British Comedy Guide
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.

F
X
R
W
E

Press clippings Page 12

Fawlty Towers: 7 facts and anecdotes

Did you know how tough Manuel actor Andrew Sachs was or why Major Gowen was censored?

Jack Hardy, The Mirror, 31st May 2014

Andrew Sachs remembers filming Fawlty Towers in 1975

This is a scene from 'The Builders', the second episode of Fawlty Towers, in which Basil Fawlty [John Cleese] carries me to the hotel dining-room windows in an attempt to explain that he would like them cleaned. I wasn't hurt, but there were instances when I wasn't so lucky.

Andrew Sachs, The Telegraph, 14th March 2014

Andrew Sachs: 'John Cleese once hit me so hard'

The actor on Sachsgate, fleeing the Nazis and being thumped by Basil Fawlty.

Tim Lewis, The Observer, 21st February 2014

Letters of note: Fawlty Towers rejection in 1974

In a note to the head of comedy and light entertainment, Ian Main turns down one of Britain's most famous sitcoms.

The Guardian, 12th October 2013

Why can't we laugh at the old jokes any more?

A 'racist' joke in Fawlty Towers has been cut because it might offend. Well, it might - if you didn't get the joke.

Michael Deacon, The Telegraph, 25th January 2013

Fawlty Towers isn't racist. Major Gowen is

The BBC's cutting of racial insults from a repeat of The Germans has brought the integrity of the hit comedy show into question. But the words are clearly used to satirise English upper-class bigotry.

Mark Lawson, The Guardian, 23rd January 2013

BBC cuts the Major's 'racist' lines from Fawlty Towers

In one scene one of the hotel's permanent residents, Major Gowen, uses derogatory terms to describe black people. It was included in the episode's first airing in October 1975, but this time around the major's words were edited out.

Laura Cox, Daily Mail, 23rd January 2013

Was BBC right to cut racist language in Fawlty Towers?

A BBC2 repeat of The Germans cut a line of racist language, but some viewers have complained that the Fawlty Towers episode should have aired in its original form.

Vicky Frost, The Guardian, 23rd January 2013

Fawlty Towers tops TV comeback survey

Fawlty Towers has topped a survey of past shows Britons would love to see return to TV in 2013.

Digital Spy, 3rd January 2013

Basil Fawlty, the paton saint of Friday the 13th

For many, Friday the 13th may be the one day where your actions (or inactions) range from staying inside, avoiding black cats, walk way out of your way to prevent you from walking under ladders, or even attempting to avoid buildings that have a 13th floor. Unfortunately, for Basil Fawlty, every day is Friday the 13th at Fawlty Towers without his even trying. When you think about it, in 12 short episodes, Basil experienced a lifetime of Friday the 13th's.

Bill Young, Tellyspotting, 13th July 2012

Share this page