John Inman (Are You Being Served?) interview - 1977

John Inman talks to Russell Harty

[@itsacarolbthing5221]

When Britain was inevitably polite. I miss those days.

[@DanielWright-np3fq]

John Inman was a treasure. Insanely talented.

[@ajs11201]

Indeed, the whole cast was brilliantly talented. I especially loved their musical episodes--besides being comic geniuses, this cast was also quite skilled musically.

[@l.salisbury1253]

This is USA calling... John Inman is one of this FUNNIEST guys I've ever seen...!!

[@jartober]

He was so wonderful. "I'm free" will be remembered for years and years. Hope he and Mollie and Wendy are having fun up there!

[@user-pg2kj7ps7o]

My great uncle had a story about Mr Inman he use to tell us about when the whole family was watching TV at Xmas. Seemingly they were both waiting on a train in Dunstable when someone in the waiting room let off an egg gas breaking of wind. This was hugely embarrassing but John defused the tension by silently pointing to individuals in the room and making a “what do you think “ gesture at my great uncle. A fleeting moment in time but he never forgot it until he passed away in 2003.

[@craigdalgetty7376]

Brilliant 👍

[@GothGuy885]

they did show Mrs Slocombe's cat in the episode "The Apartment" when she was shifting flats, and had squatters in the new one. she ended up living on a vacant floor of Grace Brothers until she could make other arrangements. and a bus strike left some of the other characters stranded, so they had to stay the night in her makeshift , temporary quarters. one of many good episodes. 😀

[@mysticwolf75]

Did you notice the age (and sex) of Mrs. Slocombe's cat changed throughout the series? Like in the episode with her birthday, they thought it was her 50th because her cat was 7 years old the previous year and she told Miss Brahms she's the same age as her cat (animal years being 7 human years), but in another later episode, she says her cat is 3 years old, making it 21 in human years, so he's come of age, and in yet another episode, her cat is pregnant and has kittens? It was one of several inconsistencies in the show, but it didn't make the show any less funny! 😂

[@DarkStar-wu9nq]

John Inman is a LEGEND

[@EthanLomas]

One of the best TV shows ever. Pure classic. The scenery was crap but the actors were amazing

[@danparker7920]

I’ve been watching are you being served since the 80’s It was on every night at 11 in New York, my favorite episode is when Mrs. Slocum takes over Mr. Rumbold’s ‘office and eats the meringues in the drawer- and gets violently ill

[@BalbirSingh-ig6ko]

Classic sitcom ❤️

[@user-uh2mp8jl3q]

Classic clean humour of the times

[@ajs11201]

Clean? Just toeing the line.... lol

[@kingy002]

There was nothing clean about it. It was all sexual innuendo. How you could think otherwise is bizarre.

[@user-uh2mp8jl3q]

@@ajs11201 I made a mistake with my comment ,I realise now,ta

[@ajs11201]

@@user-uh2mp8jl3q I still take your original point--while the sexual inuendo was unmistakable, they never crossed the line, nor actually used any "dirty" language. It was all about the double entendre, which was rife.

[@user-uh2mp8jl3q]

Yes ,ta

[@babuzzard6470]

He was Hilarious RIP

[@flowerbedproductions834]

I'm old enough to remember when Harty was a weekday show on the BBC and can vouch for how, even then, it was agony to watch sometimes. Here's a perfect example. Rather than ask the affable, quiet John Inman how he started, how got the part, how he deals with the fame...in other words, things John knows about and would be able to answer....he makes him uncomfortable by asking why on earth the show became popular (how could he know that?!?) and a dead end question about Mrs Slocombe. Watching it now, as a middle-aged man, my thoughts are that Russell was not only inept but clearly didn't know what an actor might be able to talk about from their perspective. Essential requirements, wouldn't you say??

[@BongoBaggins]

He entertained his audience at the expense of his guests. Parkinson entertained his guests. They gave every man and his dog a chat show in those days, to see who would stick.

[@npc3po301]

I agree, Harty was objectively awful, too caught up in his fruity pomposity to regard the needs of the interviewee or audience, how he ever had airtime is beyond me

[@graphiquejack]

I agree. He kept hammering on about this one idea that was, frankly, kind of insulting, and can’t really be answered. Sometimes very good shows take a while for the audience to get it. I guess it’s true that the writers did catch on that John and Molly were the real assets to the show, and gave them more to do, but it’s not like the show was a dud for two years and suddenly it got better. I think this interviewer just doesn’t get that being a success is part hard work, part talent and part luck.

[@MarkSmith-tp6zc]

Indeed and when he realised he’d somewhat alienated John with the line of questioning, Harty folded his arms and couldn’t rescue an awful interview. Good point about the technique Sir.

[@rookhoatzin]

I just love Mr. Humphreys. I'm not sure how to spell Humpfreeze though.

[@gerrynicol3951]

A liked russel rather sad he deid young enjoyed his shows.

[@James_Bowie]

Sitcoms never translate to film. The art of a sitcom is to keep things moving at a pace to fit the allotted slot. Movies drag on and on for 90 minutes or more, and keeping the gags and jokes coming is a big ask.

[@joehurst]

I don't think it is a big ask. What about the Carry On Films. Most of them were funny and they lasted about 90 minutes.

[@jasonthewatchmansson8873]

I don't know what Inman is talking about when he says that there were changes in character development which improved the show after the first 2 years. I always thought it was consistently good, and you really can't distinguish the 2d year from the 3rd or the 4th.

[@scotthix2297]

They gave the characters more leeway to adlib and play with the tones in the double entendres. Mr. Humphrey and Mrs Slocumb (sp) became much more arch in their personalities. Inman told the story of giving an extra a setup and as Mr H brazenly stared at the man’s bottom as he exited, the young man turned and winked at him sending Mr H into perplexities to huge laughter…they toned it down but kept it in.

[@barrieturnbull8124]

The first series was definitely written without the actors in mind as an ordinary workplace comedy. Once the writers worked out which actors got the most laughs they fleshed out the characters (especially Mrs Slocombe & Mr Humphries) and that made the series better .

[@Pagliacci_Rex]

I wonder if him and Colin Mochrie are related.

[@soundhead6971]

Wiki Leaks!

[@cshadow9790]

Canada has its cult following. 2024!🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈❤️

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Are Russel and John quares?

[@gaggymott9159]

'Quares?'

[@meofnz2320]

Let’s ask Bunny, he’s a quare.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

@@meofnz2320 bunny’s an incorrigible old quare

[@knockedoutloaded279]

Lovely cupple

[@martinfpavey]

Looks like a quare, sounds like a quare, probably a quare.

[@mollyfilms]

Russel was such a crap interviewer, he’s out John In an awful position to explain some gig he obviously didn’t know the answer to. Good to see Hohn Inman, he left us way too early.

[@joehurst]

Russell Harty wasn't a very good interviewer; maybe he should have stuck to school teaching. He and John Inman both had the same first name: Frederick (although Harty's was spelt without the k). They were both born in Lancashire; in neighbouring towns in fact. Inman in Preston and Harty in Blackburn. They also had something else in common........

[@majorminor3367]

And what was that???

[@joehurst]

@@majorminor3367 Their sexual orientation.

[@majorminor3367]

@@joehurst so what? Irrelevant ,unless you're a homophobe

[@w.urlitzer1869]

@@joehurst no shit, sherlock.

[@meerkat7406]

@@majorminor3367 Their teeth

[@jb9433]

A camp gay guy interviews another camp gay guy. Pretty much covers the whole male demographic of England 40 years on.