John Cleese reveals twist on reboot of highly-anticipated classic TV show Fawlty Towers

John Cleese has revealed a twist on the reboot of highly-anticipated classic TV show Fawlty Towers. He appeared on The One Show to discuss the new Fawlty Towers West End show and was asked by the hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas about how the reboot of the new TV show was progressing.

In February 2023, it was revealed that John Cleese would be reviving the UK TV sitcom Fawlty Towers alongside his daughter Camilla Cleese. The classic TV show was about the lives of Torquay hotelier Basil (played by John Cleese) and his wife Sybil and ran between 1975 and 1979. 

The Sun reported that John Cleese “previously revealed that he planned to set the classic sitcom revival with the death of Sybil Fawlty, the wife of his eccentric alter-ego Basil.

“Basil will then move to the Caribbean to be with his illegitimate daughter who is running her own hotel, and John really put the emphasis on the ‘legitimate' part.”

Although the original Fawlty Towers was set in Torquay, the new reboot will not be taking place there, but in the more exotic location of the Caribbean. John Cleese said that “There’s going to be much more stuff shot outside the hotel, and you’ve got all the water sports and all that kind of thing, so we work on all that.”

The new Fawlty Towers will be a family affair for John Cleese as he will be working alongside daughter Camilla and revealed that “It’s rather nice-Fawlty Towers I wrote with my first wife. Then A Fish CAlled Wanda and Fierce Creatures, my elder daughter (Cynthia Cleese) was in both.

“And now I’m writing with my younger daughter, my younger daughter has got a wicked sense of humour.”

John Cleese has also adapted three Fawlty Tower episodes for a new stage show at the Apollo Theatre in London. In February 2024, John Cleese said: “We’ve been involved in the casting process for some time, being constantly reminded of what a wealth of acting talent we have in Britain-sorting the very, very, very good from the merely very, very good. Finally we assembled a top-class group of comedy actors.”