Starring: Frank Thornton, John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Wendy Richard
Genres: Comedy
Goodbye Mrs. Slocombe - S10-E1
Other mistake: When Mr. Humphries first comes back to the department in drag and talks to Capt. Peacock before being directed to the Ladies Dept., you can see, in the background, Mr. Spooner trying desperately (and unsuccessfully) not to laugh.
Revealing mistake: When the gentleman buying the dress comes out from behind the curtain in the change room, you can see the set for the canteen, with the lights off. (00:14:45)
Mr. Humphries: I'm free!
Trivia: The "lift voice" heard during the theme song in each episode is that of Stephanie Gathercole, who played Mr. Rumbold's secretary in the earliest episodes.
Question: Does anyone know why Wendy Richard (Ms. Brahms) is the only one not wearing blackface for the musical number at the end of the episode?
Answer: In Britain, there was the show Black and White Minstrels which was very popular until the late 70s. The men were all blacked up, but the women weren't - hence Black and White Minstrels. It's been a while since I saw the episode to know if Mrs Slocombe was blacked up as well, but technically she shouldn't have been.
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: In minstrel shows there was also a stereotype of black men preying on white women, so that's probably why she was not in black face. Also, Mrs. Slocombe is in blackface because she is an older, stout woman and she fits the "mammy" stereotype.