Stars say ‘I’m free!’ for TV classic remake
ACTRESS Sher r ie Hewson has landed the TV comic role of the year — she will play Mrs Slocombe of Ladies Separates and Underwear in the return of comedy classic Are You Being Served?
Award-winning actor Jason Watkins will play Mr Humphries, from the men’s section of Grace Brothers department store. When John Inman played Mr Humphries in the original series that started in 1972, his line ‘I’m free!’, delivered dripping with drollery, became perhaps the catchphrase of the show, which was created by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, ran for ten seasons and drew huge audiences for the BBC.
For a time, Inman and Mollie Sugden, who played Mrs Slocombe — always concerned about her beloved cat — were comedy royalty.
Part of the show’s success was down to the cast’s impeccable comic timing. But it has aged well, too. Ms Sugden pointed out that like another old favourite, Dad’s Army, the episodes were ‘old-fashioned to begin with, so they haven’t dated . . . they were dated when we did them!’
JOHN CHALLIS will play Captain Peacock, the dignified former officer who patrolled the floors of his new battleground, the department store, with vigilance. A pilot show will be filmed early in March and will be commissioned as a series if the one- off proves successful.
The signing of Ms Hewson, a long- time Coronation Street regular who now appears in the series Benidorm, and Watkins, who won a Bafta for his TV portrayal of Christopher Jefferies, the former English master wrongfully arrested in a murder case, was done under a shroud of secrecy.
Those working on the production used code names for the actors so their identities could be kept under wraps until the BBC decided it was ready to announce the cast. I’ve saved them the trouble. In the show, Mrs Slocombe appeared with her hair lavishly coiffured in different shades (she favoured the purple hues).
All manner of social stereotypes were on display in the store. Mrs Slocombe had a touch of Hyacinth Bucket about her, while her closest colleague, Shirley Brahms, was a working- class Cockney whom most of the store’s male workforce fancied. Wendy Richard, later a star on EastEnders, played Miss Brahms. Last night, that role was still being cast.
other actors joining the ‘ reboot’ include Roy Barraclough and Arthur C. Smith. The new Are You Being Served? is based on a script by Derren Litten, who also writes for Benidorm. It will be broadcast on BBC TV as part of a new look at comedy classics.