You Rang, M'Lord? You Rang M'Lord? is a BBC television sitcom written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of "Dad's Army", "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" and "Hi-de-Hi!". It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC (although there had earlier been a pilot episode in 1988). The show was set in the house of an aristocratic family in the 1920s, contrasting the upper-class family and their servants in a house in London, along the same lines as the popular drama "Upstairs, Downstairs". The series featured many actors who had also appeared in their earlier series, notably Paul Shane, Jeffrey Holland and Su Pollard, all of whom had previously been "Hi-de-Hi!"; also featured were Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles from "It Ain't Half Hot Mum", and Bill Pertwee and—occasionally—Frank Williams from "Dad's Army". Numerous small parts were played by other alumni of David Croft and/or Jimmy Perry shows. The memorable 1920s-style theme tune was sung by Bob Monkhouse. Episodes of "You Rang M'Lord?" were fifty minutes long, rather than the usual thirty (for BBC sitcoms), and attempted to introduce a more reflective approach and more complex plotting than other Croft and Perry series. There was also less reliance on filmed location sequences. The series, in common with all situation comedies of its time, was filmed in front of a live studio audience. Mark Lewisohn notes that the writers were careful to ensure that the sets, lighting and camerawork were of a quality more normally associated with drama productions such as "Upstairs, Downstairs". For a situation comedy, the episodes are an unconventional length (50 minutes). The 50 minute duration was Croft's idea, as he felt this would give them the opportunity to develop characters and situations more thoroughly. This was supported by Gareth Gwenlan, head of BBC comedy. Also unconventional for a Perry/Croft series was the fact that plots directly continued from episode to episode like a soap opera as opposed to being largely standalone episodes such as in "Dad's Army", "It Ain't Half Hot Mum", etc. This coupled with high production values and attention to period detail gives the series the feel of a comedy drama. In writing the series, the two writers drew on research and personal accounts from the period; Jimmy Perry's grandfather had been in service as a butler and David Croft's mother, Anne Croft, had been a musical comedy star in the 1920s, giving them some ideas of life both above and below stairs.