Mrs. Slocombe
| Mrs. Betty Slocombe | |||||
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Are You Being Served? & Grace & Favour character |
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| Portrayed by |
Mollie Sugden (1972–93) Sherrie Hewson (2016) |
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| Duration | 1972–1993, 2016 | ||||
| First appearance | Are You Being Served? (1972) | ||||
| Created by |
Jeremy Lloyd David Croft |
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| Profile | |||||
| Occupation | Saleswoman - Senior of the ladieswear department | ||||
| Residence | London | ||||
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| Spouse | Cecil G. Slocombe |
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| Uncles | Wendel P. Clark |
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Jennifer Rachel Abergavenny "Betty" Slocombe née Yiddell is a fictional character from the BBC One comedy shows, Are You Being Served? and Grace & Favour. She was originally played by Mollie Sugden and subsequently by Sherrie Hewson in a one-off 2016 revival.
Mary Elizabeth Jennifer Rachel Abergavenny Slocombe (née Yiddell), known as Betty, was born in 1926 in Blackpool. Mrs Slocombe is the Senior of the Ladies Department and known for her unusual hair colours, such as lime green, purple or orange. Throughout the series, her husband was alluded to have either left Mrs. Slocombe, or was possibly arrested by the Fraud Squad. In Grace and Favour, it was revealed Mrs Slocombe's husband, Cecil, had walked out on her one morning (to buy slightly salted butter at Sainsbury's) and ended up a successful land developer. In one episode she accepts what she thinks is a marriage proposal from Mr. Humphries, implying that she is now divorced from Mr Slocombe.
Mrs Slocombe lives with her cat, Tiddles, which she refers to as "my pussy;" and is the source of many a double entendre. Mrs. Slocombe also tries to sound posh and refined, but when exasperated or annoyed, she reveals more than a trace of a northern accent. Mrs. Slocombe's catch phrases were "...and I am unanimous in that..." and "Weak as water!" Mrs Slocombe often utters malapropisms when confronted with long words, rendering, for example, "obstreperous" as "obstropulous" and "organism" as "orgasm" and "centimeters" as "centipedes."
Much of her free time is spent prowling public houses, roller rinks and discos with her friend Mrs. Axelby (in an earlier episode, her friend was named Mrs. Elthrop), but due to her middle age, men are less and less attracted to her, which she dismisses as politeness on the part of all men. Mrs. Axelby aside, Mrs Slocombe's best friend appears to be Miss Brahms, in spite of their 28-year age difference; they are often seen gossiping and going against management.
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Wikipedia