Editing British sitcom (section)

===''Are You Being Served?''===

Set in a fictional, traditional London [[department store]], the show follows the antics of the staff of the retail ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments .<ref>Phil Wickham [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/579093/index.html "Are You Being Served? (1972, 1973–85)"], BFI screenonline</ref> Known for its innuendo-laden humor, quirky characters, and catchphrases ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' (1972–85) was one of the longest-running sitcoms of the era. It was created and written for the BBC by [[Jeremy Lloyd]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]] and stars [[Frank Thornton]], [[Mollie Sugden]], [[Wendy Richard]], [[Nicholas Smith (actor)|Nicholas Smith]], and [[John Inman]], who of the original cast were to appear in all 69 episodes and the same five later featured in the sequel spin-off ''[[Grace & Favour]]''which aired in 1991–1992. Inman's camp characterisation of [[Mr. Humphries]] contributed greatly to the series' success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/579093/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Are You Being Served? (1973–1985) |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |access-date=21 April 2014}}</ref> In 2004, it ranked 20th in ''Britain's Best Sitcom''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Britain's Best Sitcom – Top 11 to 100|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/top11to100.shtml|work=BBC|access-date=7 October 2013}}</ref> The series proved to be highly exportable, and is regularly repeated on [[BBC Two]], [[Drama (UK TV channel)|Drama]] and [[Gold (UK TV channel)|Gold]] in the UK, [[PBS]] and [[BBC America]] in the United States, and [[BBC UKTV]], [[Fox Classics]] and [[9Gem]] in Australia, and Jones! in New Zealand; as of 2024 it is also streamed on [[Britbox]], [[Apple TV]], and in the US on BritBox Amazon Channel. The series was nominated for the 1977 Best Situation Comedy BAFTA TV Award but the 1977 ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' feature film starring the main cast was not well received.<ref name="mfb-review"/><ref name="rottentomatoes.com"/> A one-off episode with a new cast was broadcast in 2016.