Fawlty Towers. Image shows from L to R: Manuel (Andrew Sachs), Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales), Polly (Connie Booth). Copyright: BBC
Fawlty Towers

Fawlty Towers

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC Two
  • 1975 - 1979
  • 12 episodes (2 series)

Comedy about a hotel and its owner, a man of infinite rudeness with a rabid dislike of almost all guests. Stars John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Ballard Berkeley and more.

Press clippings Page 2

TV sitcoms give clues to why Brits voted for Brexit

Sitcoms such as 'Allo 'Allo!, Dad's Army and Fawlty Towers could explain Brexit, an academic has claimed. Historian Gavin Schaffer says the comedies offer a way to understand the political cultures that led to the seismic vote to leave Europe - reflecting the British public's ambivalence towards Europe and their desire to stand apart from the reset of the continent.

University of Birmingham, 3rd July 2023

Project No: 1144/3361

If there's one thing you should know about me by now, it's that I will accept any excuse to write about Fawlty Towers. Already this year, we've taken a look at cut material from Gourmet Night, a superb stage direction from the pilot, and the real truth behind Polly becoming a philosophy student. Those latter two pieces were written with the aid of a camera script of that pilot: the actual script they took into the studio on the 23rd December 1974.

Tanya Jones, Dirty Feed, 19th May 2023

Sybil dies at the start of the new Fawlty Towers

John Cleese has said that the new version of Fawlty Towers will start with the death of Basil's wife Sybil.

British Comedy Guide, 16th May 2023

The unexamined sitcom is not worth watching

Sometimes, a sitcom mystery you've wondered about for years suddenly gets resolved. And for Dirty Feed, this one is the motherlode. After all, with the pilot episode of Fawlty Towers, you're talking about something as close as you can get to a sacred text around here.

Tanya Jones, Dirty Feed, 3rd April 2023

Fawlty Towers: "Instead of murdering him"

A brief but incisive dive into the hilarious stage directions included in John Cleese and Connie Booth's original Fawlty Towers scripts.

John Hoare, Dirty Feed, 22nd March 2023

John Cleese issues "apology"

Cleese tweeted the following which we are guessing is intended to be somewhat comical: "I must apologise I had no idea that the idea of writing a new sitcom with my daughter would cause so much anger and distress I truly meant no harm. Naively I thought it might be fun But I feel terrible about having released this tide of negative emotion. Please forgive me."

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th February 2023

John Cleese didn't warn me about Fawlty Towers reboot, says Connie Booth

John Cleese's reboot of Fawlty Towers came as a surprise to many - including his ex-wife, who created the original show with him.

Alex Farber, The Times, 13th February 2023

John Cleese won't be thrashing a car with a branch in Fawlty Towers revival, says daughter

John Cleese won't thrash a car with a branch in the new Fawlty Towers, his daughter says.

She said of her dad: "He won't be doing as much crazy physical, comedic things as before but you never know what you might see him do."

Alex Diaz, The Sun, 11th February 2023

John Cleese's Fawlty Towers reboot might not be 'anti-woke' - but it's still a terrible idea

A reboot of the classic Seventies sitcom won't just be a disappointment, says Louis Chilton. It proves that absolutely nothing is sacred.

Louis Chilton, The Independent, 10th February 2023

'Anything that puts the focus back on Torquay': residents on the return of Fawlty Towers

Announcement that John Cleese will reboot the 1970s sitcom is met with a mix of excitement and concern in the Devon resort.

Steven Morris, The Guardian, 10th February 2023

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