Mr. Humphries is never elaborated upon. Though Mr. Humphries exhibits many of the behaviors typical of a gay stereotype, his true sexual orientation is never explicitly confirmed in the series. The reticence was a necessity given prevailing attitudes at the time the series was produced: after the first five episodes of "Are You Being Served?", a senior BBC executive ordered David Croft to "Get rid of the poof" from the show – Croft declined, saying: "If the poof goes, I go." Many jokes throw Mr Humphries into heterosexual clinches. At one point he is asked to fill in for Mrs. Slocombe at
Mr. Humphries the ladies' counter when a female customer approaches and complains about the stockings she is wearing, lifting up her skirt to show them to him, which caused him to remark that he is "riveted to the spot" and is considering "a whole new way of life." In "The Agent," Mr. Humphries, in an attempt to get himself fired in order to take a higher paying position elsewhere, makes a pass at a female customer, only to find out later that she calls his bluff to meet him outside at 5:30. At the end of the episode, while counting his wage