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Fawlty Towers (1975) poster TV-PG

Fawlty Towers

★ 8.3 1975 · 1970s 2 seasons BBC Two

Synopsis

Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.

Trivia about Fawlty Towers

He said "We literally did twice as many camera cuts—average shows got 200, we used to have 400.

The other thing is that they were very well constructed." Once an episode had been filmed, the editing process started.

This listed building later served for a short time as a nightclub named "Basil's" after the series ended, before being destroyed by a fire in March 1991.

Both Cleese and Booth were keen on every script being perfect, and some episodes took four months and required as many as 10 drafts until they were satisfied.

Booth clarified in 2025 that Cleese was primarily responsible for the dialogue.

He told a TV interviewer that while the average BBC half-hour comedy script had 65 pages, the ones for Fawlty Towers had between 135 and 140 pages.

Episodes

Cast & Crew

📡 Where to Watch

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