BBC comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd, the mastermind behind both ‘Allo ‘Allo! and Are You Being Served?, died without a penny to his name, documents revealed.The comedic genius, who died on December 23, 2014, crafted two of Britain’s most beloved sitcoms – yet his estate was valued at merely £59,218 upon his death, according to probate office records.
Lloyd had reportedly intended to bequeath his fortune to wife Lizzie and former fiancée actress Charlotte Rampling, but once his debts were cleared, his estate held no value whatsoever.
Lloyd, was married three times, including briefly to actress Joanna Lumley, who he was married to between 1970 and 1971, but their marriage was dissolved with a no-fault divorce after just a few months. Speaking of the short marriage Joanna once joked: “He was witty, tall and charming ‒ we should have just had a raging affair.”
Lloyd started out as a performer before crafting gags for comedy legends like Morecambe and Wise and Bruce Forsyth. His breakthrough came with his two sitcoms, starting with Are You Being Served? in 1972. Drawing from his own stint at Simpsons of Piccadilly, he crafted the comedy around the fictional Grace Brothers department store.
The cheeky humour and memorable catchphrases, including camp Mr Humphries’s “I’m Free”, attracted audiences of up to 22 million and ran for 13 years.
In 2004, it secured 20th place on the BBC‘s list of Britain’s Best Sitcoms.
This triumph paved the way for ‘Allo ‘Allo in 1982, chronicling WWII French café proprietor Rene Artois (Gordon Kaye) and smitten waitress Yvette (Vikki Michelle).
Resistance fighter Michelle Dubois’s frequently repeated phrase, “Listen very carefully, I shall say ‘zis only once!” became the title for Lloyd’s memoir.
Born the son of an Army colonel and a dancer, he was awarded an OBE for his services to comedy in 2012, having grown up as part of The Tiller Girls. He passed away in December 2014 at the age of 84 in hospital following a battle with pneumonia, just six months after marrying his third wife.
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