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? declared the play to be worthless except for the final line, though he admitted he'd never seen the television show. The play has occasionally been run at other theaters since, including in 2012 at the Manifest Theater in Manningtree. In 1979, Garry Marshall, in the midst of success producing and directing "Happy Days" and its spin-offs, produced a pilot for an American version of "Are You Being Served?" At the time, Americanized versions of British series, including "Three's Company", "All in the Family", and "Sanford and Son" were doing well in the ratings, and Marshall hoped to capitalize on this