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? act calling itself "Grace Brothers", and featured vocal samples of John Inman and Frank Thornton. There is a homage to the theme song in the Ladytron song "Paco!" from the album "604", and New Zealand band Minuit's "I hate guns". A lugubrious version of the theme song is featured on the album "The Ape of Naples" by the experimental music group Coil. The theme song has also been covered by Australian band Regurgitator on their 1999 album "...art". Pop singer Jamelia's song "Window Shopping" (from her 2006 album "Walk with Me") begins with a sample of the familiar cash register