Are You Being Served? (1972)

Sons remember comedy legend Mollie Sugden

She could give a withering look, had impeccable pink hair - and as the woman behind the most shameless ­double ­entendre on TV, she never missed a stroke.

Why the original Are You Being Served? was so true

Ahead of Derren Litten's take on the classic sitcom, we ask: what would it actually be like to work at Grace Brothers?

10 AYBS? quotes that won't be repeated in the remake

David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, whose back catalogue included 'Allo 'Allo!, Dad's Army and Hi-de-Hi! created the original show, which was littered with innuendo and double-entendres, many of which would struggle to make family viewing times in the current era. And as for the sexual politics of the show, Twitter would be lit up like Mrs. Slocombe's pink rinse.

A Labor Day salute to the employees of Grace Brothers

n the United States, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement, dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. As we settle in for the final day of a 3-day weekend, we pause to pay tribute to some of the hardest working people in U.K. retail...the staff of Grace Brothers Department Store.

At its peak, an episode of Jeremy Lloyd's innuendo engorged department-store sitcom could glue a heady 22 million bums on sofas - but series one, which was up against Coronation Street, slipped by unnoticed, only acquiring a fanbase when it was re-shown. Are You Being Served? finally went off air in 1985, apart from the occasional repeat, so sauce-starved aficionados will gobble up this post-Christmas clip-and-comment treat. We discover how the show was promoted from a pilot (first aired as a Comedy Playhouse in 1972) to a long-running series, destined always to conjure up words like "best-loved" and "iconic". Cast, crew and writers gather to tell the AYBS? back story (Lloyd got the idea from working at Simpsons of Piccadilly) and reel off anecdotes from the 13-year run. We'll also find out just how the only surviving black-and-white recording of the pilot was recently remastered in full colour. We can't say for sure, as this preview comes to you without the benefit of an advance viewing, but the explanation as to how this was achieved is likely to be less amusing than the finished product.

Pussy galore: a tribute to Mrs Slocombe

With her immortal 'pussy', Mrs Slocombe turned the airwaves as blue as her rinse. Mollie Sugden's creation will be remembered as one of the strongest, sauciest female characters of the 70s.

Mollie Sugden: a fearsome screen battleaxe

Mollie Sugden was one of Britain's top television sitcom actresses, renowned for her portrayal of fearsome battleaxes.

Mollie Sugden: Her career in clips

Best known for her portrayal of Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?, Mollie Sugden's comic talent lives on in these YouTube clips...