The 100 Grooviest LGBT Characters on Television

From:  Deep Dish

98) 

Mr. Humphries (John Inman)

Are You Being Served? and Grace and Favour 

(1972-93)

Wilberforce Claybourne Humphries (John Inman)

Mr Humphries (John Inman), sales assistant, later senior assistant in menswear. Mr Humphries' colleagues and 'best friends' (although he denied this) were Mr Lucas and Mr Spooner. His ambiguous sexuality was used as a catalyst for many comedic situations and one-liners. Mr Humphries was particularly noted for his mincing walk and his slightly high-pitched voice, which he discarded when answering the phone: "MENSWEAR", he intoned in a falsified baritone. He had one of the most famous catchphrases of the era: when asked by a colleague, "Mr Humphries, are you free?" (to serve a customer), he always gave the exaggerated response, "I'm free!" in a very high pitched voice. As the series progressed he often arrived late at work in increasingly outrageous attire including punk rocker clothing and hair, motorcycle leather jacket and chaps, and a sailor uniform, always with an equally outrageous account of his previous night's activities and his efforts to make it to work on time nonetheless. On one occasion, Mr. Lucas opined to him after a description of the previous evening: "It's all go at your place!" Mr Humphries frequently spoke of a companion or companions referred to only as "my friend", often in a situation that pertained in some way to the subject under discussion. Everyone always assumed that the friends that he mentioned were men and would sometimes ask about them, and Mr Humphries would answer back, "What makes you think it's a 'he'?!", often in a voice lowered by an octave. In the episode 'Heir Apparent' his mother, Mrs Annie Humphries, suggests he was born in 1938 or 1939, after a series of encounters with various men. He is often described as the most lovable character in the show, and was shown to be the most popular member of the floor in 'Shedding the Load' when he was the only member of staff not to receive a vote to be sacked. John Inman died of hepatitis in 2007, aged 72.