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 packet, he remarks to Mrs. Slocombe that he's got a date at 5:30 and dashes off excitedly. In "The Erotic Dreams of Mrs. Slocombe," Miss Brahms attempted to teach him how to seduce Mrs. Slocombe in order to shake her out of a deep depression. However the lessons work too well and in the end Mr. Humphries passionately throws himself at Miss Brahms. In "Conduct Unbecoming," Mr. Humphries is accused of stealing money from his department's till. When he is vindicated (due to the till being faulty), Mr. Rumbold's beautiful blonde secretary throws her arms around him and gives him