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 a passionate kiss, stating: "I was always on your side." Mr. Humphries quickly replies that if the kiss had lasted any longer, he would have "gone over to your side." Mr. Humphries is usually quite eager to wait on male customers, particularly those with a seemingly homoerotic request. When asked to wait on a gentleman who wanted to buy a dress to wear (at a fancy dress party), the previously busy Mr. Humphries suddenly becomes available. On another occasion, when a fire alarm goes off, Mr. Humphries pretends to faint so that the hunky fire chief will give him a