| name | James Hayter |
| date of birth | 23 April 1907 |
| sun (zodiac) sign | Taurus (the Bull) - earth sign |
| ruling planet | Venus |
| character name | Percival Tebbs |
| tenure on the show | 1978 |
| Tebbs' status | senior salesman 1978 |
| catchphrase | "don't teach your grand- mother how to suck eggs" |
Percival Tebbs, played by James Hayter, is the second senior salesman (replacing Mr. Grainger) of the men's clothing staff of Grace Brothers department store in the show Are You Being Served? (AYBS?). Mr. Tebbs is extremely popular, and indeed many fans actually prefer him to Mr. Grainger. Of the four senior salesmen who came after Mr. Grainger, Mr. Tebbs is probably the only one of them who has this honor.
The character of Mr. Tebbs is loosely based on Mr. Grainger, and indeed they have many similarities. They both have an fondness/animosity relationship with Mrs. Slocombe ("love/hate" is too strong), they both have amazingly funny facial expressions (it's a pity that I don't have a pic of Mr. Tebbs available), they both have rather loud eating habits, they both have an absent-minded-crusty-old-man type of disposition (although they have their own signature forms of crustiness!), they both wore funny looking wigs in one episode, and they both were even subject to being woken up with the words "are you free?"
As Mr. Tebbs only starred in one season of AYBS?, there not much we know about him. We know that he worked at Grace Brothers for forty-two years before moving to the Men's Department, that he is married, that he injured his wife in a toss-dance contest, and that he was saving up for a holiday to Bangor (Bangor in Wales... why, what were YOU thinking?). We also know that he started working at Grace Brothers in 1936, receiving a long service pen-and-pencil set in 1968, and being honored on his fortieth anniversary in 1976 with a tea party in the boardroom.
It's a real shame that James Hayter left the show after only one season (he left in favor of doing "Kipling's Cakes" adverts... personally I think he made a bad choice! ^_^), because he would have made a phenomenal senior salesman as Mr. Tebbs, maybe even surpassing Mr. Grainger. As it is though, we must be content with the six episodes we have of him, and laugh at his teddy bear getup in "Happy Returns," his waddling walk, and of course his masquerade as the Greek Archbishop Halitosis! ^_^
| Tebbs' Tidbits: Mr. Tebbs spent twelve years in Bathroom Fittings, eighteen months in Soft Furnishings, three years in Footwear, was almost entirely responsible for modernizing Greetings Cards and Novelties, and spent four years in Bedding before becoming senior salesman in Men's Clothing. He resigned from Soft Furnishings because they started selling beanbags. He once sold seven lavaratories in one day, which they still talk about in Bathroom Fittings; he even won seventy-six citations for selling complete marblized bathroom suites. Mr. Tebbs' favorite biscuit is named Bath Oliver, and Friday night is his bath night. He and his wife decorated their entire house together when they got married, spending their whole honeymoon stripping off downstairs! Mr. Tebbs is captain of Grace Brothers Bowls Team, secretary for the Grace Brothers Darts Club, and is a tireless worker for Grace Brothers' Benevolent Fund for Distressed Salespersons. |
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