
Nicholas Smith
Actor · Died December 6, 2015, aged 81 · Banstead, Surrey, England, UK
Nicholas John Smith (5 March 1934 - 6 December 2015) was an English comedy actor. He appeared in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? (1972-1985), playing original character Mr (Cuthbert) Rumbold, the manager of the fictional Grace Brothers department store.
Biography from TMDB.
- March 5, 1934
- December 6, 2015 (aged 81)
- Banstead, Surrey, England, UK
- Actor
- 20 on MovieCove · 44 credits in all
Known for
What are Nicholas Smith's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 3
Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
A split, not a type: Steady 2 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 4
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Threshold guardianas Cuthbert Rumbold in Are You Being Served? Again! (1992)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet1
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Nicholas Smith's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on BritBox (7).
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Nicholas Smith's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
44 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Are You Being Served? Secrets & Scandals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

M.I.High(2007)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all filmsThe Funny Blokes of British Comedy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

The Ghouls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

Wendy Richard: A Life on the Box (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

What Rats Won't Do(1998)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
Martin Chuzzlewit(1994)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all shows
Worzel Gummidge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

Are You Being Served?(1977)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all filmsThe Sunday Drama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

Fellini's Casanova(1976)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
The Sweeney(1975)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1973)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Baxter! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

Last of the Summer Wine(1973)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Are You Being Served?(1972)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
The Canterbury Tales(1972)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
Budgie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

The Twelve Chairs(1970)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Ace of Wands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

Paul Temple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

A Walk with Love and Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

Up Pompeii! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

The Fiction Makers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

The Champions(1968)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
Salt and Pepper(1968)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Another Day, Another Dollar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

The Big Man Coughed and Died (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Frost Report (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

BBC Play of the Month (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

Theatre 625 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

Doctor Who(1963)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
The Saint (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

Z-Cars (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

Partners in Crime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

The Avengers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Career shape
Star power in the 88th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 44 titles from 1961 to 2022; peak year 2005.

Biggest box office
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Highest rated
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Film career
Peak 2005 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1968Screen debut· Salt & Pepper
- 2005Career best· Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Nicholas Smith's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 48th percentile, the median of all 10; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 51st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th6
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
11 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser11
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the acting 74/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 56. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Nicholas Smith's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Nicholas Smith work with?
People who share at least 2 of Nicholas Smith's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Frank Thornton shares the most, 3.
Writers
- David CroftShared titles: Are You Being Served? Again! (1992), Are You Being Served? (1977)See all 2 shared titles with David Croft

- Jeremy LloydShared titles: Are You Being Served? Again! (1992), Are You Being Served? (1977)See all 2 shared titles with Jeremy Lloyd

Actors
- Frank ThorntonShared titles: Are You Being Served? Again! (1992), Are You Being Served? (1977), Are You Being Served? (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Frank Thornton

- John InmanShared titles: Are You Being Served? Again! (1992), Are You Being Served? (1977), Are You Being Served? (1972)See all 3 shared titles with John Inman

- Mollie SugdenShared titles: Are You Being Served? Again! (1992), Are You Being Served? (1977), Are You Being Served? (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Mollie Sugden

- Wendy RichardShared titles: Are You Being Served? Again! (1992), Are You Being Served? (1977), Are You Being Served? (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Wendy Richard


