PBS - AYBS Central Fan Site

Note: If anyone has anything related to an AYBS-related PBS event that they would like to share on this page,
please contact me! Also, if there is info missing or incorrect, please let me know as well. Thanks!

This is a list of PBS stations related to AYBS in one form or another:

Alabama

APT (Alabama Public Television) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)(None of the cast visited this location).

Alaska

KAKM (Anchorage) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Arizona

KAET (8-Arizona) (Phoenix)(Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Susan Soto staffer for KAET with AYBS mention:

Susan Soto dies; longtime KAET-TV employee in Phoenix

John Inman appearance

Mar 6 1991 (Tempe, AZ) Tempe Mission Palms Hotel (Archive)

KUAT/KUAS (Tucson)-(Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Arkansas

AETN Arkansas Educational Television Network (Conway) (My site was featured a few times in their AETN Foundation ENewsletters).

John Inman Appearances

Dec 2, 1995
Sept 14-Sept 15, 1998

Nicholas Smith Appearance
August 22, 2009

Nicholas Smith Event (PBS Tour 2009)

“MR. RUMBOLD” TO VISIT AETN

“Nicholas Smith, who starred for over twenty years as Mr. Rumbold on ARE YOU BEING SERVED, will visit the AETN
studios on Saturday, August 22.

Fans are invited to a special meet & greet to be held at the station at 3 p.m. Tickets for the event are $25 each and may
be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-662-2386 or online at http://www.aetnfoundation.org/boxoffice. Mr. Smith will
be interviewed and will entertain the audience with a few numbers on the piano. He will then take questions from the
audience. Afterward, he will be available to sign autographs.

Smith has been a star of the stage and screen since 1961 and has appeared in DOCTOR WHO and had guest roles in THE AVENGERS, THE SAINT, THE LIVER BIRDS and THE CANTERBURY TALES among others. But it’s the role of Cuthbert Rumbold on ARE YOU BEING SERVED that endeared him to American audiences. More recently, he provided the voice of Reverend Hedges in the animated major motion picture WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT and appeared in a 2007 tribute to actor John Inman.”

(The description and some of the following images are by me when I saw Nicholas Smith in 2009). Chris T. contributed the rest of the images.

Found out about the event via the AETN Newsletter. We right away got tickets to the event which can be seen on my
Collectibles Page along with the bag and T-shirt. It was a fun filled 2 hours with the interview, “Meet and Greet” and piano playing. Quite a few fans showed up making the event more fun and I was glad to see a great turnout. We were the only ones from out of state there and it was fun meeting the other fans.

The host, Mike McCullars, did a superb job interviewing Nicholas with a lot of funny moments. 🙂 Then Nicholas played the piano and it took me *everything* not to say “Mr. Rumbold! Mr. Rumbold!” like Mr. Humphries did in “Punch and Judy Affair”! 🙂

The marathon, which aired from 7:00-about midnight, was a huge success as well. He spoke with many people on the phone and signed many items for the people who made pledges if they requested that.

Thanks AETN for making this event possible! 🙂 Also, many thanks to Chris T. for providing many of the photos below capturing a moment in time!! 🙂

More fan pics from AETN event:

AETN Building

Neat sign.

Interview area with piano and table for the “Meet and Greet” session.
(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Host Mike McCullars opening the event.
(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Host Mike McCullars interviewing Nicholas Smith.
(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Nicholas Smith entertaining us with the piano:

(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Pausing for a brief moment in “Meet and Greet”.
(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Signing and more signing:

(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Nicholas Smith and Denny Rahn who in the past ran Design House International (DHI).

Host Mike McCullars with Nicholas Smith.

Mom getting an item signed.

Mom getting a picture with Nicholas Smith. (Top photo used with permission from Chris T).

Meeting and greeting Nicholas Smith.
(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Nicholas Smith browsing through a gift I gave him.
(Photo used with permission from Chris T).

Picture with Nicholas Smith! (Photo used with permission from Chris T).

(2 pictures above from another AYBS fan and used with permission).

California

KCET (No longer part of PBS system; dropped out in 2011).
KCSM (No longer part of PBS system; dropped out in 2009)
KEET (Eureka)
KIXE (Redding)
KLCS (Los Angeles)
KOCE/PBS SoCal (Huntington Beach) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

KPBS (San Diego) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearances
Aug 22, 1998

“Back in September or October of 1997 (it was my first year in college…I was 19), our local PBS outlet here in San Diego, KPBS, organized an event called “Lunch with John Inman.” For a price (was is $30?), you could come to the KPBS studios for a full catered lunch which was followed by a (very funny) monologue by Mr. Inman. After that, Mr. Inman went to every table to chat with everybody, sign autographs and take photos. He was very gracious, witty and in very good spirits. He seemed genuinely appreciative that so many people came to meet and greet with him.

One of my favorite Mr.Humpries lines in in the episode The Apartment:

Mrs. Slocombe: Mr. Humphries, do you sleep as nature intended?
Mr. Humphries: Mrs. Slocombe, I’ve never done anything as nature intended!

I even mentioned this to him. I said “Mr. Inman, one of my favorite lines by you is where Mrs. Slocombe asks you if you sleep as nature intended. And then Mr. Humphries says…

“He stopped me and said the line himself, on the spot! I was impressed that he would remember that one at the drop of a hat. Amazing!”

(Used with kind permission from Erik Homenick).

Aug 23, 1998

KPBS Horton Plaza Book Signing

John Inman Appearances
Sept 23, 1997
Sept 24, 1997 KTEH Store (San Diego, CA)
Sept 26, 1997
Sept 27, 1997 KTEH Store (San Jose, CA)

KQED Plus (Discontinued-currently not being aired) (Note: KQED merged with KTEH,(now
known as KQED Plus), a few years ago).

Ice cream parlor based on 2 characters from AYBS:

http://ww2.kqed.org/pop/2013/07/02/san-francisco-ice-cream-wars-what-your-allegiance-says-about-you/

5 types of Americans
http://ww2.kqed.org/pop/5-types-of-americans-as-portrayed-on-british-television-doctor-who-downton-abbey

KRCB (Cotati)
KVCR (San Bernardino)
KVIE (Sacramento)
KVPT (Does not exist anymore)

Colorado

KBDI (Broomfield)

KRMA Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network, Inc. (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
Main site: http://www.rmpbs.org

Trevor Bannister Appearance
May 31, 1997

THIS MONTH IN THE HISTORY OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS: AUGUST

By Laura Sampson

Founder, Station’s Archived Memories (SAM)

The SAM Project serves the past, present, and future of Rocky Mountain PBS

by assuring that the history of the station and its importance to the

Colorado community will survive for generations to come.

Are you a fan of the beloved British sitcom, “Are You Being Served?” Did you know that in the 1990s some of
their cast memberscrossed the pond to visit Rocky Mountain PBS.

In the United States, the program gained a loyal and enthusiastic following when PBS stations began airing
reruns of it in the late 1980s. According to TV.com, “Are You Being Served? is a British Sitcom that ran from
1972-1985. The show revolved around “Grace Brothers Department Store” and in particular the goings on within
the “Gentlemen’s Ready-To-Wear” and “Ladies’ Separates and Underwear” Departments. A store reorganization
forced these two departments to share floor space, and the conflicts that this created set the tone for most episodes.
Are You Being Served? showcases a bygone period of time in which the class structure was still very much alive.
There was a strict hierarchy within Grace Brothers. Everyone knew their “places” and remained in them, unless,
of course, there was a chance for advancement and then it was every man and woman for themselves.”

Several members of the BritCom cast helped raise funds for public broadcasting, especially during Festival (Pledge)
or Membership Drives. KRMA was graced with personal visits from both John Inman, the program’s star and Trevor
Bannister, aka the naughty junior salesman at Grace Brothers, Mr. Lucas.

On August 15, 1997, Trevor Bannister entertained guests and viewers in Denver’s KRMA studios at 1089 Bannock
Street. Viewers, volunteers and production staff enjoyed Mr. Bannister’s visit tremendously. Keeping with the

tradition as a “community licensed” public broadcasting station, KRMA invited members of the community to be a
part of a live audience on the evening of Mr. Bannister’s appearance. He graciously “pitched” throughout the

fundraising drive asking people to financially support KRMA. He also spoke directly to viewers that were calling in

their phone pledges and autographed 100s of photographs* for in-studio guests and volunteers.

You are “graciously” invited to enjoy browsing the archive department’s (SAM) photographs from Trevor Bannister’s
August 1997 visit to Rocky Mountain PBS.

* If you happen to have an autographed photo from Mr. Bannister during his 1997 visit to KRMA, and would be willing
to donate it to the station’s archives, please contact the archive department at 303-620-5734 or [email protected]

(Credit to Rocky Mountain PBS with the information and pictures. Also big thanks to the RMPBS volunteers of
Station’s Archived Memories who are preserving historical information for this PBS station).

John Inman Appearances
1993

Talking with viewers making pledges for RMPBS, 1993.

Taking pledge calls at RMPBS, 1993.

1993 (Laura Sampson, with John Inman)

Our former Development Director, Trudy Fowler, with
John Inman during Pledge Drive 1993.

(Credit to the RMPBS volunteers of Station’s Archived Memories who are preserving historical information for this PBS station and provided these photographs. Also thanks to Laura Sampson for taking the time to get these photographs to me).

Sept 28,
1997

On the set at RMPBS, 1997 (Trudy Fowler and John Inman)

Another on-set photograph of John Inman and
Trudy Fowler @ RMPBS, 1997

(Credit to the RMPBS volunteers of Station’s Archived Memories who are preserving historical information for this PBS
station and provided these photographs. Also thanks to Laura Sampson for taking the time to get these photographs to me).

Sept 29, 1997 KRMA Store (Denver, CO)
Sept 17, 1998 Park Meadows Book Signing
Sept 18, 1998
Sept 19, 1998
August 12, 1999 John presented a show, “An Evening with John Inman”, at the Lodo Music Hall in Denver,CO.

Promo that aired on PBS station:

“John Inman, a master of British comedy and a Rocky Mountain PBS favorite, made his much-anticipated return to Denver. On August 12, 1999, John presented an unforgettable show, An Evening with John Inman, at the Lodo Music Hall in Denver, Colorado.”

Listen to his hilarious interview:

(Used with permission from RMPBS).

KTSC Pueblo (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Connecticut

Connecticut Public Broadcasting (CPBN)

WNPR

Delaware

WHYY Wilmington (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

District of Columbia

WETA (Washington, DC)
Main site: http://www.weta.org/

http://www.weta.org/tv/program/are-you-being-served

Frank Thornton Tribute:

http://blogs.weta.org/tellyvisions/2013/03/18/we-ll-miss-you-captain-peacock-are-you-being-served-star-frank-thornton-passes-away-92

John Inman Appearances
Oct 11, 1997
Oct 12 1997

WETA Store (Washington, DC)

“Almost all of the cast members on AYBS visited us in the past, but anything they autographed, etc. is long since gone. All of them autographed different versions of the “episode book” and various tote bags and VHS copies of various seasons of the program. I think in the beginning that public television amazed them. Stories of what happened while they were here abound.

Especially John Inman and Trevor Bannister. Bannister was full of stories about individual episodes and cast members and he tap danced for us. They were all lovely, but the one we adored was John Inman. One of our on-air personalities, Robert Aubrey Davis (a Washington legend), interviewed (and joked with) Inman. It was like watching a completely different version of reality!

Then Davis got a frog in his throat and didn’t have any water. Inman thrust the coffee cup he was holding at him and Davis took a healthy gulp. Turns out, it was P.G. and Davis choked and spit out some of the gin. All of the volunteers who were on the phones (myself included) saw only the back of this, but Inman fell out laughing and said something under his breath. So did Davis as he recovered, and then we smelled the gin and all of us all lost it on the air. I wish we had that on tape!”

(Used with permission from Sandy-an Audience Services Volunteer at WETA).

WHUT (Washington, DC)

Florida

WBCC (Cocoa)
WCEU (Daytona Beach)

WEDU (Tampa)

John Inman Appearance

1992-1996? WEDU (Image of host with John Inman during a pledge drive-archive).

June 2003-Nicholas Smith visits WEDU.

WFSU/WFSG (Tallahassee) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

WGCU (Ft. Myers)

WJCT (Jacksonville)
WLRN (Miami)
WMFE (Orlando)

WPBT (Miami)
http://channel2.typepad.com/channel_2/2009/07/actress-mollie-sugden-dies-at-86.html (Mollie Tribute)

http://channel2.typepad.com/channel_2/2011/04/thank-you-trevor-bannister-for-years-of-smiles-and-laughter.html
(Trevor Bannister Tribute-dead link now)

WSRE (Pensacola)

WUFT (Gainesville)(Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WUSF TV/DT (Tampa)

WXEL (West Palm Beach)

Georgia

GPB Georgia Public Broadcasting (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearances

Oct 7, 1997
Oct 8, 1997 GPTV Store (Atlanta, GA)
Aug 15, 1998
Aug 16, 1998

WPBA (Atlanta)

Hawaii

Hawaii Public Television

KHET Honolulu (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Idaho

Idaho Public Television (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Illinois

WEIU (Charleston)

WILL-TV/Channel 12 (Urbana) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
Main site: http://will.illinois.edu/

Nicholas Smith Appearances
Sept 3, 2009
WILL

Content Director, David Thiel, with Nicholas Smith.

(Image credit to Darrell Hoemann. Used with permission from Lisa at WILL TV).

Aug 30, 2009
WTVP (Peoria) http://www.wtvp.org/headlines/09.08.14.Rumbold.asp

Nicholas Smith Event (PBS Tour 2009)

“Mr. Rumbold Is Coming to Tea- Are You Being Served? actor Nicholas Smith to visit WTVP –

Peoria, IL – The redoubtable Mr. Rumbold is coming to tea. WTVP 47 is pleased to welcome veteran actor
and gifted musician Nicholas Smith-otherwise known as the fussy, bespectacled and much-mocked Floor
Manager on the beloved British Comedy, “Are You Being Served?”-to Central Illinois for an informal tea,
Sunday, August 30 from 3-6 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in East Peoria.

Tickets are on sale now $15 for general public, and just $10 for WTVP members. A light tea will be provided,
and the afternoon will include conversation, special giveaways, and plenty of time to take your picture with
Mr. Smith. The event is being hosted for WTVP by Donald Chapman, Jr., Karl and Nancy Stach, and Quentin
and Muriel Willman.

All proceeds benefit the programming and services on WTVP, public media for Central Illinois.”-Note from WTVP

John Inman Appearances
Interview: https://will.illinois.edu/afternoonmagazine/program/aftmag980909
Sept 6, 2008 Woodfield Mall and Orland Square Book Signing
Sept 8, 2008 Oakbrook Center Book Signing
Sept 9, 2008 WILL See info and picture from event below.
Sept 10, 2008

“When I worked at a PBS station in Illinois, John Inman was doing a lot of personal appearances for fundraising at
the stations. My son Max was thrilled to meet him, and I had to snap a picture of the event. Mr. Inman was charming
and personable to everyone he met at the events, and was asked to come back a few years later as well.”-Ange A.

(Image and description was used with kind permission by Ange A.).

https://will.illinois.edu/tvworthblogging/post/britcom-icon-dies (Frank Thornton tribute)

http://will.illinois.edu/tvworthblogging/entry/mollie-sugden-dies/

https://will.illinois.edu/tvworthblogging/post/graceless

WMEC (Macomb)
WQEC (Quincy)
WSEC (Jacksonville)
WQPT (Moline)
WSIU/WUSI (Carbondale) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WTTW (Chicago) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WYCC (Chicago)

Indiana

WFWA (Fort Wayne)

WFYI (Indianapolis)

Nicholas Smith Appearance
Aug 31, 2009

WIPB (Muncie)
WNIN (Evansville)
WNIT (South Bend)

WTIU (Bloomington)
March 2003 Mollie Sugden visits WTIU.

WVUT (Vincennes)
WYIN (Merrillville)

Iowa

Iowa Public Television(IPTV) IPTV AYBS TV Schedule (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Mollie Sugden Appearance

2002 IPTV “Celebrating Mollie Sugden”

Nicholas Smith Appearance

Aug 29, 2009

Nicholas Smith PBS Tour (2009)

“Nicholas will be the celebrity guest at a Britcom event we are holding August 29 from 1-3 p.m. at Iowa Public
Television. Mr. Smith will be speaking to the group about his time acting on Are You Being Served and will
meet the guests. The event is free but people need to RSVP to 800-728-2828 or 515-242-5400 to get a ticket.”
-Note from IPTV.

John Inman Appearance

Aug 17, 1999 Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (Cedar Rapids, IA) See info and pictures from the event below.

(The following images and description are by me when I saw John Inman at Cedar Rapids Museum of Art on August 17,
1999).

I saw an ad on TV from Iowa Public Television that John Inman was coming to Cedar Rapids. My mom called and reserved tickets for me and her. There was by then only 3 tickets left already and it looked like the ad only aired that day! I shudder to think if I didn’t see that ad.

This event was not a scheduled event which made it all the more exciting and an one in a lifetime opportunity I wasn’t going to miss! Also, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art where we were going to be was only 15 minutes from where we lived at the time which was another nice bonus. We also found out later that everything had to be set up in one day practically and he was in communication with the woman that ran the event there the whole time while being chauffered through the cornfields from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids. Poor John-especially not being much of a country lover, but like he said about the trip all he could say was “More corn?”! and Des Moooooiiiinnnneeessss (broken bed spring sound). 🙂

John was very thoughtful and when he entered the room, he made sure that I could hear him OK from where I was sitting since someone took my reserved seat up front. Years of lipreading experience really paid off here. 🙂 During setting up the event one of the organizers forgot the most important thing-Gin and tonic-and disappeared for a few minutes. She came back and gave him a Gin and Tonic which, after taking a sip, he referred to as great Iowa water. It looked like they added a little too much Gin in it by his reaction, but he drank it happily and I think all was forgiven. 🙂

He was hilarious and my stomach actually hurt from all the laughing at his stories. He was very good with the one-two punch. You are trying to recover from one joke and get hit by the next. Whew! Among them was him calling his mother from Oman-you know the rest I’m sure! He also answered many questions and my Mom and I had a hard time NOT asking him questions. 🙂

I have to give my mom credit for taking all these pictures since I couldn’t have done that without missing a lot! When the 2nd picture was taken, John noticed and asked my mom to “take a proper picture” which cracked everyone up and the 3rd picture was the result. I did take the close up picture of John, (6th picture), since I asked him if none of the other pictures came out I would like to take one more picture of him which he happily let me do. I call it my “backup picture”.
🙂

When the event was over, we found it very hard to leave. Thinking back it’s amazing how one person can be so much fun to be around that you hate to leave his company. I will always appreciate him that he went out of his way to Cedar Rapids so more fans in Iowa and neighboring states could catch up with him who couldn’t see him in Des Moines.

It just shows how thoughtful and dedicated he was to his fans!

Original ad:

August 17 & 18 – Iowa.
“After Closing Time with John Inman”
August 17 at 7:00 PM: Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.
August 18 at 7 PM: Younkers’ Tea Room in Des Moines.
Tickets: $50 per ticket for Friends
members, $55 per ticket for nonmembers. Tax deductible $40.

John Inman talking to fans.

Waiting in line.

Picture with John Inman!

“Backup” picture. 🙂

Pass to Event

Ticket to event

Trivia pages from event:

Trivia pages © IPTV PBS Station

AYBS Q&A area

Kansas

KOOD (Bunker Hill)

KPTS (Wichita) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
KTWU (Topeka)

Kentucky

Kentucky Educational Television (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

The Kentucky Network

WKYU

Louisiana

LPB Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Nicholas Smith Appearance

1993
John Inman Appearance

Aug 30, 1998

WLAE (Baton Rouge)
WYES (New Orleans)

Maine

Maine Public Broadcasting

“I worked at Maine Public Television as a reporter and producer when John Inman visited our station.
I had the photo taken of me with my wife and daughters.
This was back in the 90s, but I don’t exactly remember when.

My television name is Bill Maroldo. My wife is Judy Cartmel, and my daughters are Lauren (youngest) and
Natalie.

John was at our station to help us out with fund raising. He spent a couple of days in Maine and a few staff
members took him on a tour of our state which I understand he enjoyed.”

-Bill

(Image and description was used with kind permission by Bill Maroldo).

Maryland

Maryland Public Television

http://afternoontea.mpt.org/programs/#aybs

Massachusetts

WGBH/WGBX (Boston) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

???? John Inman Appearance
???? Trevor Bannister Appearance
???? Mollie Sugden Appearance

WGBY (Springfield)

Michigan

WCMU (Mt. Pleasant)
WDCQ/WDCP (University Center)
WFUM (Flint) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WGVU/WGVK (Grand Rapids) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WKAR (East Lansing) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WNMU-TV (Marquette)

WTVS (Detroit) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearance

Aug 17, 1998 Book Signing Store of Knowledge
Aug 18, 1998
Aug 19, 1998
Aug 20, 1998

Minnesota

KAWE (Bemidji)
KSMQ (Austin)
KTCA/KTCI (St. Paul)
KWCM (Appleton)
WDSE (Duluth)
TPT-Twin Cities

Mississippi

Mississippi Educational Network

Missouri

KCPT (Kansas City)
KETC (St Louis)
KMOS (Sedalia)
KOZK/KOZJ (OPT) (Springfield)(Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Montana

Montana Public Television

Nebraska

NET Nebraska Educational Television

Nebraska ETV Network (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Nevada

Vegas PBS

KLVX Las Vegas (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

KNPB (Reno) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

New Hampshire

NHPTV New Hampshire Public Television (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

New Jersey

New Jersey Network (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

New Mexico

KENW (Portales)
KNME (Albuquerque) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
KRWG (Las Cruces)

New York

Thirteen/WNET (New York)
WCFE/Mountain Lake PBS (Plattsburgh)
WCNY (Syracuse)

WLIW (Garden City)

Wendy Richard Appearance

Winter 2002 http://www.wgazette.com/wint02-greco.html

Frank Thornton Appearance

1994 “A Conversation with Captain Peacock” with Dara Welles from WLIW21

Mollie Sugden Appearance w/William Moore
“A Conversation with Mrs. Slocombe” with Dara Welles from WLIW2.

1995
Trevor Bannister Appearance
http://autographs.whataslacker.com/autographs-trevor-bannister.htm

WMHT-TV/Channel 17 (Schenectady)

http://www.wmht.org/blogs/british-programming/are-you-being-served/

http://www.wmht.org/blogs/british-programming/last-summer-wine/

WNED (Buffalo) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearance

Aug 28, 1999

WNYE (Brooklyn)
WPBS (Watertown) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WSKG (Binghamton) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WXXI (Rochester) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

North Carolina

UNC-TV University of North Carolina

WTVI Center for Public TV (Charlotte)

North Dakota

Prairie Public TV (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Ohio

WBGU-TV (Bowling Green)

WCET (Cincinnati) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

WGTE (Toledo)

WNEO/WEAO (Kent) Now Western Reserve Public Media. AYBS info (archive).
Main site: http://www.westernreservepublicmedia.org/

Mollie Sugden Appearance
1992-1995?
“The Best of Are You Being Served?” Replaced John Inman since he could not make the trip being under
the weather.

Nicholas Smith Appearance
2002 PDF Flyer

(The 3 images and flyer above used with permission from Paula at Western Reserve Public Media
Public Television (WNEO/WEAO) and Educational Services for Northeast Ohio).

John Inman Appearances

1994

Photo taken in Kent, Ohio in 1994.

(Images and info used with kind permission from Alex Gildzen).

1994

1999

1999 PDF Flyer

(The 3 images and flyer above used with permission from Paula at Western Reserve Public Media Public
Television (WNEO/WEAO) and Educational Services for Northeast Ohio).

2007

John Inman Tribute from the station

(Tribute above used with kind permission from WNEO PBS Station).

Trevor Bannister Appearance

1997 Flyer

(The flyer above used with permission from Paula at Western Reserve Public Media Public Television
(WNEO/WEAO) and Educational Services for Northeast Ohio).

August 17, 1997
Quaker Hilton Inn

Article below discusses the event:

(Source: Daily Kent Stater. (Used with permission)).

A fan’s summarization of the event:

An Interview with Trevor Bannister, at Akron, Ohio, on August 17, 1997

“Trevor Bannister walked straight out to the platform wearing a black shirt,
black pants, and a golden brown jacket. He was extremely tanned and,
although still an attractive man, looked a bit older than the Mr. Lucas
character we see on ‘Are You Being Served?’. From the start, he seemed very
confident, used to audiences. He wished to start straight off with
questions from the audience and he answered such questions (which ranged
from the practical to the bizarre) for two hours, standing the entire time.

Trevor left school at the age of 15 and enrolled in a drama school for
two years. He then had to do his National Service (mandatory military work
at the time). Upon his return to England he was given his first theatre job
by none other than Arthur Brough (Mr. Grainger in AYBS?) in repertoire
theatre. His pre-AYBS? television experiences included guest appearances,
dramas, and a role in ‘The Dustbin Men’ for Granada Television in 1969. He
first met with David Croft to discuss ‘Are You Being Served?’ in a pub
after a performance of a play he was in.

On a personal side of his life, Trevor is now married to his second
wife. He has three grown sons from his first marriage. His youngest son and
his oldest son have followed in their dad’s footsteps, both being involved
in the entertainment industry. His oldest son is in theatre production and
the youngest is in television and film production. Trevor’s middle son is
an accountant.

Trevor doesn’t remember many details about the ‘Are You Being Served?’
story lines as he doesn’t really watch himself on television. However, he
does admit that his two favorite AYBS? programs were ‘Dear Sexy Knickers’
and ‘The Punch and Judy Affair.’ The “staff of Grace Brothers” had a lot of
fun times working together but were always on task for the filming. Arthur
Brough, however, often would pull pranks on the rest of the cast during
filming. Despite his pranks, though, Trevor still holds him in very high
regard saying of him that he was a “wicked old man but a wonderful man.”

Also, Harold Bennett (who played Young Mr. Grace) was really just as feeble
in ‘real life’ as he appeared on the show and as a result he sometimes had
difficulty remembering his lines. He credits Jeremy Lloyd and his casting
abilities for casting the role of Young Mr. Grace so believably.

‘Are You Being Served?’ was taped live and all the scenes were taped
in order. Filming rarely stopped, even when mistakes were made, and so an
observant audience can often catch flubbed lines here and there. The show
was rehearsed Mondays through Thursdays away from the studio and on Friday
the cast rehearsed in the studio. Around 7pm the audience (consisting of
350 people) was brought in and then filming began at 8 and was usually done
around 9. Since taping of one season of AYBS? only took seven weeks, the
cast was forced to find other work for the rest of the year. That explains
why Trevor eventually left the show. The BBC did not give much warning
before they would decide to do another season of the show and so Trevor had
already signed a contract to do a play. Since he could not break that
contract the BBC tried to move the AYBS? filming days so that Trevor could
be in that too but, sadly, it didn’t work out in the end. He had the
opportunity to star in ‘Grace and Favour’ (Are You Being Served? Again!)
but didn’t think it was a good premise for a television show.

Sadly, most of the cast has passed on. The only surviving cast members
are Trevor, Mollie Sugden, Frank Thorton, Nicholas Smith, John Inman and
Wendy Richard (he didn’t say but I am also assuming that Mike Berry is also
living). The survivors still keep in touch though. He explained that Wendy
is in the soap opera, ‘EastEnders’; Frank is taking over a role in Roy
Clarke’s ‘Last of the Summer Wine’; John has done some theatre work; and
Mollie hasn’t been too well lately but is now better he thinks.

Trevor explained that he doesn’t get a lot of money for the reruns of
AYBS? because of the amount of people who have to collect on it. However,
he does still widely support PBS. He feels it is a very worthwhile
organization. “You’ve got a very mean government,” he said (tremendous
applause and cheers from the audience). He thinks that the government
should support PBS because of the good quality of programs they show.

Trevor also talked about a range of other details too. He explained,
in detail, pantomimes, also said that he has written and starred in them;
said he played a role in ‘The Odd Couple’ (the play) and really enjoyed
working in it; told how to make a Toad in the Hole; talked about his guest
appearance on ‘Keeping Up Appearances’, and also about Patricia Routledge’s
(Hyacinth Bucket’s) wonderful acting and singing abilities; joked that the
AYBS? movie was very cheaply made; explained that the connotation of Mrs.
Slocombe’s pussy really wasn’t as bad in England as in the U.S.; and so on.
Overall, I felt that Trevor Bannister gave a very interesting interview.”

(Interview used with permission from Denise O’Wesney).

“The Alternative Magazine”

“The Best of ‘Are You Being Served?'” article from “The Alternative” magazine:

(Used with permission from WNEO PBS Station).

Trivia Pages:

WOSU (Columbus) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WOUB/WOUC (Athens)
WPTD (Dayton)
WVIZ (Cleveland)

Oklahoma

KRSC (Claremore)
OET Oklahoma Educational Television-(Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Oregon

KSYS (Medford)
Oregon Public Broadcasting

Pennsylvania

WHYY (Philadelphia) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Mollie Sugden Appearance

March 1993
John Inman Appearances

August 1993
Oct 4, 1997
Oct 5, 1997 Store Willow Grove Mall
Sept 4, 1998
Sept 5, 1998 Cherry Hill Book Signing

WITF (Harrisburg)
WLVT-TV (Allentown) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WPSU (University Park)
WQED/WQEX (Pittsburgh) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WVIA (Pittston) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
WYBE (Philadelphia)

Rhode Island

WSBE (Providence)

South Carolina

South Carolina ETV

South Dakota

South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Tennessee

WNPT Nashville Public Television
WCTE (Cookeville)
WDCN (Nashville) Now WNPT. (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

WKNO (Memphis) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearance
August 20, 1999

WLJT (Lexington)
WETP (Knoxville)
WSKJ/WKOP (Knoxville) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

WTCI (Chattanooga) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Nicholas Smith Appearance

August 15, 2009
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2009/8/5/156215/WTCI-TV-To-Feature-Britcom-Star.aspx

Nicholas Smith 2009 PBS Tour

(Used with permission of WTCI PBS station).

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnT7O14laZM[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQQ8NFcABRg[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXp9OgLtFIw[/embedyt]

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01qF5tkjmlI[/embedyt]

(The video clips above used with permission from Sharon Doty).

John Inman Appearance
Sept 2, 1998

Texas

KACV (Amarillo)
KAMU (College Station)
KCOS (El Paso)
KWBU (Waco)
KEDT (Corpus Christi)

KERA/KDTN (Dallas) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearances

Oct 2, 1997
Oct 3, 1997 KERA/KDTN Store (Dallas, TX)
Aug 26, 1998
Aug 27, 1998

February 2019 John Inman Estate Auction mention:

Mr. Humphries may have been ‘free,’ but John Inman’s memorabilia goes up for auction

KLRN (San Antonia) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
KLRU (Austin) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
KMBH (Harlingen)
KNCT (Killeen) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
KOCV (Odessa)
KTXT (Lubbock)

KUHT (Houston)

Wendy Richard Appearance

May 29, 2003 http://pages.prodigy.net/glc/wrhp/html/wr_tvfq.htm#hpbs (Wendy Richard Appreciation Page)

Utah

KBYU (Provo)
KUED/KUES (Salt Lake City) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
Utah Education Network (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Vermont

Vermont Public Television (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Virginia

WBRA (Roanoke)
WCVE (Richmond)

WHRO (Norfolk) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

John Inman Appearance

1995 Spoke at the Wells Theatre and also spoke at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center.
Sept 12, 1998 Lynhaven Mall Book Signing. Did an interview there as well.

WVPT/WVPY (Harrisonburg)-AYBS is airing on this channel.
MHz (formerly WNVC) (Fairfax)
MHz2 (formerly WNVT) (Falls Church)

Washington

KBTC (Tacoma)
KCTS (Seattle)
KSPS (Spokane) (Discontinued-currently not being aired)
KWSU/KTNW (Pullman)

West Virginia

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (Discontinued-currently not being aired)

Wisconsin

WHA (Madison)
Wisconsin Educational Communications Board

WMVS/WMVT (Milwaukee) Now Milwaukee Public Television (MPTV)

Wyoming

KCWC (Riverton)

DHI Information & Merchandise Page

I was contacted by Dennis Rahn who runs DHI International and provided me with a lot of unique interesting items relating to AYBS and other BritComs. See http://aybscentral.com/DHI/index.html for more info (bottom of page).