Are You Being Served? the first series on 14 March 1973. Although the first series was aired in the same timeslot as "Coronation Street" on ITV, consequently receiving relatively little attention, the repeats shown later in the year were much more successful. The show became a ratings hit, and after a successful 13-year run, "Are You Being Served?" came to an end on 1 April 1985. Of the original cast, only Frank Thornton, Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Wendy Richard and Nicholas Smith appeared in all 69 episodes of the programme's 13-year run; these five later featured in the sequel sitcom, "Grace & Favour" (also
Are You Being Served? (Australian TV series) where "Are You Being Served?" was popular, such as Ireland, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. The series has not been repeated on Australian television since the late 1980s. (The UK original "Are You Being Served?" had been repeated by ABC Television in Australia several times. By 1978 it had been repeated by Channel Seven in Australia to even larger audiences.) In a recurring joke on the radio show "Get This", it was stated that only the loss of the master tapes for the series is preventing its release on DVD. The National Film and Sound Archive does in