The series was created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the writers behind Dad's Army, and was designed to contrast an aristocratic family with their servants in 1920s London, in a style similar to the drama Upstairs, Downstairs.

Episodes ran fifty minutes instead of the usual thirty minutes for BBC sitcoms, as Croft felt this would allow more thorough development of characters and situations, an idea supported by Gareth Gwenlan, head of BBC comedy.

Unlike previous Perry/Croft series such as Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum, the plots of You Rang, M'Lord? directly continued from episode to episode like a soap opera rather than being standalone stories.

The writers drew on personal family history for research: Jimmy Perry's grandfather had worked as a butler, while David Croft's mother, Anne Croft, had been a 1920s musical comedy star, giving them insight into both upstairs and downstairs life.

The cast reunited many actors from earlier Perry and Croft shows, including Paul Shane, Jeffrey Holland and Su Pollard from Hi-de-Hi!, Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles from It Ain't Half Hot Mum, and Bill Pertwee and Frank Williams from Dad's Army.

The pilot episode was originally meant to be recorded at BBC Television Centre, but due to a strike the sets were only sparsely dressed, forcing production to move to BBC Elstree Studios, where all four series were subsequently recorded.

Exterior scenes were mostly filmed around Diss, Norfolk, including a disused brush factory used as the Union Jack Rubber Company, plus locations such as Cromer seafront, Lynford Hall, Bayfield Hall and Oxburgh Hall, the latter standing in for the bishop's palace.

The First World War battle scene at the start of the pilot episode was filmed at Long Valley, the British Army's tank training ground in Aldershot.

David Croft directed the first two series before handing directing duties over to his longtime production manager Roy Gould for series three and four.

The 1920s-style theme tune was written by Jimmy Perry and Roy Moore and sung by comedian Bob Monkhouse alongside actor Paul Shane.

You Rang, M'Lord? was the first British sitcom to feature a recurring lesbian character, Cissy Meldrum, whose portrayal has drawn mixed critical reactions ranging from accusations of stereotype to praise for her integrity and style.

The show gained a dedicated following in Hungary after being dubbed and broadcast there following the fall of Communism, with a fan club of nearly 23,000 members holding a 30th-anniversary celebratory banquet in Budapest in 2018 attended by several original cast members.

A spinoff radio series titled 'James And Ivy', featuring original cast members Jeffrey Holland, Su Pollard and Perry Benson, was in production in 2025, with Holland and Pollard performing the theme tune composed by original writer Roy Moore, scheduled for release on 15 May 2026.