Basil is delighted when a member of the aristocracy chooses to stay at the Fawlty Towers, snubbing the normal guests who frequent the hotel. What Basil does not know, however, is that the man is not a Lord but a confidence trickster who attempts to steal his collection of rare coins. As Basil's desperation to keep such an 'upstanding' guest increases, he becomes increasingly tolerant towards the man's behavior, only to have the guest arrested in a police raid on the hotel.
Over his wife's objections, Basil hires his usual firm of incompetents (O'Reilly's) to do some carpentry work in the hotel lobby. With both Basil and Sybil out for the afternoon, they leave Polly in charge. She decides to have a nap, leaving the English-challenged Manuel in charge. When Basil returns, he finds a solid wall where once stood doors to the dining room and still no door to the kitchen per his work order. Sybil takes an I-told-you-so attitude and insists he hire a qualified builder to fix the mess, but Basil decides to get O'Reilly back to right the wrong, but he still makes a mess of it as well.
Basil Fawlty's puritanical streak comes out when a young couple he suspects of not being married tries to book a double room. He's ready to give them rooms on separate floors until Sybil steps in. It turns out that the couple know Polly but when he sees her coming out of their room - she was trying on a dress her friend had brought her for the wedding they would be attending - Basil begins to think everyone has gone mad. All that's left is for another guest, Mrs. Peignoir, to get tipsy and make a pass at him. For Manuel, it's his birthday and a night of celebrating takes its toll.
Basil Fawlty goes on the alert when he hears there are hotel inspectors in the area.
The Fawltys are very pleased with their new chef, Kurt. He was recommended to them by their friend André who runs a nice restaurant in town. All in all, he's working out quite well and they decide to have a gourmet evening on Thursdays to try and promote, in Basil's eye at any rate, a better class of clientèle. Kurt gets along well with everyone and seems to have a particular interest in Manuel. When the big day finally arrives, they find themselves with only four guests booked for the dining room - which Sybil puts down to Basil's advert in the local paper saying 'no riff-raff' - and there seems to be something about Kurt that André forgot to mention. It's pandemonium as a manic Basil tries to make up for their collective lapses.
A moose head to be hung, a fire drill to be conducted, and German guests are all a bit much for Basil to handle while Sybil's in hospital.
When Mrs. Richards, a demanding woman who is hard of hearing, checks into the hotel, Basil, Sybil and Polly find themselves with a very difficult customer. Meanwhile, Basil bets on a horse that is sure to win, however he must not let Sybil find out.
Confusion arises when Basil tries to catch a girl in a playboy's room after hours, all the while unnerved by a psychiatrist's presence.
Customer dissatisfaction with the Fawlty Towers dining experience comes to a head when an insistent American comes for a stay.
One of the guests has died in his sleep, but Basil thinks it's due to serving him spoiled food.
Basil plans a surprise anniversary party for Sybil but, thinking he's forgotten it again, she walks out just before the guests arrive.
Basil and the rest of the staff are in deep trouble when the health inspector turns up and delivers an enormous list of problems with the hotel. Things become even worse when Manuel's rat gets loose in the hotel.
A celebration of John Cleese and Connie Booth's acclaimed sitcom following the misadventures of Torquay hotel owner Basil Fawlty. The program explores its phenomenal success, with a selection of its finest moments, and contributions from fans, experts and supporting cast members.
An interview with the man himself, as he tells all about the making of each of the episodes of Fawlty Towers and the writing process behind them as well as the good and bad moments from behind the scenes.
An interview with the legendary actor Andrew Sachs, in which he tells us about his time on the show and of how the much loved character of Manuel was created.
To help celebrate its 30th anniversary, G.O.L.D. is throwing open the doors of TV's most famous hotel once more after a lengthy absence. New and exclusive, Fawlty Towers: Re-opened gathers cast and crew together to retrace the history of the sitcom from a rarely seen insider point of view. The one-off special leaves no English Riviera stone unturned in its search for trivia and nuggets of information from the Fawlty Towers guestbook, together with in-depth interviews with John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales, as well as Connie Booth talking about her memories from the show for the first time in 30 years. Just don't mention the war.
Now here's an interesting way to celebrate the 30th birthday of a classic sitcom. For the first time ever, John Cleese reveals his favourite scenes from Fawlty Towers. No clues yet as to which ones they will be but there's the added bonus of the likes of Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Mitchell and Webb, Eddie Izzard and AA Gill reminiscing about these magic moments. Possibly even more interesting will be the comments from the owners of Gleanagles Hotel, which was the real-life inspiration for Fawlty Towers.
'Cheap Tatty Review' was filmed as introduction to the first episode of 'Not The Nine O'Clock News', the show that was supposed to begin the week after the penultimate episode of 'Fawlty Towers'. However 'Not The Nine O'Clock News' was postponed until later in 1979 due to the imminent General Election. The sketch was aired when the final episode of 'Fawlty Towers' was shown during the first series of 'Not The Nine O'Clock News'.
Pictures of the "real" Fawlty Towers hotel. After being burnt down, the Grange housing estate was built in its place.
John Cleese & other principals tell the stories behind the creation of the series.
Phillip Schofield and John Cleese introduce a spectacular night of comedy celebrating HRH the Prince of Wales's 60th birthday in aid of his youth charity, the Prince's Trust. Featuring top comedy names from Britain and abroad, including Robin Williams, who returns to the UK stage for the first time in 27 years, Rowan Atkinson, musician and stand-up Bill Bailey, Joan Rivers, and stand-ups Michael McIntyre and Omid Djalili, while Chris Tarrant and Fern Britton guest star in specially-written sketches. Plus, a surprise musical number from a visiting comedy great.
A very short film showing pictures of the demolished "Grange", the hotel featured in the opening title sequence and for exteriors of "Fawlty Towers"
A look at the building used as the hotel in Fawlty Towers after it was damaged by a fire. This video was an easter egg on the Fawlty Towers DVD. After the fire, it was purchased by developers. Eight houses now stand in its place, though there was planning permission for a 39 bed hotel.
Interviews with John Cleese, Connie Booth, Andrew Sachs, Prunella Scales, John Howard Davies, Bernard Cribbins, Geoffrey Palmer, Sabina Franklyn, Nicky Henson & David Kelly. Originally filmed for 'Fawlty Towers Revisited'
Very brief bios for twelve of the most significant guest actors from the series, which first appeared on the 2005 DVD box set.
A brief personal and professional bio for each of the series regulars, which first appeared on the 2005 DVD box set.
A BBC interview with John Cleese about the making of Fawlty Towers.
A 2016 commercial for Specsavers featuring John Cleese as Basil Fawlty, who is having some trouble with his car - again!
A behind-the-scenes interview with John Cleese for the 2016 Specsavers commercial featuring Basil Fawlty.
