Are You Being Served? sharp-tongued, witty responses, along with his trademark catch-phrase "I'm free!", were enthusiastically embraced by many audience members, and the character evolved into a gay icon in popular culture. Despite this, Inman pointed out that Mr Humphries' true sexual orientation was never explicitly stated in the series, and David Croft said in an interview that the character was not homosexual, but "just a mother's boy". In an episode of the spin-off "Grace & Favour", the character is further described as neither a "woman's man" nor a "man's man" and as being "in limbo". The characters (Mr Humphries especially) sometimes broke the
Are You Being Served? with his script for "Beane's of Boston". Jeremy Lloyd's "Laugh-In" partner, Alan Sues, was cast as Mr. Humphries, a decision Lloyd regretted, saying Sues had been miscast. Other cast included future "Magnum PI" star John Hillerman as Mr. Peacock, Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Slocombe, and Lorna Patterson as Miss Brahms. Ultimately, CBS passed on "Beane's of Boston" and a full series was not produced. An Australian adaptation, also called "Are You Being Served?", ran for two series and sixteen episodes from 1980 to 1981 on Network Ten. It starred John Inman as Mr Humphries, who travels to Australia on loan