Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served?
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Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Jeremy Lloyd David Croft
Written by	Jeremy Lloyd David Croft Michael Knowles John Chapman Derren Litten (2016)
Directed by	David Croft Bernard Thompson Harold Snoad Ray Butt Gordon Elsbury John Kilby Martin Shardlow
Starring	Mollie Sugden Trevor Bannister Frank Thornton John Inman Wendy Richard Arthur Brough Nicholas Smith Larry Martyn Harold Bennett Arthur English James Hayter Penny Irving Vivienne Johnson Alfie Bass Mike Berry Kenneth Waller Candy Davis Moira Foot Benny Lee Milo Sperber
Theme music composer	Ronnie Hazlehurst
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	10
No. of episodes	70 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	David Croft
Producers	David Croft Harold Snoad Bob Spiers Martin Shardlow
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC1
Release	8 September 1972 (1972-09-08) – 1 April 1985 (1985-04-01)
Related
Comedy Playhouse Are You Being Served? Are You Being Served? Beane's of Boston Grace & Favour
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Are You Being Served? is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft, who also served as executive producer and director, and Jeremy Lloyd. Michael Knowles and John Chapman also wrote certain episodes. Produced by the BBC,^[1] the series starred Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett and Arthur English.

Set in London, the show follows the misadventures and mishaps of the staff and their regular rotating series of customers at the retail ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments in the flagship department store of a fictional chain called Grace Brothers.

The series was broadcast on the BBC for ten series, totalling 69 episodes between 8 September 1972 and 1 April 1985 – including five Christmas specials. The sitcom proved a ratings hit with UK audiences, and gained international recognition when broadcast across several English-speaking countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States; the latter gaining it a loyal following when PBS television stations began airing reruns in the mid-1980s, along with other British sitcoms.

Are You Being Served? was one of several series predominate of the period that was adapted into a feature film release. It was adapted into the 1977 film of the same name and was also followed by the spin-off series Grace & Favour with the same main cast in 1991–1992. In 2004, it was ranked 20th in a television countdown of Britain's Best Sitcom.^[2] A one-off episode with a new cast was created in 2016. Both the sitcom - including its pilot and Christmas specials - the spin-off and the film have since been released on DVD.