub. Captain Peacock leads a commando raid to rescue a flock of sheep, when the staff, expecting them to be breeding stock, discovers that the man they sold the sheep to, plans to sell them to the knackers.
12	6	"The Mongolians"	8 February 1993 (1993-02-08)
A Mongolian tour group gets a cultural extravaganza from the staff at Millstone Manor. The high point of their visit occurs on the presentation of the ballet by Mr "Sergei" Humphries and Miss "Natasha" Lovelock.

Production

Background

The idea of a spin-off was suggested by the cast of Are You Being Served? almost immediately after the original series had ended in 1985. Writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft liked the idea, but they agreed, along with the cast, that the department store format was exhausted and that any spin-off would require a change of location. Despite the enthusiasm of the original cast, it was almost seven years before Lloyd and Croft brought them back to television.^[1] Most of the original cast were able to return easily,^[2] with the exception of Wendy Richard, who had since joined the soap EastEnders; she requested permission to be temporarily written out of that programme so she could reprise her role of Miss Brahms.^[2][3]

The series aired a few months after the death of British publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, who was revealed to have borrowed heavily against his own employees' pensions, in a similar vein to what Young Mr Grace does in the series.^[1][4] The first episode of Series 2, "The Gun", contains a number of satirical references to the wrongful conviction and hanging of Derek Bentley for the murder of a policeman. The case revolved around the issue of whether Bentley's words "Let him have it, Chris" to his associate Christopher Craig were meant literally ("Let him have the gun") or figuratively ("Open fire!").^[5] The case had been widely publicised and was the subject of a film titled Let Him Have It starring Christopher Eccleston,^[6] that was released in October 1991, three months before "The Gun" was broadcast.^[7]

Grace & Favour is different from Are You Being Served? in that it involves a continuous story arc, with certain plot elements, such as the relationship between Mr Humphries and Mavis Moulterd, unfolding throughout each episode. This in turn allowed the series to involve more complex storylines and subplots, making it possible to include returning guest stars and location shooting, neither of which was done on Are You Being Served?.

The title of the series is a double play on words. A "grace and favour" is a home or other property owned by a monarch, government or other owner, but given to the use of a faithful retainer upon retirement, as with the retired characters in the series.^[8] "Grace" is the surname of the founder and owner of Grace Brothers (the fictional department store where the characters had previously worked) who had also been the previous owner of Millstone Manor.^[2][9]

Casting

The main cast included the five actors and characters who had appeared in every episode of Are You Being Served?: John Inman (Mr Humphries), Mollie Sugden (Mrs Slocombe), Frank Thornton (Captain Peacock), Wendy Richard (Miss Brahms) and Nicholas Smith (Mr Rumbold).^[10] Several new recurring characters were added to the show. Joanne Heywood as Miss Lovelock, Billy Burden as farmer Maurice Moulterd, and Fleur Bennett as his daughter, Mavis, appeared in all twelve episodes. Michael Bilton, as Mr Grace's solicitor, Mr Thorpe, and his assistant, Miss Prescott, played by Shirley Cheriton, also played key roles in both series.

Of the other surviving Are You Being Served? cast members who had either left or joined the cast during the programme’s run, only Trevor Bannister (Mr Lucas) was reportedly asked to join Grace & Favour, but declined.

Mike Berry, who had portrayed Mr Spooner for the last three series of Are You Being Served?, was not asked to appear in the sequel series, though stated that he would have if he was asked.^[2] Berry recalled that Arthur English, who portrayed Mr Harman, was retired by that stage, and therefore was in "no position to return".^[2]

Filming

Chavenage House, where most of the series was filmed.

All external filming for the series was undertaken in and around Tetbury in Gloucestershire. Primary filming was at Chavenage House, which was used for Millstone Manor, just outside Tetbury.^[11][12]

Cancellation

In a 1993 interview on American television, Inman recalled that "the BBC axed it in their wisdom, and it was a case of 'No, we're not doing anymore'". Inman was "a bit distressed" by the series' cancellation, because Lloyd had approached him and explained the storyline for the third series, in which a wedding was to be arranged for Mr Humphries and Mavis Moutlerd, whereby Inman would portray Mr Humphries's mother in a dual role (as he had done in the original series). Mavis would instead choose to run off with a village boy; Mr Humphries would be heartbroken, falling into Mrs Slocombe's arms, much to her delight.^[2] Heywood stated that, when news had reached that the series had been cancelled, it "hit the original cast members even harder than us newer characters", resulting in the cast members "los[ing] touch" with each other.^[2] The series was the last written by Lloyd and Croft together.^[13]

International broadcasts

In the United States, the series was broadcast on PBS member stations as Are You Being Served? Again! in 1992.^[2][3] The first series was broadcast on WNEO from 13 July to 20 July 1992 at 11:00 pm, each weeknight; the whole six episodes were screened via television marathon on 18 July, from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm.^[14]

In a documentary included with the Are You Being Served? DVD box set, John Inman stated that he preferred the American title, and believed the programme may have performed better if that title had been used in the UK.

In Australia, both series were broadcast consecutively from January to April 1994, airing at 8:00 pm on CTC and Network Ten, after a repeat episode of Are You Being Served?.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Home media releases

The series, under the title Are You Being Served? Again!, was first released in the United States on 7 September 2004 by BBC Warner.^[19] It was later released in Australia by Roadshow Entertainment on 14 May 2009, under the Grace & Favour title.^[20] The series was subsequently released for the first time in the United Kingdom on 23 May 2016 by Eureka Entertainment.^[21]