Are You Being Served Officially Ended After This Went Horribly Wrong

Are You Being Served?, the quintessential British sitcom, kept audiences in stitches for over a decade with its cheeky humor, memorable characters, and the iconic Grace Brothers department store. However, behind the scenes, a series of events unfolded that ultimately led to the show's unexpected and controversial end.
▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - Tensions Behind the Scenes
03:38 - The Ill-Fated Final Episode
06:05 - The BBC's Surprising Decision
08:49 - Outro
Like this content? Subscribe here:
/ @factsverseuk
Or, watch more videos here:
/ @factsverseuk
In this captivating video, we uncover the untold story of what really happened during the final days of Are You Being Served?. Witness the mounting tension as mistakes piled up, leaving the cast and crew frustrated and on edge.But the drama wasn't confined to the set alone. We also expose the fierce rivalry between the show's two main stars, John Inman and Mollie Sugden, as they battled for top billing and the spotlight. Robin Moore sheds light on the constant tug-of-war between his mother and Inman, which came to a head during a summer stage production in Blackpool.
Despite the show's enduring popularity, the BBC made the shocking decision to cancel Are You Being Served? after its tenth season. TV critic and long-time fan Nina Myskow offers her insights into the BBC's choice, suggesting that the broadcaster had grown wary of the show's broad humor and was ready to make way for new, innovative programming.
Through a combination of rare episode clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and never-before-seen archive photos, this video takes you on a nostalgic journey through the rise and fall of one of Britain's most beloved sitcoms. We celebrate the show's enduring legacy and influence on British comedy, while also exploring the complex reasons behind its untimely demise.
Discover the untold story behind the laughter and join us as we pay tribute to the brilliant cast and crew who made this series an unforgettable part of British television history.
Are You Being Served Officially Ended After This Went Horribly Wrong

[@jeffcook3747]

I don't believe any of this video. I have been a fan of the show since the 1970s and I've never heard of any friction between Mollie and John. The "popular musician" was Mike Berry. Although he was a musician in real life he was also playing junior assistant, Mr. Bert Spooner for several episodes after Trevor Bannister left.

[@marcmitchel25]

Don't believe it either. Never heard either say an unkind word about the other

[@Tenortalker]

Sometimes after working together for 10 years tensions can appear, but Molly Sugden was known in the business for her mellow , motherly nature towards her colleagues and John Inman was also a popular colleague. If there was any tension I doubt if it lasted for long or outweighed the pressures of getting the show in the can within limited filming schedules. They both appeared quite happily together in Grace and Favour , the sequel.

[@rodlaughton2318]

Alfie Bass wasn’t in the final series…

[@briansunday7099]

Strange recollection about the “Popstar” episode - this anecdote mentions Alfie Bass, who played Mr. Goldberg in the series. Alfie Bass was long gone by the time the Popstar episode was made. Someone needs to re-examine this recollection.

[@seanbass9800]

This cannot be trusted.

[@Colin-ro6lh]

Don't believe 99% of this video for a start they all kept working with each other in their next show & it wasn't a revival of it either

[@katiekatconway1880]

I agree. I never take KZbin videos as fact. Channel 5 recently did a documentary on Are You Being Served. It ended just because humour changed- nothing about “tensions”. I saw it as a little girl and loved it- however it certainly wouldn’t appeal now.

[@13thcentury]

100% agreed. This is crap.

[@ackerjawaka4742]

Are you being served has to be one of the worst so called sitcoms ever made...in fact it makes Allo Allo seem funny, jokes about mrs Slocums pussy and talking dogs business in a dwarf Italian accent cannot be classed as comedy surely...and stop calling me Shirley 😜

[@alexsmart3365]

What utter BS..

[@papalazarou6674]

Well done with the thumbnail picture it's from the one off remake. More like Poundland than Grace Brothers

[@Colin-ro6lh]

Lots of clips from the show they all did together afterwards

[@michaelbressette2599]

You just cant have are you being served without all of the cast its that simple.

[@AllanNeaves-qn3zr]

Recollections may differ 🤔Still never let the facts get in the way of any story😳😱

[@LewisNerrin]

This video is wrong do more research

[@alangiles2763]

If the cast had disliked each other that much, they wouldn't have got back together in 1990 and 1991/92 to make Grace and Favour . As for the problems during production - nearly every TV show of the time that you can think of would have cock-ups during the making of the episodes - that is why the studios were booked for three hours to record one 28 minute programme. Sometimes they would insert pre-recorded VT if a scene really was too difficult to replicate in the studio. The audience in the studio probably got bored with the same scenes being the subject of retakes , but both cast and crew would just accept it was just one of those things and keep going till they got it right. I suspect the reason it ended was because it had had a long run, and by that time the BBC were embarrassed by it (in the same way Central/ITV got embarrassed by Crossroads in 1988 and dropped that, despite still having a loyal audience. None of the cast remain alive now (well, possibly Mike Berry might be), so it is easy to invent discord between cast members when they are not here to defend themselves.

[@brigidsingleton1596]

I used to enjoy this show back in the day but John Inman was always my favourite.

[@Lilith_Nightshade]

I'll ALWAYS LOVE this show no matter the era💜💜💜💜!!! I first discovered it as a child, watching late night offerings on PBS. Hilarious!

[@joehurst]

But we must be honest and say that the 1980s episodes weren't a patch on the 1970s ones. It definitely went downhill in the 80s.

[@Lilith_Nightshade]

@joehurst True but such is life...

[@joehurst]

@@Lilith_Nightshade Yes, such is life. Sigh! The trouble is that some people don't seem to subscribe to the notion that you should quit while you're ahead. If AYBS had ended after the 1979 series (season 7) then we wouldn't have the embarrassing mess that seasons 8, 9 and 10 were.

[@Lilith_Nightshade]

@@joehurst I suppose the old adage is true, "Leave them wanting more." Thank goodness for digitalization!

[@joehurst]

@@Lilith_Nightshade 👍agreed!

[@thomasjones6505]

That was stupid. None of that made sense. It was so far out of chronological order that it was ridiculous!! Grow up and get a job, click baiters!!

[@chrisfitzchrisfitz5182]

10 to one ladies and gentlemen, this is another example of an AI video gone wrong!

[@kymkym6875]

I loved this show and all the charaters john inman was my was real funny kym

[@PiersDJackson]

If the kernel of "Are You being served?" was cancelled in 1985 - there was a reason. And that was Michael Grade! the nephew of Lew Grade and Bernard Delfront, he was appointed D.G. of BBC1, coming from London Weekend Television (part of ITV), he set about trimming the fat, cutting the bloated budgetary backholes, like the third season of "The Tripods"; he also set about cancelling the worn-out series, like "Doctor Who", "the Black and White Minstrel Show", etc. That is where "Are you being served?" fell... he did give a reprieve to "Blackadder", on the stipulation that there would be primarily studio based, only two standing sets to be built (that could be redressed, and a third was added) * they did get around the sets issue by "borrowing" from other productions. And finally focus on the main cast.

[@user-hj4ug2yq5x]

Alfie Bass was not he the last series he was only in series 7 as I believed he died us by series 10 but a fee years later I followed up series called Grace and Favour which ran for 2 series some of the pictures in this video are from that series , was very funny lol its been on TV here call Are you being served again

[@Raider577]

Just watched it on UK Gold, on everyday.

[@tallpojjy]

Load of old rubbish

[@davidshiel5142]

Utter Twaddle, this video is completely unfactual and incorrect, the cast had always got on so well, a very well documented fact which was why the show was so successful, and the final show did not have a guest cameo by a pop star it was the character Burt Spooner played by Mike Berry, who in the episode was talent spotted in the" inter store singing competition. " Also 6 of the original cast members came back together to film Grace & Favour "are you being served again" I would suggest you fact check correctly before putting this kind of rubbish out there!

[@b003]

Loved it on PBS along with the other Britcoms.

[@KeiranCounsellKC1994]

I always thought it cancelled simply because as you got into the later series you could tell they were running out of new and funny ideas

[@JayYoung-ro3vu]

Facts Verse hasn't been 'respectable' for over a year (for me).

[@RonaldDelby]

Time for a remake but it must be set in modern times...

[@alancrisp1582]

Very dated British comedy series today, and certainly of its time. But still mostly very harmless and funny even today !...😂😅

[@edgein7892]

Most of what I watch is dated but I take it over the pc crap anytime.

[@oldmoviesinbwwithsubtitles3501]

Who wrote this ? Almost All of is this wrong....

[@13thcentury]

Almost? You give them too much credit 😅😅😅

[@swanseamale47]

The show was axed because the running jokes were tired, and viewer numbers falling, they were also running out of ideas.

[@user-tf3nr8sy5v]

I was friends with both Molly and John. Neither ever had anything bad to say about the other. And your story about the final episode is totally false. Alfie Bass wasn't even in any of the 10th series episodes, especially The Pop Star. Don't know where you're getting your information but it's definitely wrong

[@nigelfreeman6192]

Well nearly all the facts are incorrect, I would do more research and check and double check before putting a video on KZbin. Also if tensions were that bad how did Grace and Favour come about?

[@peterdalyy3542]

Rubbish

[@RonaldDelby]

The spinoff was not as good nor funny.

[@MichaelBailey-vc9yw]

Load of old bollox....

[@joshuairon1443]

This video is complete BS. It is obviously poorly researched. The cast spoke fondly of each other through the decades. Also, the series ended because the BBC, creators and cast were ready to move on. This video is filled with inaccuracies.

[@mickdev007]

BOLLOCKS!

[@Thomas-yr9ln]

I hated when they had these young twits playing their rolls. It didn't bloody last did it.? What did you hope to prove.? What ever it was it didn't work. Shame on the the writers what a abomination.

[@stompingfreak8980]

This is not entirely true…. There were many issues during filming.

[@Laconic-ws4bz]

click bait