Starring: Frank Thornton, John Inman, Mollie Sugden, Wendy Richard
Genres: Comedy
The Hold Up - S10-E3
Plot hole: When the robbers come onto the floor and go into Mr. Rumbold's office, the staff suggests calling the police, only to be told by Mr. Harman that the only outside line is in Rumbold's office. This, despite the fact that there have been numerous occasions throughout the series where characters made and received personal calls on the department phones (Mrs. Slocombe calling her cat, Mr. Humphries calling his mother, etc).
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.
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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.