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 5

Only Fools And Horses voted favourite ever BBC show

Half of the best-loved BBC programmes of all time are comedies, a new poll has found. Only Fools And Horses topped the survey of viewers of The One Show to mark the Corporation's 100th birthday.

Chortle, 29th January 2022

We shouldn't be afraid of Fawlty Towers' pure comedy

Radio 4's exploration of John Cleese and Connie Booth's beloved sitcom on What Funny About... revealed why it was so successful. But would it still get made today?

Charlotte Runcie, The Telegraph, 27th October 2021

How the sitcom wife evolved in 10 classic characters

Here we chart their evolution via 10 of sitcom's most memorable wives, from both the UK and USA...

Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 21st August 2021

Remembering Ballard Berkeley, a.k.a. Major Gowen

Ballard Berkeley, who played the bumbling Major Gowen that seemed to always be locked in an endless quest for the afternoon paper in Fawlty Towers, would have been 117 on Friday.

Bill Young, Tellyspotting, 9th August 2021

All of life can be found in a good sitcom

Highbrow dramas and earnest documentaries are often held up as mirrors but shrewd historians know to look at comedy.

Libby Purves, The Times, 31st May 2021

Golden oldies winning TV ratings war

Despite some episodes being more than 50 years old, classic Home Guard comedy Dad's Army repeated for the umpteenth time on BBC Two still attracts more than 1.1million viewers and, on a typical day, is the channel's most-watched programme.

Richard Webber, The Daily Express, 6th April 2021

I watched Fawlty Towers for the first time

Neha Gohil wasn't expecting much but was soon laughing out loud.

Neha Gohil, My London, 30th March 2021

Fawlty Towers to be released as vinyl LP collection

A complete vinyl LP collection of the audio versions of all twelve Fawlty Towers TV episodes are to be released, with an exclusive frameable print signed by John Cleese. Just 1500 copies have been made.

British Comedy Guide, 16th March 2021

Fawlty Towers to be repeated on BBC with racism removed

Fawlty Towers is set to be re-aired on BBC but racist remarks made by characters such as Major Gowen will be omitted from the show.

Nicola Methven, The Mirror, 2nd March 2021

Stop deleting our comedy shows

TV is now a battleground for society's culture wars. The new director of the BBC might axe left-wing comedy, but humour exposes what defines, unites and divides us, says the deputy editor of Index on Censorship.

Jemimah Steinfeld, The Independent, 3rd September 2020

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