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 6
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 2021All 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 2021Golden 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 2021I 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 2021Fawlty 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 2021Fawlty 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 2021Stop 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 2020John Cleese backs Fawlty social distancing campaign
John Cleese is backing a new Basil Fawlty social-distancing campaign with the slogan "2 metres = 1 Basil Fawlty"
The List, 7th August 2020What's the optimum number of series for a sitcom?
We try to pinpoint the TV comedy sweet spot, where 'sharp and consistent' has yet to become 'laboured and cliched'.
Ellen E. Jones, The Guardian, 27th July 2020Why Fawlty Towers is still the best comedy of all time
We are supposed to laugh at, not with, the Basil Fawlty character in Fawlty Towers.
Aidan Smith, The Scotsman, 16th June 2020