UPDATE: John Cleese concerned that negative feedback could see Fawlty Towers reboot cancelled

Cardiff riot: New evidence

John Cleese voiced his concern over whether recent negative feedback to the new series of Fawlty Towers could lead to it being cancelled.

UPDATE: Tuesday, February 14 at 9:25pm

Last Tuesday, February 7, it was announced that a reboot of the iconic comedy series Fawlty Towers was in the pipeline. Social media has been awash ever since with discussions about whether the classic John Cleese show could still be as funny as the original.

The original show was devised and written by Cleese with his then-wife Connie Booth. He starred as the manic Basil Fawlty and Connie played the chambermaid Polly. Rob Reiner, the American actor and filmmaker is involved with Cleese on the reboot so it of course remains to be seen whether the writing can live up to the previous scripts.

Posting on his official Twitter account, Cleese wrote today, Tuesday 14: “I worry that so many of the British critics are saying that the FT sequel is such an awful idea because Rob Reiner might start getting cold feet, and cancel the whole thing. He’s fairly new to comedy and doesn’t have that fingertip sensitivity to it that British critics do”.

UPDATE: Friday, February 10 at 02:50am

Comedy legend John Cleese has revealed where his new series of the iconic Fawlty Towers will be located and that he will not allow the BBC to have it.

Speaking in a world-exclusive interview with GB News, the 83-year-old comic genius explained that the manic hotel owner will be relocating from Torquay on the south coast of England, to a “small bijou hotel” in the Caribbean.

“If you put it in the Caribbean, it becomes very multi-racial. People in the hotel business come from everywhere, so you can bring lots of different people together. The characteristic of Fawlty Towers was the pressure cooker atmosphere created in the hotel”, Cleese explained to Dan Wootton.

After the news was originally released on Tuesday 7, The Guardian ran a headline claiming the new reboot would be ‘an anti-woke nightmare’. Dan Wootton asked Cleese his thoughts on that.

“They obviously know better than I do what’s going to be in it”, he responded. “Maybe they should write an episode for me that they would find acceptable. Might not be very funny, but I’m sure it would really please some of their readers. The idea that it’s all going to be about wokery hadn’t particularly occurred to me”.

When asked if the show would be broadcast once again on its original home at the BBC, Cleese told Dan: “No, because you wouldn’t get the freedom”. He claimed that he would not be given sufficient editorial freedom if he was to work with them.

Watch the full interview courtesy of the GB News YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/EJz4sJHKWvY

Tuesday, February 7 at 8:21pm

It has been revealed today, Tuesday, February 7, that Fawlty Towers, one of the most iconic British comedy series of all time, will return to television screens. The final episode of this classic 1970s show was last broadcast on BBC Two in 1979, more than 40 years ago.

Once again controlling the madcap comedy will be John Cleese, the show’s original star and co-writer. This time around, he will be joined by Camilla Cleese, his real-life daughter, according to thesun.co.uk.

The classic comedy revolved around the antics of Cleese’s manic character Basil Fawlty, a grumpy hotel owner in the English seaside town of Torquay. In this reboot, Basil will meet his long-lost daughter and decide to open a boutique hotel. Brand new episodes will follow Basil’s attempts to deal with the modern world.

Castle Rock Entertainment are the production company behind this new series. The American entity includes the talents of producer Matthew George, and actor, Rob Reiner.

Commenting on the script, John Cleese said: “When we first met, he 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”, he added.

In response, Riener said: “John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh”.

“Meeting John and Camilla was one of the great thrills of my life. I’m obsessed with Fawlty Towers and the legendary characters he created. I’ve watched the first two seasons so many times I have lost count. I dreamed of one day being involved in a continuation of the story. Now it’s come true”, enthused Matthew George.

Fawlty Towers consistently tops all-time British comedy lists despite only 12 episodes ever being recorded. Cleese co-wrote the show along with his ex-wife, Connie Booth, who also starred as the hotel chambermaid Polly Sherman.

Prunella Scales played the part of Basil’s bossy wife Sybil, while Andrew Sachs was Manuel, their Spanish waiter, arguably one of the funniest roles in television comedy history. A whole host of other characters constantly appeared, including ‘The Major’, who was a permanent hotel guest.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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