Grace & Favour (American title: Are You Being Served? Again!) is a British sitcom and a spin-off of Are You Being Served? that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by Are You Being Served? creators and writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.
History
The idea of a spin-off was suggested by the cast of Are You Being Served? almost immediately after the original series ended in 1985. Lloyd and Croft liked the idea, but agreed 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. Most of the original cast was able to return quite easily with the exception of Wendy Richard who since joined the soap EastEnders, however she was given a leave of absence and temporarily written out so she could reprise her role of Miss Brahms.
The plot line that brought the cast from the store to the manor was considered remarkably topical, since it aired just a few months after the death of British publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, who was revealed to have borrowed heavily against his own employees' pensions.
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 ever 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 but given to the use of a faithful retainer upon retirement, as with the retired characters in this series. "Grace" is also the surname of the owner of Grace Brothers, the fictional department store where the characters previously worked and was also the previous owner of Millstone Manor.
International broadcasts
In the United States, the show was broadcast on PBS member stations as Are You Being Served? Again! in 1992. In a documentary included with the Are You Being Served? DVD box set, John Inman mentioned that he preferred the American title, and thought the programme may have performed better if that title had been used in the UK as well.
In Australia, the show was broadcast on Network Ten in 1994.
Cast
Audio samples of Grace & Favour (media help) The main cast included the five actors and characters who had appeared in every episode of Are You Being Served?. These were John Inman (Mr Humphries), Mollie Sugden (Mrs Slocombe), Frank Thornton (Captain Peacock), Wendy Richard (Miss Brahms) and Nicholas Smith (Mr Rumbold).
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.
Several new recurring characters were added to the show. Joanne Heywood as Miss Lovelock, Billy Burden as farmer Morris Moulterd, and Fleur Bennett as his daughter, Mavis, appeared in all 12 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.
Cast list
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 Morris Moulterd
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
Plot line
The new series has the elderly and womanising "Young Mr Grace", head of Grace Brothers department store, recently deceased while scuba-diving on holiday in the Caribbean with his personal secretary, Miss Jessica Lovelock. As per the instructions in his will, the remaining workers in each department at Grace Brothers' closing sale find their pensions invested in different things. The members of the Men's and Ladies' Departments, along with Ms Lovelock, inherit the estate that is the locale of the show.