Are You Being Served? actor John Inman dies

JOHN INMAN, star of TV sitcom Are You Being Served?, died in hospital yesterday.

The actor, 71, died in St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, west London, at 4am after being ill for some time, his manager Phil Dale said.

He said: “John, through his character Mr Humphries of Are You Being Served? was known and loved throughout the world.

“He was one of the best and finest pantomime dames working to capacity audiences throughout Britain.”

Inman’s long-term partner, Ron Lynch, is said to be “devastated” at his death.

The actor suffered from hepatitis A and had been taken into hospital for tests after liver problems.

It was revealed that he had the disease after it forced him to cancel the opening of a pantomime in London on December 9, 2004.

Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused through eating contaminated food, which the star believed was how he came to have the virus.

The virus is highly infectious and symptoms include fever, loss of energy and jaundice.

There is no treatment except bed rest and the debilitating symptoms can often take several months to clear, but it is deemed less serious than the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses.

Inman played camp salesman Mr Humphries for a decade from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

Inman’s character, Mr Humphries, the senior sales assistant in the menswear department of Grace Brothers department store, was known for his catchphrase “I’m free”.