Comedy legend John Cleese returns to Torquay - the place 'astonishing' rudeness from hotelier spawned Fawlty Towers

Comedy legend John Cleese is back in Torquay for the first time in half a century - having not returned following an incident that spawned legendary show, Fawlty Towers. The icon, 86, returned to the Devon town - scene of 'astonishing' rudeness from hotelier Donald Sinclair in 1971 which inspired Basil Fawlty - as the Fawlty Towers play was in town as part of a tour.

And he said it felt like bringing the show home as he recalled the encounter at the now demolished Gleneagles hotel that led to its creation. The Monty Python legend was at the Princess Theatre as the Fawlty Towers play, a hit west end show, came to town and said: "It has been a long time since I was in Torquay but it is lovely to be back.

"I used to come here a lot in the mid 50s - because my closest friend lived here and we used to spend long summers playing miniature golf. Then I came back in the 70s when Python came to film here. Most of them left the Gleneagles Hotel after 24 hours to go to the Imperial. I stayed on and thank god I did as it gave me lots of items.

"Then I came back to the show the hotel to the producers and to our disappointment Mr Sinclair had left and gone to Miami. I was met by a nice agreeable chap, which was a great disappointment."

Recalling his encounter with Mr Sinclair, John added: "When I arrived to the Gleneagles I remember it seemed strange. I walked in and there was this guy sitting at a reception desk, staring into space, not doing anything - and the moment he saw me he looked busy, turned his back on me. I walked over to the reception desk and I thought what's going on? - he knows I am there.

"So after a time I went mmmm, and he said "oh what", which is an extraordinary thing that someone in the hotel business, which is all about hospitality and making people feel welcome, his attitude to the guests where they were pests and they were the ones stopping him running the hotel properly. I stayed on with Connie my wife probably out of laziness, I can not think of another good reason."

John said the idea for Fawlty Towers didn't come to him for a long time after the encounter, in 1971. He added: "I left Python in '73 and then in '74 and was asked what I now wanted to do. I said I wanted to do something with my wife as we laugh a lot together. The BBC were wonderful in those days. We went away to talk about it and she said 'what about that hotel'? I said, great idea, and the BBC commissioned it."

He went on: "It is a shame the Gleneagles got demolished but there was nothing of that hotel in the actual show. All exterior was shot elsewhere.

"Although he had left, a newspaper tracked him down to Miami and spoke to his daughter who never watched the TV show. She had left England before it started so the journalist asked her watch a couple of episodes. After she had, she turned to the journalist and just said 'yeah, that is dad'."

And he said the visit of the play offered the perfect opportunity to return to where it all began for Basil. Cleese added: "I was hoping it would come back here to Torquay at some point. It has been on a very big tour and ran a long time in the west end.

"It is getting really wonderful receptions as it is good old fashioned British farce. You don't see it very much anymore. I am abroad a lot and when I come back and ask is there been anything funny on telly - the answer is almost always not. We used to have so many good shows. The Good Life, Yes Minister, Only Fools, Blackadder. Now we don't have any. I have tried to figure out why it is. But I can only conclude the BBC in charge of comedy don't know how to nurture comedy.

“Basil would have struggled with the modern world, I struggle hard with the modern world. There has been a huge advance in technology but has it actually made anyone any happier? When people answer that it undermines a lot of what people say. I have loved seeing the show sat in my little box and watching the audience laugh. People get so much friendlier when they laugh. It is not just a haha - but people doubling up like that. It is wonderful and joyous to watch."

John said at the beginning it was all fans of the show attending the musical with an average age of 70. But now kids who had never even heard of the show are embracing the "straightforward farce and human behaviour".

He said he was "genuinely astonished" at the quality of three Basils during the original audition and picked Adam Jackson-Smith "as he looked like me". He said the current Basil, Danny Bayne, plays the role a little differently but was a "wonderful, funny actor".

He added: "There is a very affectionate feeling in the group. They all like each other and comedy can only happen when people do. I make some suggestions on how to play Basil and changed a few things that people don't know as I've been doing it for 60 years. I might just suggest to change the order and make something immediately funnier. I think it's just an instinctive thing.

"I got here last night and had a wonderful dinner. The response from people everywhere has been great. Torquay has always been so closely linked to the show and I understand Torquay has always treated it with affection. I gather from talking to people here they are fond of the show and like the fact it has made Torquay famous. In America no-one knew about it - but now they all do. That is lovely."