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

[@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.

[@margaretrowe4261]

How we miss that programme. Nothing like it now , loved all the characters

[@itsacarolbthing5221]

When Britain was inevitably polite. I miss those days.

[@davidbeazley1958]

If you don’t mention the riots taking place at the time…

[@Her.Serene.Feline.Cuteness.]

This interviewer could be incredibly rude to guests. If he is civil to John Inman, that's undoubtedly because they had something in common.

[@briansaiditsoitmustbetrue4206]

I want some "Rose-tinted" glasses the same as yours.

[@derekhart3308]

Met John when was a kid in Blackpool at his show can't remember much about it except mum got a kiss from him after the show was very nice to us. Rest in peace John and the rest of the cast of Are You Being Served. ❤

[@DarkStar-wu9nq]

John Inman is a LEGEND

[@l.salisbury1253]

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

[@CMOT101]

Britain calling: no one cares what a Yank thinks about our celebs

[@MelThorburn]

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.

[@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! 😂

[@necmacleod]

@@mysticwolf75 Mrs. Slocombe's cat's name is Tiddles.

[@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!

[@cityofabscissae]

Get real, they're dead; they're down there, underground.

[@jartober]

@@cityofabscissae how lovely troll

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

​​​@@cityofabscissaeWho pissed in your Cheerios?

[@PLuMUK54]

​@@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER lol

[@Me-hs4jj]

@@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Probably John. From above.

[@teecee9113]

Love him, love him, love him. He was so funny. And seemed like a genuinely nice person. Just bought the first 4 seasons of AYBS on DVD. Loving the memories. ❤

[@nikkicat254]

Living in the US, and also being too young to have caught it at all in the 70s, I didn't get to see this show until the 1990s when it aired on PBS in the Metro Detroit area in Michigan, and Humphries was the whole reason I watched it, he is what made the show to me!

[@shannonalver7728]

I love all are you being served cast, they are like family i wish i had .

[@EthanLomas]

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

[@billklintworth43]

I always remember this show as a kid and loved it……..45 years ago😳

[@craigdalgetty7376]

Brilliant 👍

[@worldsgreatestimpressionis6462]

Quite simply the most talented ensemble in television history- US or Britain. Immensely and consistently funny.

[@HaydnGuite]

A wonderful actor and a genuinely lovely man. As with all Perry, Croft & Lloyd sitcoms, they were well-written and brilliantly acted and Are You Being Served is no exception. All the cast had a ball doing it and you could certainly see that when watching it. Thanks for the memories John ❤ 😊

[@ladykoiwolfe]

I absolutely adore Are You Being Served? I think Mr. Humphries was the first time I saw an openly gay character on tv. I'm really glad I grew up with that. He was just so sweet and utterly endearing.

[@deniseball7764]

A show that follows the day to day happenings of a group of people at work and so successful ..... and a generation or two later 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 we have an american series of the same byline although they are a group of friends in their apartments occasionally involving their work .... Thank you Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer (ahh Cosmo)

[@dan797]

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

[@GE.1962]

When Avril Angers ( you'll get frosted lenses) called her a "silly bitch" was hilarious!

[@eleanormorgan44]

Loved John Inman he was a legend of his time. Very very man.. 😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@stephenwalters7543]

I remember watching this show on BBC once upon a time as well as watching “Are you being served”…..Still watch it today….

[@LucindaHamilton-r9i]

Legend! ❤

[@TomKeresey10]

If I had to pick two favourite characters from Are You Being Served?, one would be Miss Brahms because I always thought she was drop-dead gorgeous and the other would be Mr. Humphries because I thought he was just an absolute joy.

[@VasiliosBakagias]

Immortal!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️🌍🌎🌏

[@brianarbenz1329]

I'm a U.S. person, and I recently retired from a job where I worked with a woman who reminded me of an American version of Mrs. Slocombe. Yes, I enjoyed the show. It's relatable to us here as well.

[@413smr]

I watched reruns on American Public TV in the 1980s. I miss it. John Inman was my favorite. "I'm freeeee!"

[@KittyKeypurr]

Would have loved the opportunity to meet John 🙂 hilarious!

[@MartinShannon-e5r]

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.

[@MartinShannon-e5r]

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

[@ajs11201]

@@MartinShannon-e5r 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.

[@MartinShannon-e5r]

Yes ,ta

[@sarahs5340]

I just adore him. Probably my favorite character on AYBS. I worked in a retail environment full time for five years and AYBS was a joy to me.

[@MJo-ng4lj]

❤😂🎉 Love the show.

[@joycerichardson1810]

Love John Inman...RIP.

[@lewisgreen1633]

I used to see him periodically in The Windsor Castle in Crawford st. Very quiet and unstarlike - totally different from his tv persona. 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.

[@teecee9113]

I cannot stand the rude, smug, pompous snob. John was way to good for this.

[@stephielulu9096]

He looks so young!

[@sharonmorgan7630]

How old was he in this clip ?????

[@leejganderson7827]

​@@sharonmorgan7630he is about 42 this was 1977 he was born in 1935. Ok Peace 81.2024

[@flashkraft]

He did a lot for the visibility of gay people before it became more common in the 1980s.

[@Frankjc3rd]

I've heard of a description of Are You Being Served as the world's naughtiest children's show!

[@andywright3450]

Great actor john sadly missed

[@rookhoatzin]

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

[@babuzzard6470]

He was Hilarious RIP

[@Kexgoija]

Fantastic characters inthat show❤

[@darkangel_1978]

He was my favorite on Are You Being Served ? My maternal grandmother reminded me of Mrs. Slocombe, which she loved hearing.

[@herseem]

Interesting to start with that initially the BBC didn't want it with John Inman's character, but eventually they didn't want the series without him.

[@cosmiccowboy9358]

He just had that special something

[@rekababa6671]

the big book of British smiles 😁

[@gerrynicol3951]

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

[@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 .

[@rebeccaconklin1679]

I do recall that Mr Humphries didn't have a hairpiece when the show started, and his character was kind of subdued, with that depressed-sounding London accent. Looking better and sounding happier helped his character contribute more to the humor. Gradually, the writers changed the order of the comic bits performed by each character, resulting in Mr Humphries having the ultimate laugh. They had to, because if they gave other characters the ultimate laugh, the audience's reaction would peak after Mr Humphries' line, and the laughs would trail off afterwards, leaving the audience with the impression that the show hadn't been as funny as it actually was.

[@joeconcepts5552]

Just noticed he looks like Colin Mochrie.

[@petercampbell8694]

Brilliant! - Two northerns having a natter! 😊👍

[@cshadow9790]

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

[@diggerpete9334]

If alternative comedy was comedy why isn't it just called comedy.

[@Pagliacci_Rex]

I wonder if him and Colin Mochrie are related.

[@koilvondailey8030]

John Inman and Colin Mochrie? That episode of "Who's Line" would have been universe ending!

[@soundhead6971]

Wiki Leaks!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@CMOT101]

No one asked you

[@spacemissing]

Apparently The Simpsons Movie did OK...

[@HangoverTelevision]

looks a bit like Julian Assange to me, lol

[@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

[@darrenh669]

Can you imagine a tv star in the US without perfect teeth?

[@spacemissing]

Yes, but your point is quite valid.

[@rgarlinyc]

Britain, Where Dentists die of idleness and penury.

[@jb9433]

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

[@CMOT101]

*yawn* is the silly bigot getting funny feelings about men and can't cope?

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

What is your problem?

[@ShannonFreng]

I wonder the guy never got his teeth fixed.

[@lizziebkennedy7505]

The gap was his signature. But the Queen Mother never got her teeth done. It’s not about money. England just never did dentists.

[@ShannonFreng]

@@lizziebkennedy7505And why would that be?

[@TheJTMcDaniel]

@@ShannonFreng If anything, British dentists are better than American ones, at least insofar as preventive dentistry goes. On average, the British have fewer fillings than Americans of the same age. The real difference is that the British are less concerned with esthetics. Their teeth are well taken care of, but they're not that concerned if the alignment isn't perfect or they're actually, well, tooth colored.

[@ShannonFreng]

@@TheJTMcDaniel Odd, indeed.

[@mslaxer92]

Les Dennis, looks great 👍