Introducing Grace and Favour
Introducing Grace and Favour
Grace and Favour, or Are You Being Served Again? The Short-lived and sadly (almost but not quite) forgotten spin-off from Are You Being Served?
It may be 30 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 took over in an attempt to supplement their pensions
As one might expect, the staff come out with the usual innuendos and catchphrases - 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 naive 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-aged 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, Midsomer 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 really 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 Midsomer 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 appear to be several reasons for this: low viewing figures, a BBC manager who didn’t like it, and 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 opportunities to develop the characters and learn more about their backstories.
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 90s; although supposedly contemporary, it feels like it belongs in a bygone age, with its 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 famous 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 YouTube 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.
Comments
Post a Comment