Fawlty Towers remains a beloved British comedy, famous for its unforgettable characters, and John Cleese’s brilliant performance as the hilariously grouchy hotel owner Basil Fawlty.
Thankfully, the iconic show is now making a much-anticipated return, with Cleese reprising his role in new episodes. The 84-year-old sitcom actor will be returning to write and will star on screen alongside his daughter Camilla Cleese.
Airing on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979, the classic series delved into the struggles of Torquay hotelier Basil and his wife Sybil, played by Prunella Scales, as they dealt with running their hotel and keeping their marriage from falling apart.
Despite being one of the most iconic British comedies, the show has faced criticism in recent years. The famous "The Germans" episode made recent headlines due to a character's use of racial slurs.
However, the actor has consistently defended the show but recently admitted there is one scene from that episode he hates.
The Monty Python star added: "I watch it and I watch it with a hawkish eye, because I hate the moments that aren't quite right... like when the moose head drops on to me and if you look at it carefully you can see I'm waiting for it to drop. It's fractionally slow.
Previously, the star also opened up about how he was glad there wasn’t another series of the show. He said: "Well, Connie Booth and I after the second series thought, 'We can't do better than that'. We could do another series and everyone would say, 'ooh it was very good' but it wasn't as good as the first two series.
However, fans were thrilled by the news of the show’s return last year. It was revealed that actor and director Rob Reiner would serve as an executive producer, alongside his wife, actress Michele Reiner, as well as director Matthew George and producer Derrick Rossi.
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Speaking about the new series, Cleese said: "When we first met, he [Matt] offered an excellent first idea, and then Matt, my daughter Camilla, and I had one of the best creative sessions I can remember.
"By dessert, we had an overall concept so good that, a few days later, it won the approval of Rob and Michele Reiner. Camilla and I look forward enormously to expanding it into a series." Meanwhile, Rob Reiner added: "John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh.
"The original show, written by Cleese and Connie Booth, ran on BBC Two for two series in 1975 and 1979. In 2019, it was named the greatest British sitcom of all time by a panel of television experts for Radio Times magazine.
