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. Jingeling Santa to come. During the Christmas season, Mr. Jingeling also appeared for a five-minute daily segment on the Captain Penny local children's television series on WEWS-TV (Channel 5) where he would tell stories and sing songs about the North Pole. His appearances began and ended with the Mr Jingeling advertising jingle, which reminded children that he could be seen in person on the seventh floor of Halle's Department Store. The Mr. Jingeling theme song: Mister Jingeling/How you ting-a-ling/Keeper of the keys/On Halle's seventh floor/We'll be looking for/You to turn the keys Variation: Mister Jingeling/How you ting-a-ling/Keeper of the keys/Don't you