50 years ago the classic hotel sitcom Fawlty Towers opened for business on the BBC. And while it only ran for 2 series, it’s no exaggeration to say that it blessed us with 12 of the greatest half hours of comedy that have ever been broadcast on British TV.
The huge popularity of this BAFTA-winning programme continues to grow to this day as well, most recently aided by the stage show that has just been broadcast on TV to mark the anniversary. It just goes to show that, unlike many old sitcoms which ended up being very much of their time, Fawlty Towers still holds up perfectly well, and still blows all of the modern comedies out of the water, which is a remarkable achievement.
Created by John Cleese with his first wife Connie Booth and set in Torquay (though they never filmed there), and accompanied by Dennis Wilson’s beautiful theme tune, it has an excellent mixture of characters who find themselves caught up in a variety of highly amusing and increasingly farcical scenarios.
While manager Basil (played by John) constantly hopes for a relaxing day with normal guests, and strives to find ways to have a fancier class of clientele visiting his establishment, it never takes long for things to unravel, driving him to frustration. It doesn’t help that his sharp-tongued, fear-inducing dragon of a wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) is constantly nagging him, and that his keen and well-meaning yet confused Spanish waiter Manuel (played by the dearly missed Andrew Sachs) is impossible to communicate with. He does at least have support from waitress Polly (played by Connie), who provides some sanity to keep Basil grounded, but he makes life difficult for her sometimes too, by using her in his attempts to get out of sticky situations.
The show has a solid hit rate of verbal, visual and physical gags, along with plot strands that come together nicely, and a first-rate cast who bring it to life so brilliantly. And such was the amount of action packed into each episode that the scripts were twice as long compared to other sitcoms and had twice as many camera cuts.
The humour is quintessentially British too, so much so that 3 attempts to remake the series in America and one in Germany all inevitably failed. It has inspired several other sitcoms though, with the makers of shows like Father Ted, Cheers and 3rd Rock From The Sun all acknowledging it as a major influence. And in general it set an incredibly high benchmark that few sitcoms (if any) since have come anywhere close to.
I’ve watched the series countless times over the years, but now is the perfect excuse to watch it yet again and actually write a bit about it to celebrate the occasion. So I’m going to go through the episodes and the extras on the Blu-ray set I have, as well as checking out the stage play on TV, which I didn’t get around to seeing in person in the West End. Plus I’ve put together a Youtube playlist of highlights and bonus material to go with this. So I hope you enjoy!
Contents
Series 1
Series 1 originally aired from September 19 to October 24, 1975. It’s strange to think that it wasn’t very well received by the media or the public initially, and none of the episodes made it into the top ten viewing figures. However, its popularity grew as it progressed, and by the end the ratings had risen so much that the BBC recognised they had something special on their hands, and immediately repeated the entire series, which is when it really took off. It went on to win the 1975 BAFTA for Best Comedy and John Cleese received the Royal Television Society Programme Award in 1976, while the BBC cashed in by selling it to 45 TV stations in 17 countries within the space of 3 years.
1. A Touch Of Class
The first episode has a slightly different feel to the others, because it was filmed as the pilot 8 months before the rest. Hence the opening titles use an earlier rendition of the theme tune and the hotel sign has a different appearance. It’s also the only episode out of all 12 in which the name of the hotel on the sign is spelt correctly. For some of the later episodes there are letters missing or skewed, while in others they’re completely mixed up, resulting in gems like Farty Towels, Watery Fowls and Flowery Twats! The latter is the only true anagram that uses all the letters of the name.
Some shows re-record their first episodes when a series is commissioned, as pilots are often a bit rough around the edges, especially if they’re only meant for internal evaluation and not transmission. And sometimes there are changes to the cast, storyline, sets, etc in the main series that necessitate a complete reshoot. So it can be a good opportunity to start afresh and make it as good as possible.
However, there was so much confidence in the Fawlty Towers pilot that they used it as the first episode of the actual series, for the most part completely untouched. The only bits they reshot were a couple of exchanges between Polly and Danny (the Cockney guest) in the dining room, so that she became a student of art instead of philosophy. You can tell which bits were reshot if you look closely enough, but most casual viewers won’t notice.
The story finds Basil over the moon when Lord Melbury (Michael Gwynn) comes to stay, as he believes he’s finally started to attract decent people of high standing to the hotel, unlike Cockney geezer Danny Brown (Robin Ellis) who’s far too common in his eyes. But Polly discovers that Danny is an undercover detective, whose team are watching Melbury because he’s actually a conman, and Basil is shellshocked when he finds out.
The moment where he discovers the real contents of Melbury’s briefcase is hilarious, because of the way he examines the bricks and times his actions with them. In his audio commentary, John is very pleased with how he played that part of the scene. And it’s also very funny when he gets his revenge at the end.
Beyond that, the episode is mainly about setting up the characters and the atmosphere within the hotel. It establishes how domineering Sybil is over Basil for instance, as she badgers him about hanging a picture on the wall, typing up the menus and serving people their drinks. He’s totally afraid of her, instantly leaping up to do what she wants if he can sense her approaching. He does try and stand up to her sometimes, but she only has to bark his name in a strict, firm tone and he instantly gives in.
The most entertaining relationship, however, is between Basil and Manuel, as the Spanish waiter is eager to assist but doesn’t understand a word that his boss is saying. There are several very funny exchanges between them in this episode alone, from the butter on the trays (“No sir – uno, dos, tres”) to incidents in the dining room, and the expression “¿Qué?”, meaning “What?”, quickly became Manuel’s signature catchphrase.
We’re also introduced to Major Gowen, a delightful and somewhat senile old man who has been living at the hotel for several years, and whom Basil gets on well with despite occasional moments of miscommunication. He doesn’t have a lot to do here, but he gets a greater role in some later episodes. He’s played by the late Ballard Berkeley, who is recalled with great fondness in John’s commentaries and interviews. He had an extensive film career that began in the 1930s, and appeared in several TV shows as well, but it’s his role as the Major for which he will be forever remembered and adored by millions of people.
Two other elderly residents are Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby (Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts), who we only see fleetingly in this opening episode, but again they get a bit more screen time later on. They’re a really sweet, inseparable pair who are very caring towards Basil, but he doesn’t always treat them with the respect they deserve if things aren’t going well for him.
There’s also a reference to an Irish builder called Mr O’Reilly, as Basil amusingly complains to him on the phone about a garden wall, and we see him in the next episode. It’s during that phonecall when Basil discovers that Melbury is supposedly a Lord, resulting in another great bit of comic timing when he pauses while the revelation sinks in, before bluntly telling Mr O’Reilly to go away and completely changing his demeanour towards Melbury. It even generates applause from the audience, proving that sometimes it’s the simplest jokes that can get the biggest laughs if they’re performed correctly. And John Cleese is a true master of his craft.
The ending of the episode sees Basil exploding in a fit of rage as a persistent guest demands the fulfilment of his family’s drinks order, so he smashes the picture he’s been trying to put up and bundles the man back to his seat in the bar in order to serve him. It’s a very apt conclusion given the stress that Basil’s been under until then. Something had to give!
So it’s a wonderful opening episode that introduces us to the hotel and its inhabitants really effectively. And the guest stars are great too – although sadly Michael Gwynn, who played Lord Melbury, died of a heart attack just over 4 months after it was broadcast, on 29 January 1976, aged just 59. He therefore never got to appreciate how massively popular the show became, which is a real pity.
2. The Builders
This episode sees alterations being made to some of the doors in the hotel lobby. And apart from being a great basis for the comedy, it also provides a nice little segue from the pilot to the rest of the series, by incorporating their rearrangement of the set into the storyline. Of course, the actual layout of the interior set bears little resemblance to the building in the opening titles if you take a moment to think about it, but nobody really cares about that.
Basil and Sybil are going away for a little break in the neighbouring town of Paignton (my old neck of the woods), with the builders doing the renovations in their absence. But what Sybil doesn’t know is that Basil has gone behind her back to use the cheap builder Mr O’Reilly (David Kelly) and his team, rather than the much more professional Mr Stubbs (James Appleby) who she wanted.
Of course, O’Reilly’s builders make a complete mess of it. So when Basil returns on his own to check on their progress, he becomes hysterical, knowing how Sybil will react. It’s a really funny scene when Polly is trying to calm him down, because he spanks himself before becoming inconsolable, and she ends up slapping him, after which he falls over a garden gnome and strangles it in anger. He also takes out his frustrations on Manuel, by banging his head against the wall where the dining room door should be (and there’s another brilliant moment earlier in the episode when he picks him up to show him how to clean the windows!).
It then becomes abundantly clear why he’s so terrified of Sybil, because when she turns up and his cover story falls apart, she goes ballistic, verbally and physically attacking both him and O’Reilly. In the audio commentary, John Cleese observes that actress Prunella Scales is far too nice, and doesn’t hit them as hard as she should for maximum comic effect. And while that’s true, Sybil is still a formidable force here who you wouldn’t want to mess with!
And yet, despite all of that, Basil still has one more go at using O’Reilly to put things right, once Sybil has gone to spend the night with a friend. So when Mr Stubbs turns up the next morning, Sybil is put in an awkward position, because it looks like everything’s been done – until, that is, Stubbs digs a little deeper into how the work was completed.
Apart from that, the episode has other good moments as well. It’s particularly amusing to see Manuel taking charge at reception for a while, as he pretends to be the owner and struggles to talk to the courier when he takes delivery of the aforementioned garden gnome. We also see that he has a sweet friendship with Polly, because she’s made the effort to learn Spanish to communicate with him more clearly, and when he goes to wake her up when the builders arrive, he respectfully leaves her in peace as he can see she needs the rest.
We also get to hear from the adorable old ladies – Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby – properly this time, after their brief cameo in the pilot. They really do care about Basil and are keen to wish him well for his trip away. But during the conversation Basil reminds them that, because of the work, they’ll be going out to have dinner at Gleneagles. That’s a direct reference to the real Torquay hotel that inspired the show, as John stayed there with his Monty Python colleagues, and was fascinated by how badly the owner Donald Sinclair treated the guests, basing the character of Basil on him as a result. It’s discussed among the extra features on the Blu-ray set.
Following Donald’s death in 1981, a succession of owners took over the Gleneagles before it eventually became a boutique hotel in 2006. It then finally closed in 2015 and was demolished, to be replaced with apartments built by Churchill Retirement Living. It was named Sachs Lodge in honour of Andrew Sachs, the Manuel actor who passed away in 2016, which was a lovely gesture. And it has a blue plaque unveiled by Torbay Civic Society in 2017, to honour the former hotel’s inspiration for the series. Local B&B owners also still take pride in the town’s association with the programme, but they point out that Basil wouldn’t survive today in an era of online reviews.
3. The Wedding Party
Basil is rather resentful and suspicious of any behaviour he deems to be inappropriately romantic or sexual, perhaps because he’s not getting much of that kind of thing himself. So when two different couples check in at the hotel and he catches very affectionate exchanges between them, or overhears certain things out of context, with even Polly being involved as well, he gets completely the wrong end of the stick. He’s unaware that they all know each other in completely innocent ways, and the couples have arrived for a wedding, so he makes a complete fool of himself in the way he responds.
A classic example is when Alan (Trevor Adams) comes to reception to ask Basil if there’s a chemist nearby to get batteries for his razor. Because Alan doesn’t specify the razor aspect of that enquiry to begin with, and just asks if there’s a pharmacy open, Basil jumps to a much dirtier conclusion, and the resulting exchange between them is hilarious. Basil has to make quite the climbdown when Alan clarifies what he’s after.
Alan’s giggly partner Jean (April Walker) is wonderful as well, teasing Basil at reception earlier on when they’re trying to book a room, and even then Basil is very disapproving when he learns they’re not married. Their arrival comes straight after another very funny moment when Basil has been flicking through some of Polly’s artwork, and absent-mindedly answers the phone by saying “Hello, Fawlty Titties!”
Basil also has to think fast later in the episode when he’s trying to get away from Mrs Peignoir (Yvonne Gilan), a French guest unrelated to the wedding party. She’s very flirty, making Basil feel awkward around her as he doesn’t know how to respond, and after she visits his bedroom door to return a tape recorder he left with her, he locks the door and prepares to go to bed. But Sybil, who he thought was staying overnight with her friend Audrey, has returned unexpectedly, and knocks on the door, demanding to be let in. Still assuming it’s Mrs Peignoir, therefore, he pretends Sybil’s already in there with him, so when she says it’s his wife, he desperately thinks of an excuse and blames it on a terrible dream, to the audience’s applause.
Incidentally, Sybil has a couple of amusing moments earlier in the episode as well, first with her irritating laugh (which John Cleese says in the commentary was based on Connie’s real laugh), and her constant repetitions of “I know! I know! Oh, I know!” when talking to her friend Audrey on the phone.
But when she’s knocking on the bedroom door, Sybil is keen to find Basil because she’s heard a moaning sound downstairs and has mistaken it for a burglar, when it’s actually a very dazed and confused Manuel. The waiter is celebrating his birthday during this episode, which is a very funny subplot in itself, as he tries to read a message of gratitude to Basil, drunkenly attacks him in a corridor, and struggles to serve people food in the dining room because he’s so hung over the next day. So when Basil investigates the noise, not realising who it is in the dark, he smacks him over the head with a frying pan! The wedding party guests then return at that moment to discover him straddling Manuel on the ground, just to make him feel all the more embarrassed.
So there’s a lot packed into this episode, but it all works brilliantly. It’s also slightly longer than half an hour, clocking in at 33 minutes. It’s not the only time that the show is longer than 30 minutes, but it’s the longest episode in the first series. Nowadays, like all broadcasters, the BBC imposes very strict timings on their productions, with a half-hour programme limited to less than 30 minutes to allow for trails and continuity announcements before and after, but back then they were prepared to be a little bit more flexible.
4. The Hotel Inspectors
If there’s one thing Basil fears more than Sybil, it’s hotel inspectors, who could quite easily shut his business down. So when she becomes aware that some inspectors are in the area and forewarns him, he becomes paranoid, suspicious of anyone who might be in that line of work.
His attention is particularly drawn to Mr Hutchinson, who enters the hotel with a very fancy way of speaking and unusually specific demands. Initially the man’s attitude rubs Basil up completely the wrong way, but as soon as the guest mentions he has a wide experience of hotels and is in constant contact with them due to his job, Basil’s attitude towards him completely changes.
Mr Hutchinson is played by the esteemed legend that is Bernard Cribbins, who we very sadly lost 3 years ago. He was of course known to millions as Wilfred in Doctor Who, the narrator of The Wombles, and the performer of novelty songs like Right Said Fred and Hole In The Ground, among many other things he’s done in his illustrious career. And as John Cleese enthuses in the commentary, pointing out lots of details to prove his point, Bernard’s performance here is nothing short of perfect. The energy and personality he brings to it is just sublime, even with just his looks and mannerisms, and his interplay with John is marvellous.
It’s particularly well illustrated in the brilliant dining room scene that forms the centrepiece of the story, taking up literally half the episode, with constant mix-ups over the food being served and arguments about the service being provided. At one point, for example, Mr Hutchinson gets very angry at Basil telling him to shut up, but with Polly’s help Basil is able to befuddle him into calming down again, by claiming he was looking at him but talking to her. And it’s made all the funnier because of the way Mr Hutchinson keeps looking from one to the other.
Basil is being rude to Mr Hutchinson again by that point because he’s discovered that he’s not a hotel inspector after all, and blames the guest for supposedly pretending to be.
But there is another guest, Mr Walt (James Cossins) who then comes more onto Basil’s radar. Basil has trouble serving him some wine – and John Cleese reveals in the commentary that the bottle was actually supposed to open and be poured straight away, so the struggle he has with it is ad-libbed by necessity, as he really is trying to get all the cork out! The final spillage is therefore a comedy gift from the gods purely by chance. But anyway, a comment by Mr Walt in their discussion about wine leads Basil to make another false assumption that he’s an inspector instead.
So when Mr Hutchinson makes his feelings very clear by beating up Basil at reception in front of Mr Walt, Basil is beside himself with desperation, crying and begging Mr Walt not to write about it and get them closed down. So that’s another funny scene as a bemused Mr Walt tries to reassure him.
Straight after that, Mr Hutchinson prepares to leave, only for Basil to have the last word with the aid of Manuel, by making a complete mess of him and ushering him out of the hotel. Basil then goes to greet the three men who have just arrived at reception and witnessed the incident, and gives an appropriate reaction when the penny drops as to who they are!
So this is one of the very best written and performed episodes of the entire show, carried primarily by Bernard and John working so well together, but everybody else’s contributions keep the pace and humour going delightfully.
5. Gourmet Night
John Cleese is quite critical of this episode in his commentary, as there are lots of elements he feels could have been done better. And while he does make some fair points, he is a bit too picky in other cases, and I think it’s a great deal of fun, not least because it has the famous car scene that everyone remembers.
Basil and Sybil have arranged for a special fine dining experience at the hotel to attract a higher class of customer, with Basil even putting “no riff raff” on the advert. They’ve enlisted the help of local restauranteur André (André Maranne), who has provided them with the services of his chef Kurt (Steve Plytas), and Manuel is helping him out in the kitchen.
Only 4 guests turn up for this special opening night, but that’s quite enough for them to handle as it turns out. First to arrive are Colonel Hall and his wife (Allan Cuthbertson & Ann Way), who are perfectly nice people, but the Colonel regularly makes a twitching movement with his head. So when Mr & Mrs Twitchen turn up next (Richard Caldicott & Betty Huntley-Wright), Basil is too embarrassed to mention their name to the Colonel and keeps dodging the introduction, finally getting out of it by pretending to faint.
That’s the least of Basil’s problems though, as it turns out that Kurt has got himself drunk. It’s very funny when Polly tries to convey this to Basil discretely in front of the guests, and when she then tells him more openly at the bar. So Basil has to get André to prepare some food for them, that he can then drive round to his restaurant and pick up.
He collects a nice big portion of duck and brings it back, only for it to fall on the floor and for Manuel to get his foot caught in it – and John Cleese in the commentary is still amazed at how Andrew Sachs was so precise with his actions in that moment, even if it happened purely by chance. So Basil has to go back to the restaurant, while Manuel, Polly and Sybil stall for time by entertaining the guests, very amateurishly.
Basil’s journey this time is much more fraught though. We already know by this point that his car hasn’t been working properly – and as John says in the commentary, this is hammered home to the audience much more than is needed earlier in the episode. But the pay-off is brilliant. When the car stalls and refuses to start again, Basil completely loses his rag, calling it a “vicious bastard” and vowing to trash it. So he runs off, before coming back with a tree branch and attacking the car with it!
It’s one of the most memorable and funny scenes in all 12 episodes, and ranks as one of the all-time classic moments in the world of sitcom as a whole. But it wasn’t as simple to achieve as it looked, as it took a few attempts for John to find just the right branch – one that wasn’t too hard or too floppy – to make the joke work as well as it does.
Those who wish to visit such an iconic spot that made comedy history can find it on Lapstone Gardens in Harrow, at the junction with Mentmore Close (where the van blocks Basil’s way, although that side road is a cul-de-sac anyway). A bollard prevents you recreating the scene with your own vehicle though, which is probably just as well, as you can imagine people doing it for social media these days, which would annoy the neighbours.
It ultimately means that Basil has to run back to the hotel with the covered serving tray, little realising that it was accidentally switched in the restaurant. So he’s shocked to find a rather tasty-looking trifle when he lifts the lid – but searches through it for the duck just in case it’s hidden there anyway! It’s a very apt ending to another very funny episode.
6. The Germans
This is the only episode out of all 12 not to use the hotel in the opening titles, instead showing us the hospital where Sybil is staying for an operation, leaving Basil in charge of the hotel by himself. What could possibly go wrong? Everything, naturally, resulting in one of the very best and most talked-about episodes of the show.
It’s also the most controversial episode, because of its occasional moments of racist language. If you watch it properly, it’s clearly making fun of people who are stuck in the past and hold stereotypically prejudiced views, and making clear that it’s not ok without hammering it home it as a blatant moral message. It trusts the audience to be intelligent enough to understand that. But the racial slurs have naturally made broadcasters rather jittery in recent times, with the BBC editing a repeat of it in 2013, and the BBC-owned UKTV pulling it from their streaming service in 2020 after the George Floyd protests (though they did later put it back). It was also omitted from the script in the stage show, which is more understandable. But thankfully the episode hasn’t been edited on the Blu-ray, there’s just a warning about racist language on the back cover.
In particular, there’s a scene early on where Basil returns to the hotel and gets into a conversation with the Major, who is such a wonderful character. It’s a really funny exchange between the two of them, but the Major does use a few racial slurs, and nowadays you wouldn’t be allowed to film a scene like that in a mainstream pre-watershed comedy. But attitudes were very different back then in the 70s, and it clearly isn’t designed to offend if you understand the context.
It’s well-established in the series, and indeed in this scene alone, that the Major is a bit senile, and the comedy surrounding him always relates to his confusion and misunderstandings that he comes out with. And while Basil does have a lot of respect for him, he also brushes off much of what he says as the nonsense it is, which is what happens here. As the Major rambles on, Basil doesn’t acknowledge or endorse the racial slurs, and instead focuses the conversation on the subject of women. The Major is clearly stuck in the past in a world of his own.
After that, Basil has plenty to be getting on with in his wife’s absence, and she won’t let him forget anything, constantly ringing up to check on his progress, much to his annoyance.
His first job is to hang a large moose’s head on the wall. But when he has to go and fetch a hammer, he places the head on the reception desk, while asking Manuel to tidy things up behind it. Manuel takes the opportunity to practice his English, and as he continues talking while ducking down behind the counter, the Major walks by and thinks the moose’s head is talking to him, resulting in some brilliant reactions. It doesn’t end too well for Basil once the head is up though, as it falls on his head, he trips over Manuel and a vase falls on him! While not seriously injured, those accidents do partly set things up for later.
Next comes a fire drill, which is an even better example of misunderstandings being used for comic effect, as the guests argue with Basil over what the burglar and fire alarms sound like, and the Major is convinced that there are burglars in the hotel because that alarm went off, even though it was just because Sybil had left it on. Even John Cleese can’t help cracking up with laughter during the commentary, as the pacing and timing from everyone involved is spot on.
Events then escalate when Manuel actually does start a fire in the kitchen, but because of all the confusion up to that point, Basil refuses to believe him and shoves him back in the room, locking the door! It’s only because Manuel keeps making a racket that he’s then let out and Basil sees what is happening. Actor Andrew Sachs ended up with serious burns and was awarded damages by the BBC because of this scene – not due to the fire itself as some assume, but because of the chemicals that were added to his jacket to create the smoke effect when he comes out of the kitchen. He’d been assured everything would be fine, but felt the effects during rehearsals and filming, and bore the scars for 5 years afterwards. Health and safety back then wasn’t like it is now!
Anyway, as Basil tries to put the fire out, the extinguisher goes off in his face and he smacks his head on the frying pan Manuel is holding, which knocks him out. As John Cleese observes in the commentary, it is quite a rather weak way to be rendered unconscious, but I just take it as being a cumulative effect on top of the earlier incidents with the moose’s head and the vase, and the general stress of the situation. His mind was already teetering on the edge, so the extinguisher and frying pan were enough to tip him over it.
Basil wakes up in hospital suffering from concussion, which means he’s very confused and is unable to consider what he’s saying to avoid causing offence. So when he escapes back to the hotel, he discovers that the Germans have arrived, and can’t stop talking about the war. He tries to resist and correct himself at first, and Polly attempts to steer him away from it, but ultimately he gives in, resulting in another memorable, hilarious moment with his silly Hitler walk! The moose’s head then comes back into play as it hits Basil again and the Major talks to it, while the German guests question how the British ever won the war. It’s a very apt conclusion to another fantastic episode.
Series 2
Series 2 was first broadcast in 1979. By this point John and Connie’s marriage had ended, which went some way to explaining the 4-year delay. But they continued to write together, and wanted to take the time to ensure they could retain the magic of the first series.
The first 5 episodes aired from February 19 to March 26, but the final episode wasn’t shown until October 25, as the recording was delayed by strike action at the BBC.
1. Communication Problems
I think this is my personal favourite episode out of all 12, although it is a tough choice, with The Hotel Inspectors and The Germans from the first series close behind!
As John Cleese describes it in the commentary, it’s a classic farce comedy, starring the marvellous Joan Sanderson, who he says is very nice in real life, unlike her character here. She plays Mrs Richards, a deaf old lady who refuses to turn her hearing aid on because it runs the batteries down, so she can’t properly hear what people are saying, leading to all sorts of hilarious misunderstandings and arguments. For example, a chat with Manuel, who himself can’t understand English properly, leads her to think that the manager of the hotel is called C K Watt, and that becomes a running gag throughout the episode.
And even when she does understand what people are saying, she’s constantly complaining about things. There’s the classic scene in her bedroom where she argues with Basil about the view out of the window (and reveals that the room costs £7.20 per night plus VAT, a world away from today’s prices!). And there’s a very funny bit of misunderstanding when she asks Polly for some paper, without Polly realising she means toilet paper.
Still, things aren’t all bad for Basil, at least to start with. When another guest gives him a tip on a horse race, he asks Manuel to go out and place a bet for him, and he wins! But Sybil doesn’t approve of gambling, so he has to hide the money away in case she gets suspicious. And the deception involves a few different people.
Polly is actually first to get hold of the money, when Manuel delivers it to her as he can’t find Basil. But Sybil sees her counting it in the office. So when Mrs Richards complains that some of her money has been stolen, Sybil questions Polly about it, and Polly pretends that she won the bet and the money is hers. Sybil then presses her to prove it by asking her for the name of the horse, and Basil does some hilarious miming behind Sybil’s back that eventually leads Polly to say the right thing, which Sybil isn’t convinced by.
Basil also urges Manuel not to say anything about it to anyone, by telling him that he knows nothing about the horse. The conversation between them is really funny in itself, but it also leads to a great moment later on when Manuel confidently announces that he knows nothing and is from Barcelona!
Once Basil gets the money from Polly, he then gives it to the Major to hold on to for him, but he later forgets about it and Basil desperately struggles to remind him.
Meanwhile, a vase that Mrs Richards has bought is delivered to reception – along with her money that she’d accidentally left in the shop. And it’s £10 more than she claims she lost. So even if they pay Mrs Richards the money she’s after, Basil is still profiting from it, which he’s delighted about. And it looks like he might just have got away with it – until the last possible moment of course. So it’s a brilliantly written episode, with everything coming together perfectly at the end.
One final note for this episode is that it introduces a new regular cast member – their chef, Terry, played by Brian Hall, who was a great addition to the second series. In the commentary for this episode, John Cleese pays loving tribute to Brian, as he was very fond of him and was very upset when he passed away from cancer in 1997, aged 59.
2. The Psychiatrist
Sex is again on Basil’s mind in this episode – which is the longest of them all at 36 minutes – as his suspicions about the activity of one of the guests gets him into trouble with Sybil again, who doesn’t believe the reasoning for his actions.
When Mr Johnson (Nicky Henson) arrives to stay at the hotel, casually dressed in a shirt that’s open to reveal his hairy chest, Sybil is quite attracted to him, but Basil isn’t impressed, and keeps making jokes about how he resembles a monkey. He then disapproves further when he overhears laughter from a young lady (Imogen Bickford-Smith) whom Mr Johnson has snuck into his room, despite the guest claiming to be in there alone. So Basil sets out to prove that Mr Johnson has smuggled someone in, which descends into farce as he tries to listen through the walls of the adjacent bedrooms, and attempts to catch him in the act in other ways.
The neighbouring guests on one side are Mr & Mrs Abbott (Basil Henson & Elspet Gray) who are both doctors, and Basil initially fawns over them when he learns of that fact. However, he then gets very uneasy when he finds out that the husband is a psychiatrist, because he’s convinced that people in that profession like to talk about sex, which leads to a very funny misunderstanding when they try and ask him about holidays. So Basil’s later behaviour in the episode is quite fascinating to them, with the gentleman saying that there’s enough material for an entire conference.
The room on the other side of Mr Johnson, meanwhile, is inhabited by Raylene Miles (Luan Peters), a very attractive young Australian woman. Basil likes her, but has no intention whatsoever of pursuing anything with her. Yet a series of unfortunate events involving a light switch, the wall and her wardrobe gives Sybil the impression otherwise.
So when Basil then falls off a ladder while trying to see the girl in Mr Johnson’s room, and Manuel isn’t specific enough when he tells Sybil that Basil was trying to see a girl through the window, it’s the last straw for her, and she slaps him before locking him out of their bedroom. He then gets even more desperate to prove it, to the point where he even stands up to Sybil for once, though ultimately he’s left to curl up in a ball and hop around in embarrassment when he discovers who really is in Mr Johnson’s room.
So once again it’s a very well-structured plot with lots of laughs and nice little twists, as Basil unwittingly gets into more and more trouble.
3. Waldorf Salad
After a busy evening in the dining room, with various complaints and confusion as is typical, Basil welcomes American couple Harry Hamilton (Bruce Boa) and his wife (Claire Nielson) to the hotel. But Harry is a no-nonsense, straight-talking, very opinionated guy, and when he learns that they’re too late for dinner, he argues with Basil because they want something to eat after their long journey. As John Cleese explains in the commentary, Fawlty Towers is like many hotels in that it’s run for the convenience of the staff rather than the guests.
Basil is then offered £20 to get the chef to stay on, and he tries to get Terry to stick around for another half an hour, but to no avail. So with Terry out for the night, along with Polly and Manuel, Basil is left to cook for the Hamiltons on his own – but he pretends that the chef is still there. This leads to a long scene in the dining room that takes up most of the episode, with just Basil and Sybil looking after the Hamiltons, so it has quite a unique feel compared to the other episodes.
The problem for Basil is that he doesn’t understand what Harry means when he asks for a Waldorf salad, but he doesn’t want to look stupid by admitting that, so pins the blame on the chef. And when he does learn what the ingredients are, he then can’t find them in the kitchen. So he tries to get Harry to change his mind, little realising that Sybil has found the necessary components and made the salad anyway.
The arguments then build to a point where Harry discovers the truth, as he catches Basil in the kitchen scolding the non-existent chef, and then empowers the guests to stand up to Mr Fawlty by airing their grievances that they’ve kept bottled up. Basil then has an angry rant at them in return, telling them to pack their bags and get out, but Sybil calmly reminds him that he’s the one who needs to go – which he does into the rain, only to return and ask for a room.
For me personally, while the episode is good, it’s the weakest one out of the 12 for me (relatively speaking, bearing in mind the high bar it’s up against). It just isn’t as hilarious as some of the others, and it feels like Basil is treated a bit too harshly by Harry occasionally. But it is still entertaining and well-performed, so is always worth a watch when going through the series again.
4. The Kipper And The Corpse
This really funny episode sees Basil trying to hide a dead body from the guests until the undertaker arrives, after Mr Leeman (Derek Royle) passes away overnight. At first Basil thinks it’s due to the out-of-date kippers he served the man for breakfast and tries to hide them, terrified of the consequences. But when he learns the man died several hours earlier, he’s overjoyed with relief.
Manuel and Polly then try to help Basil conceal the body, but of course it doesn’t go well, with poor old Miss Tibbs freaking out when she sees it. They try to hide the corpse in an adjacent bedroom first of all, only for the guests of that room to return, wanting to get their things, so Basil and his colleagues have to try and distract them.
They then try to sit the body in the office, whereupon the Major discovers it and with his military background assumes he’s been shot, before Miss Tibbs then stumbles upon it again. And then they put Mr Leeman in a laundry basket, after which Basil jumps to the wrong conclusion when his colleagues turn up, saying they’ve come to collect him.
Finally there’s another awkward moment for Basil when one of Mr Leeman’s friends tries to get his hat from the hooks on the wall, given that the corpse is sat directly beneath them and Basil is shielding it from view. It’s all cleverly written and structured, it’s delightfully farcical.
And alongside all of that, there are other guests wanting attention, such as Mrs Chase (Mavis Pugh), who has very particular requirements for her precious little Shih Tzu dog. Polly gets her revenge on the creature after it bites her and Manuel, by spicing up the sausages it’s been fed with.
But an even bigger fan of sausages is Dr Price – played by the legendary Geoffrey Palmer – who not only contacts the coroner about the body, but also has a hankering for bangers for breakfast, though it proves difficult to get them. Basil eventually finds time to try and cook him some, even though it’s past the usual breakfast time – but Manuel doesn’t know that an exception has been made, and gets into a hilarious argument with Dr Price about it.
So altogether it’s another of my favourite episodes, as it’s got a really good pace and flow to it, with lots of very amusing moments and a great cast.
5. The Anniversary
This is the first of two episodes to be affected by strikes at the BBC, albeit in different ways. In this instance, as John Cleese explains in the commentary, industrial action meant that the cast had the unusual luxury of 2 weeks rehearsal time before filming, when it would usually be a lot shorter. So they were able to perfect the plot, dialogue and pacing, and it certainly does flow really well.
The episode also demonstrates that Basil and Sybil do love each other, despite the arguments they get into, not least demonstrated by the fact that they’ve been together for 15 years.
Basil, therefore, is organising a surprise party for their anniversary with a group of Sybil’s friends – partly because he wants to do something nice for her in general, and partly because he was punished for forgetting their special day the previous year and is keen to make amends.
But in order for it to be a surprise, he has to pretend he’s forgotten their anniversary again, and Sybil is not at all pleased. Indeed, this episode reveals she has a very sensitive side underneath all of the anger and frustration that she often has towards Basil, adding welcome depth to the character.
What Basil hadn’t banked on, however, is Sybil being so angry that she drives off before her friends arrive. So because he can’t admit they’ve fallen out, he has to tell his guests that she’s ill and can’t be seen. And as with all of his lies, he gets more and more tied up in knots as they press him for more details.
Roger (Ken Campbell), for example, is particularly suspicious that there’s more going on than they’re being told, and is constantly putting Basil under pressure with his amusing quips and quizzical remarks. And Basil has forgotten that Virginia (Pat Keen) is a nurse, so has to persuade her not to go and check on Sybil. Meanwhile Reg and Audrey (Roger Hume & Christine Shaw) have actually seen Sybil driving down the high street on their way to the hotel, so Basil has to pretend that the person they saw is actually some random Northern woman who looks remarkably like her.
They won’t stop interrogating him though, so Basil hatches a plan for Polly to dress up as Sybil and lie in their bedroom in the dark. Polly is having none of it though, and here we see her really standing up to him, which is brilliant to witness as he does deserve it. In the end she only agrees to do it if he’ll give her the £100 she needs for her car, which she’s been pleading with him about for weeks already. So she gets all dressed up and lays in the dark, while Basil stalls for time outside with Sybil’s friends until she’s ready. There’s a nice little moment with the Major when he walks past too.
The party guests are then invited in to see her, and with the wig, glasses and cheeks stuffed with cotton wool, Polly does look a bit like Sybil. It’s a very funny scene due to her appearance and because it’s difficult for everyone in the dark, with a few of the guests getting injured. John Cleese is thoroughly enjoying it in the audio commentary, that’s for sure. He laughs at particular moments in some of the other episodes as well, but here he properly breaks down in hysterics!
Things get even more complicated, however, when Sybil returns to the hotel unexpectedly. Basil runs down to greet her, and has to delicately persuade her to go away until he can get rid of her friends. It’s an unusually emotional scene for the show, as Sybil becomes visibly upset in front of him, and is then in tears with her friend Audrey in the car. Yet it’s written and performed in such a way that Basil’s remarks are humorous rather than cruel, and you know he’s got himself into an impossible position. So you feel sorry for both of them really.
Because of their little chat, however, Sybil has forgotten to pick up her golf clubs, which is what she’d come back for in the first place. So she re-enters the hotel again, just as all of her friends are coming downstairs. Thinking quickly, Basil pretends that she’s the doppelgänger from the North and takes her into the kitchen, where Terry and Manuel are brawling on the floor over a paella that Manuel was hoping to cook for the party (which is a very funny subplot throughout the episode). He then locks her in a cupboard so he can say goodbye to her friends, before he braces himself for the tricky job of explaining everything to her! So it’s a very good ending to another great episode.
6. Basil The Rat
This episode was broadcast 7 months after the rest, because industrial action at the BBC delayed the filming. However, it also has the honour of being John Cleese’s favourite episode, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s certainly one of their very best, with Polly, Manuel and Terry all getting a lot to do alongside Basil and Sybil, so it’s an excellent ensemble effort.
Here we find the hotel at serious risk of closure, after health inspector Mr Carnegie (John Quarmby) rattles off a long list of faults in the kitchen and gives them 24 hours to fix it all. Chef Terry is quite laid back about it, and Sybil is confident they can put things right, but Basil is in a state of panic. And his mood isn’t helped when he discovers Manuel’s pet rat, which the waiter had been mis-sold as a Siberian hamster. Basil insists that it has to go, but Polly promises to help Manuel, saying she has a friend who will look after it.
Unbeknownst to Basil, however, Polly merely helps Manuel to hide the rat – which we learn is also called Basil – in the shed around the back of the hotel, and chef Terry is in on it too. Manuel then makes the foolish mistake of leaving the cage door open so the rat can exercise in the shed, whereupon it escapes back into the hotel.
Basil is furious when he finds out of course, and then everything really kicks into high gear when the rat hunt gets underway. Not only does it involve the Major and his shotgun, and the surreptitious searching of a lady’s bag, but it gets particularly chaotic and dangerous when a slice of veal laced with rat poison gets mixed in with all the good pieces, one of which the health inspector is having!
It’s not the meat that the inspector has to worry about in the end though, as he comes face to face with the rat in a box of biscuits instead – although he’s so shocked that Basil, Polly and Sybil act as if nothing untoward has happened, and pretend that he must have been seeing things. It still seems extremely likely that the hotel would have been shut down after this incident, but we’ll never know for sure. The last we see of Basil is him being dragged out of the dining room by Manuel.
There are lots of other nice details in this episode as well, including Manuel’s confusion between pigs and pigeons, Polly’s rare use of swearing when a man won’t take her artwork, and Basil being unnerved by the cat coughing up furballs. And an interesting fact is that the guest named Mrs Taylor is played by Melody Lang, who was Andrew Sachs’ wife, so it’s lovely that she got a small part in the final episode.
All in all, it does feel like the most appropriate episode on which to end the show, partly because of the storyline, but also in general because it was confidently and perfectly hitting its stride at this point, and had been for all of Series 2 really. It’s very hard to see how they could have improved upon it. Everyone works together so well, all of the different plot elements in each story come together really nicely, and every episode is packed with laughs.
So as sad as it is that we never got any more, I’m glad they went out on a high and didn’t milk it further just for the money. They did the wise thing by stopping.
Extras
Blu-ray Features
The Blu-ray set includes a disc each for Series 1 and 2, plus a third disc containing bonus material. There’s also audio navigation for the menus and audio description for the episodes to help the visually impaired, which I’m delighted about, as it’s quite a rarity for DVDs & Blu-rays, apart from a few other big BBC shows like Doctor Who.
The box set is rated 12, because it contains racist language (in the episode The Germans as discussed above), and a single instance of bleeped strong language (in John Cleese’s audio commentary on The Anniversary, although there are a couple of bleeped instances in the outtakes too).
The Blu-ray set contains a great variety of extras, which had been brought across from the earlier DVD edition:
- John Cleese Commentary – John Cleese gives a fantastic commentary on both series, providing well-considered insights into the writing and filming of every episode. He talks about the actors and their characters with a lot of admiration and respect, including the little nuances and subtleties in their performances that the casual viewer might never have noticed or considered. He also discusses some of the gags and plot points in similar depth, showing how much thought went into it all. And he’s very down to earth as he reflects on things that didn’t work out quite as well as he’d hoped, and how certain scenes or jokes could have been done better if they’d had time, with regards to the writing, performances, camera shots, etc. Ultimately, it’s clear that he loved making the series, he learnt a lot from it, and he quite rightly has a lot of pride in it.
- Director Commentaries – John Howard Davies and Bob Spiers talk us through Series 1 and 2 respectively. They aren’t as engaging as John and don’t pack in as much detail, so they’re not an essential listen. But they do reveal little pieces of trivia here and there.
- 2009 Interviews (39:01) – This is a nice collection of interviews filmed for the documentary Fawlty Towers Re-Opened that was shown on Gold. We hear from John Cleese (which naturally has a fair bit of overlap to his commentaries and another longer interview in this set), Connie Booth (the first time she’s done a proper interview about the series since it ended), Andrew Sachs, Prunella Scales and producer/director John Howard Davies, along with short recollections from guest stars Bernard Cribbins (Mr Hutchinson), Geoffrey Palmer (Dr Price), Sabina Franklyn (Quentina), Nicky Henson (Mr Johnson) and David Kelly (Mr O’Reilly).
- John Cleese Interview (50:13) – This is a really comprehensive and interesting discussion, where John talks about the genesis of the series, the writing, the characters, specific points about some of the episodes, why it worked so well, and more. It’s the perfect companion piece to his extensive commentaries, and extracts from this interview are used to introduce each episode in the audiobook release of the TV soundtrack (which also has special narration by Andrew Sachs as Manuel to fill in key visual details in each episode).
- Andrew Sachs Interview (24:56) – Another nice lengthy chat, where Andrew talks about what it was like to play Manuel.
- Prunella Scales Interview (7:47) – This is much shorter, but it’s still nice to hear a bit more from her about working on the show.
- Torquay Tourist Office (11:39) – This is a fun little feature about the Gleneagles hotel and its manager Donald Sinclair who inspired the show.
- Cheap Tatty Review (1:00) – This is a specially shot scene with Basil on the phone at reception, saying that he isn’t filming the final episode of the show because of the strike, so the BBC will have to broadcast something else. It was intended to be an introduction to the first episode of topical sketch show Not The Nine O’Clock News, which was due to air in the time slot Fawlty Towers had vacated. But the sketch show was then delayed as well due to the upcoming General Election, so they finally got to run the sketch when their first series ran alongside the final episode of Fawlty Towers, though that meant its original intent was lost. It’s still mildly amusing though.
- Outtakes (1:34) – This far too short but very funny set of clips is taken from the infamous Christmas tapes of bloopers, which were put together by the VT operators at the BBC for the enjoyment of staff at festive parties. So we get to see John and Connie fluffing their lines, as well as John pulling funny faces and reacting in character to the wobbly set.
- Easter Egg (2:28) – This rather sad feature used to be hidden on the old DVD set (accessed by selecting the picture above the subtitles option on Disc 3), but it’s openly listed on the main menu on the third Blu-ray disc, so you don’t have to hunt for it any more. It pays tribute to the building used in the opening titles – which was Wooburn Grange Country Club off Grange Drive in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire – by showing the aftermath of the fire that destroyed it in 1991. Despite being a listed structure, the damage was so severe that it had to be demolished, and eight red bricked residential houses now stand in its place.
Stage Show
To mark the 50th anniversary of the sitcom, the West End adaptation of the series was broadcast on U&Gold this month, lasting 2 hours (including adverts).
Following its initial run in Australia in 2016, Fawlty Towers: The Play launched on London’s West End in May 2024 at the Apollo Theatre, although I never got around to seeing it in person unfortunately, including the audio described performance they put on. My journalist friend Emily went to the press night though and absolutely loved it. The production is now embarking on a tour of the UK and Ireland until July 2026.
The play brings together three of the very best episodes – The Hotel Inspectors, The Germans and Communication Problems. They effectively run one after the other, although there are little changes to the dialogue and plot here and there in order to make it flow as one continuous narrative. And it works very well in that regard, with a specially written finale that brings it all together quite effectively. There are occasional references to other episodes throughout as well, which are fun to spot.
Beyond those small adjustments though, the action and dialogue is identical to, or a very close approximation of, what you see in the TV show. And that gives the play a slightly unique feel, because often the audience start to laugh in advance of particularly good jokes they know are coming, Just the mere mention of the Germans arriving later gets a distinct reaction of anticipatory amusement, when to anyone unfamiliar with the show it’s just a plot point.
As for the cast, they’re all very good, and crucially they don’t try to impersonate the original actors, which is a wise move. They still exhibit the key personality traits and mannerisms of each character of course, and speak the same words. But they make the characters their own to some extent and their performances are inevitably a bit more theatrical, as is necessary for the stage.
So if you see the play soon after watching the TV show, it is a bit jarring at first to see other people in the roles, and it doesn’t feel quite right. But once you take a moment to set any comparisons aside and accept it as the loving tribute and hilarious entertainment it’s designed to be, it’s actually a lot of fun. I felt the same about the Only Fools And Horses musical, which I thoroughly enjoyed seeing in person in 2019.
John Cleese, who wrote the play, even appears on stage at the start of the TV broadcast, to introduce the show to viewers at home, which is a nice touch. And I also like how the play uses sections from the full theme tune during scene introductions and transitions, beyond what’s heard on the TV show.
So I’m very glad I watched it. The TV show is far superior, of course, but nevertheless the play is very entertaining and a great homage to the sitcom. And if it returns to the West End one day, I will have to try and see it.
Incidentally, talking of theatre, we should also acknowledge the interactive Faulty Towers Dining Experience. It began in Australia in 1997 and has been running in London’s West End since 2012, and sees audiences being served dinner by characters similar to those in the sitcom. It’s not an official spin-off from the series, hence the deliberate misspelling of the name, and John Cleese threatened to sue them at one point. But it’s evidently been very popular given that it’s still going, and it would probably be fun to try it one day.
Other Appearances
There have been various other appearances by members of the cast over the years in relation to the show, for example:
- 1976 – Ballard Berkeley and Renee Roberts played the Major and Miss Gatsby in a Fawlty Towers parody sketch on Mike Yarwood’s Christmas show, which even used parts of the actual set given that it was readily available at the time. It’s not particularly good, but it’s interesting to see for curiosity. Mike did other impersonations of Basil on his Comedy Sketchbook programme too, which saw him appear on The Generation Game and Crossroads. Thank you to John Hoare at Dirty Feed for alerting me to this via his enjoyable article exploring parodies of the show to mark the anniversary. Indeed, all of his Fawlty Towers posts are well worth a read, as I love his deep dives into various shows, and he’s particularly obsessed with this one, quite understandably.
- 1981 – Andrew Sachs, in character as Manuel, recorded his own rendition of Shaddap You Face, with a B-side called Waiter, There’s A Spanish Flea In My Soup. But Joe Dolce was about to bring out his own version in the UK, so took out an injunction to stop the release of Andrew’s recording. Joe’s version got to number 1, while Andrew’s cover on its eventual release only got to number 138. Joe’s version is much better, but it is fun to hear Andrew’s take on it.
- 1980s & 1990s – Andrew Sachs also returned to his role as Manuel in various adverts, including a series of commercials promoting pensions and insurance for the Halifax Building Society. Plus he appeared on The Late Late Show in Ireland, bringing some water for host Gay Byrne, and there’s an amusing moment at the end where Andrew makes the host laugh by going off-script.
- 1983 – Gilly Flower and Renee Roberts made a fleeting one-shot appearance in the Homesick episode of Only Fools and Horses. They weren’t named as their Fawlty Towers characters Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby in the episode, but the Radio Times credited them as such, and it’s nice to think that’s who they’re playing.
- 1987 – John Cleese was a great sport to do a sketch with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry at The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball. They presented him with a spoof “Silver Dick” lifetime achievement award, called him Jim, and fired lots of questions at him about the ending of Fawlty Towers and his marriage, which reduced him to tears!
- 2001 – John Cleese presented a 4-part BBC series called The Human Face, looking into the science behind facial beauty, expression and fame. In amongst it all, he filmed a scene with Prunella Scales about his character having a mistress. They weren’t playing Basil and Sybil in this case, but it’s just interesting to see them doing something very different together.
- 2006 – John Cleese appeared on an unofficial England song for the World Cup called Don’t Mention The World Cup (aka Don’t Mention The War), an obvious reference to Basil’s catchphrase from the episode featuring the Germans. It was written by Dean Whitbread and Ashley Slater and performed by The First Eleven with John.
- 2007 – Prunella Scales returned to the role of Sybil for a BBC Children In Need sketch, in which she takes over the management of Hotel Babylon. It includes some fun guest appearances from other classic sitcom stars.
- 2007 – John Cleese and Andrew Sachs reunited as Basil and Manuel for a corporate training video for the Norwegian company Statoil. It shows that Basil is running a restaurant called Basil’s Brasserie, and Manuel has a Michelin-starred restaurant in London, and across 6 episodes they teach Statoil employees about communication and risk assessment.
- 2008 – John and Andrew had a much more public reunion as their characters when they briefly appeared on stage together during We Are Most Amused, a charity show in aid of the Prince’s Trust (now known as the King’s Trust). I have the show on DVD and wrote a little bit about it in my November 2008 journal.
- 2016 – John Cleese returned to the role of Basil and paid homage to the famous car-thrashing scene in Gourmet Night in an amusing advert for Specsavers. You can also see a behind the scenes video and an interview with John alongside it.
- Sequel? – In the last couple of years John has also said that he’s working on a sequel series, which will see Basil working in the Caribbean. It’s not yet clear if it’s still going ahead, but if it does then I highly doubt it’ll be anywhere near as good as the original series. I would still check it out for the sake of curiosity though.
Conclusion
So that’s it, I hope you found that interesting. I’ve loved watching the series again as always, because it never gets boring, and you can tell how much work went into it.
It’s also wonderful that John Cleese goes into so much depth about it in the Blu-ray extras. And there’s potentially more to learn, as he’s written a book to mark the 50th anniversary called Fawlty Towers: Fawlts & All – My Favourite Moments, which will be released on October 9, including in audio format. So that might be interesting to check out, although given how thorough he is on the Blu-ray and in other interviews he’s done, one wonders if there’s much more he can tell us. I’ll get it and listen to it at some point though, and add a review of it here for completeness.
But for now, it’s time for me to check out of the hotel and explore other places. I’ll keep revisiting it though, as I have done countless times before. It’s always a joy to spend some time with Basil and co.
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