Author: John Fraser

Reviews

For anyone wanting to delve more deeply into Grace and Favour there isn’t a lot of information available. The series has always been overshadowed by the far more popular Are You Being Served?, often dismissed in a passing mention on a website or relegated to a few pages in the back of a book on the original series. My site is attempting to address the balance. In the meantime here are a few of the main sources for further information which no serious fan of the series should overlook.

Wendy Richard…No ‘S’ My Life Story, by Wendy Richard. Pocket Books. 2001, 280 pages.

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Published in 2000 before she left East Enders, this is a revealing and honest account of her life and career, beginning with her childhood and continuing through her personal struggles to her many TV and film appearances including, of course, Are You Being Served? the sitcom for which she is best known. There is a chapter on Grace and Favour in which she returned as Miss Brahms and here she tells some amusing anecdotes about working on the series, one of which involved a flock of sheep! She also devotes several pages to her friendship with Billy Burden which began while they were filming on location. There are many pictures, some in colour though only a few are from her time in Grace and Favour. One nice touch is the extensive list of her TV, film and theatre appearances, along with a couple of records she made early on in her career.

Are You Being Served? The Inside Story of Britain’s Funniest – and Public Television’s Favourite – Comedy Series, by Adrian Rigelsford, et al . KQED Books, 1995, 212 pages.

This is a great book for fans of Are You Being Served?, and its spin-offs. It was written when most of the cast were still alive and were able to give interviews so there is a lot of interesting material here. Fans of Grace and Favour, however, may be disappointed as the series is covered in a mere five pages and it’s mostly summaries of the episodes, although these do include brief but interesting notes on some of the actors. Each episode is also given a star rating. Of particular note, though, is the extensive interview with Jeremy Lloyd in which he discusses how Grace and Favour came about, and also such issues as why it ended after only two series and what problems they had writing it. A particularly useful feature, especially for American audiences, is the glossary of words, so if you want to know where the expression “grace and favour” comes from or what a “lift” is you will find it here.

I’m Free! The Complete Guide to Are You Being Served, by Richard Webber. Orion, 1998, 176 pages.

This profusely illustrated book has everything for fans of Are You Being Served? Including episode guides, cast lists, lots of interesting facts and a detailed history of the series. There is a little more on Grace and Favour, with the added bonus of some bios of the new members of the cast and anecdotes from Joanne Heywood and Fleur Bennett about working on the series. An episode guide is also included. First published in 1998, I’m Free! Commemorates the 25th anniversary of Are You Being Served? And includes an introduction by the writers, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.

Are You Being Served? Central! – the Official Website

Now in its 12th year, the Official AYBS?Central! website hosted by Elina Lampart over in the USA covers Are You Being Served? from just about every conceivable angle. There are bios of all the cast with listings of their TV and film appearances, and even pages on everything from stage shows to autographs and props. Fans of Grace and Favour are also surprisingly well catered for, with even information on the cast who had minor roles in the series. What the site doesn’t have are many articles or interviews with the cast (though there is one interview with Joanne Heywood which dates from 2004) and sometimes one could wish for more descriptions or commentary to accompany listings or photos. Nevertheless, with support from Jeremy Lloyd, the site has grown to become the most comprehensive resource for the series and it’s various spin-offs available on the net. One rather nice extra feature is a forum where anyone can post messages and discuss any related topics.

I’m amazed at how much Elina has managed to include, although as she says herself, the pages are still not complete and she does update them, though sometimes not so frequently as she would like due to other commitments but you can check for them on Twitter and Facebook. Navigating around the sight is straightforward and there are plenty of links to other resources around the internet.

.http://aybscentral.com/home.html

Introducing Grace and Favour

Grace and Favour or Are You Being Served? Again! The Short Lived and sadly (almost but not quite) forgotten sequel to Are You Being Served?

It may be 26 years since Grace and Favour was on our screens – the series was first shown in 1992 – and it may have faded into obscurity, overshadowed as it was by the far more successful Are You Being Served? but for some of us over a certain age it has an enduring fascination.

After Young Mr Grace died whilst scuba diving on holiday with his nurse, The now retired staff of Grace Brothers have relocated to Millstone Manor, an ancient country house in which Young Mr Grace (who died after a scuba diving accent with his personal secretary, Miss Lovelock) had unwisely invested the pension fund. The Manor was being run as a hotel but, after the original staff had left, they take over in an attempt to supplement their pensions

As one might expect, the staff come out with the usual innuendos and catch phrases – Mrs Slocombe is still “unanimous in that” and Mr Humphries does get to say” I’m Free! “again while they muddle through, trying to make the best of their new situation away from the familiarity of the shop floor.

Whether it’s Mr Humphries trying to milk the cow, Mrs Slocombe collecting eggs and getting stuck in the hen house or the gang attempting to plant potatoes in the field, you can be sure that nothing will go quite right as they adjust to living in the country.

Not all of the original cast returned – Trevor Bannister (Mr Lucas) and Mike Berry (Mr Spooner) chose not to, though some such as Michael Bilton (Mr Grace’s solicitor), Shirley Cheriton (his assistant, Miss Prescott) appeared in various episodes.

There were three new additions to the cast, however, who appeared in all 12 episodes – Joanne Heywood, as the posh Miss Lovelock who had been nursing Young Mr Grace (in his declining weeks, according to Mrs Slocombe) , Billy Burden as the farmer with his broad country accent (apparently almost unintelligible to American audiences) and stereotype clothes ; and the lovely Fleur Bennett as the niave and long- suffering farmers’ daughter Mavis Moultered. For some reason, which isn’t exactly made clear, Mavis shares a bed with Mr Humphries; we are told she was used to sleeping with the chef and as Mr Humphries says in one episode (the one where Capt Peacock finds a loaded gun in the drawer of his writing desk and Mr Humphries is trying to explain his situation to the police who storm the manor) “I took over were he (the chef) left off.”

There is genuine chemistry here; Mavis is adorable and there is something endearing in her affections for Mr Humphries , who she treats more like a younger sister than a middle aged man. This becomes a constant source of speculation and misunderstanding for the staff: are they just friends? What is a middle age man doing sharing a bed with a young girl? And of course Mr Humphries’ ambiguous nature – he’s supposedly neither one way or the other – only adds to the confusion. It’s really all rather innocent but their relationship appears to have been the subject of some debate among online critics who find it rather odd and unrealistic. But as far as I’m concerned none of that matters. And, in any case, Fleur is always a joy to watch.

Grace and Favour was Fleur’s first tv role at the age of 24 and is undoubtedly the one she is best known for. She also appeared in a number of episodes of the soap Family Affairs from 1997 to 1999 and her other tv credits include shows such as Casualty, The Bill, Midsommer Murders , Cracker and Heartbeat but mostly these were just single episodes. What strikes me so forcibly is how different she is in these: in Casualty (Denial, 2002) for example she is a real nasty character, a far cry from the sweet and innocent Mavis and it comes as a bit of a shock, especially watching it after an episode of Grace and Favour.* There are few laughs in these: in Midsommer Murders (Dark Autumn, 2001) she is murdered within the first fifteen minutes; in Catherine Cookson’s The Rag Nymph (1997) she is a street prostitute in 19th century Newcastle who hangs herself after being taken under the wing of a local pimp – again early on; while In Cracker (True Romance, 1995) she is the abused sister of a psychopathic young woman (Emily Joyce) who murders men in order to attract the attention of Fritz (Robbie Coltrane), the troubled criminal psychologist. In all these her appearances are brief but she shines. And gone is the Cornish accent; she seems to have a natural ability to take on any accent, whether a London accent in The Bill or Bristol in Casualty.

In later years, Fleur’s appearances became more infrequent as she apparently had other interests and it has been over a decade since she was on our screens; though rumour has it she hasn’t given up acting entirely and may even be taking on new projects. Let’s hope so, she has been greatly missed.

For me , and for many others, it’s a real shame the show ended after only 12 episodes. There appears to be several reasons for this: low viewing figures, a BBC manager who didn’t like it, changing times in comedy. One, suggested by the writers, was the title; as it was called Grace and Favour people wouldn’t have realised it was a follow up to Are you being served​? That it had more success in America where it was titled Are you being served? Again! would indicate that there could be some truth in this. But perhaps there was no single reason but a combination.

I actually prefer it to the original series; perhaps I am one of the few who do but it had the advantage of outdoor scenes whereas the original never went outside the store. There was also the way the plots ran in a thread through the episodes, such as the intrigue over the relationship between Mavis and Mr Humphries. However, it really needed a third series; there would have been more opportunity to develop the characters and learn more of their back stories.

We can only wonder at what might have been. There was speculation that had there been a third series Mavis and Mr Humphries would get married – though I have also read other comments that she would have married Malcolm, the local lad who attempts but repeatedly fails to persuade her to be with him.

Sadly none of the original cast from Are You Being Served? who appeared in G.race and Favour are still with us and Billy Burden died soon after the series ended.

In some respects the show appeared dated even in the 90’s; although supposedly contemporary, it feels like it belongs in a bygone age, with it’s creaking old house, the faltering electrics, the boiler in the woodshed – Mr Humphries asks Mavis where the switch is for the boiler and she takes him into the woodshed where they cut the logs – and the local transport, a horse and cart. I am reminded of the opening line to L P Hartley’s fanous novel The Go Between:

“The past is a different country; they do things differently there.”

Still, it retains a certain charm and we even finally get to see Mrs Slocombes pussy. I mean, of course, her cat Tiddles.

*The Casualty episode (Season 16, Episode 7) is available on You Tube and there is a four disc set of Grace and Favour available on Amazon.

For anyone interested to see what else Fleur has been in take a look at her homepage on the official AYBS? Website at: http://aybscentral.com/fbennett2/aybsafleurbennett.html

There are a few omissions but these are mostly related to more obscure productions such as audio books and educational videos. I hope to cover more of Fleur’s work, including some of her lesser known appearances, in a future blog.

My sincere thanks to Elina Lampart of the Official AYBS? Website and also to Fleur Bennett and Joanne Heywood for permission to use images on this page.