‘Fawlty Towers’ hotel to be demolished
The Torquay hotel that inspired Fawlty Towers is being demolished to make way for retirement homes.
- Published by David Knox
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Progress schmogress….
The seaside hotel that inspired John Cleese to create Fawlty Towers is being demolished to make way for retirement homes.
After years of running Fawlty Towers-themed events the 41-bedroom Gleneagles hotel in Torquay, UK, closed last year and has been approved for 32 retirement flats on the site.
John Cleese stayed at the hotel in 1971 whilst filming Monty Python’s Flying Circus and was amazed at the chilly greeting from hosts, Donald Sinclair and his wife, Beatrice.
He once described Sinclair as “the most wonderfully rude man I have ever met”.
When the hotel was renovated in 2006, the new owners embraced the Fawlty Towers link, inviting Prunella Scales, who played Sybil Fawlty, as guest of honour.
“There is something really rather exotic about Torquay, with the palm trees – the English Riviera as Basil referred to it once,” Cleese once said. “There is something comical about dumping this horrendous little English hotel in slightly swell surroundings.”
Source: Guardian
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2 Responses
Last night’s (17 Mar) episode of Faulty Towers, “Basil The Rat” on 7Two, is one of the most memorable comedy sketches of all times. At my age, I need to consult my cardiologist before watching re-runs of this episode.
In commemoration I’ll listen to Brahms’ Third Racket later today whilst petting my Norwegian Filigree Hamster.