Monty Python’s Carol Cleveland has admitted she is “amazed” that Fawlty Towers is being revived.
The second and final series ended more than 40 years ago but Monty Python actor John Cleese, 83, will pen new episodes of the former BBC show with his comedian daughter Camilla Cleese, 39.
And Carol Cleveland, who has appeared in 30 episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus and all four of her films, commented on the news and said she was “delighted”.
Speaking to The Mirror, she said: “I’m amazed. I’m not a spring chicken at 81. John is 83, which would actually be too old to run a hotel.
“I can’t see it being the original, but maybe it’s not intentional,” she said, but added, “I’m excited for it to come back and I can’t wait to see it.”
Amazed: Monty Python’s Carol Cleveland has admitted she is ‘amazed’ that Fawlty Towers is being revived (pictured in 2005)
Aside from Fawlty Towers, John is best known for being one of the original members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
The group produced a number of surreal sketch shows and films including Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Life Of Brian and Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life.
The new series, developed by Castle Rock Entertainment by actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner, will explore how the cynical and misanthropic snob Basil fares in the modern world, it was announced Tuesday.
John will return to screens as hotel manager Basil Fawlty, and while the details of the plot will be largely kept under wraps, the story will revolve around Basil’s relationship with his daughter, whom he only recently discovered is the father.
Despite being tortured by “that annoying part of the public that insists on staying in hotels” in the previous two series, which ran for 12 episodes from 1975 to 1979, Basil and his daughter decide to get back into the industry and to open a boutique hotel.
The original series followed the ill-fated exploits of highly tense Torquay hotelier Basil and his wife Sybil, portrayed by Prunella Scales, as they tried to keep their hotel and their marriage afloat.
But Carol, who is now in semi-retirement in West Sussex, believes the show could be very different this time.
She said: “It will be interesting to see how John sidesteps today’s political correctness.
Coming up: The second and final series ended more than 40 years ago but Monty Python actor John Cleese, 83, will be writing new episodes of the former BBC program with his comedian daughter Camilla Cleese, 39 (John, pictured in 2019 ).
“It might not be as fun when it’s so politically correct,” she told the publication.
Meanwhile, the BBC’s Nick Robinson has suggested that John Cleese needs to rediscover his sense of humor before reviving.
Discussing reports of the remake, Robinson told listeners of John, “He needs to find some humor.
“Because he’s been very angry, John Cleese, the last few times we’ve spoken to him on this show. No doubt he can still be funny. We will see.’
Comeback: John will return to screens as Basil Fawlty, with a reboot of the star’s famous comedy Fawlty Towers in the works (John pictured 2019)
Cleese was last on the program in October and complained that he “cancelled or censored” when he appeared on the BBC.
He also commented on “the appalling debate over Brexit, when I thought this country had sunk to the lowest intellectual level I can ever remember” and the Tory government, which he described as “always and always catastrophic” described.
In 2019, Fawlty Towers was voted the greatest British sitcom of all time by a panel of television experts from Radio Times magazine.
Actor Rob Reiner, his wife and actress Michele Reiner, director and producer Matthew George and Derrick Rossi will serve as executive producers on the series.
On air: The second and final series ended more than 40 years ago, but Monty Python actor John is writing new episodes of the former BBC program (John stars as the character Basil Fawlty in the first episode of the first series from 1975, A Touch of Glass, see).
John said, “What I like about Matt is that unlike a lot of producers, he really understands the creative process.
“When we first met he offered an excellent initial idea and then Matt, my daughter Camilla and I had one of the best creative sessions I can remember.
“Up until dessert, we had such a good overall concept that Rob and Michele Reiner approved it a few days later.
“Camilla and I are really excited to make this a series.”
Family affair: John has teamed up with his comedian daughter Camilla Cleese, 39, to write the new episodes (Camilla pictured in 2018)
Producer Matthew said meeting John and Camilla was one of the “big thrills” of his life, adding, “I’m obsessed with Fawlty Towers and the iconic characters he created.
“I’ve watched the first two seasons so many times I’ve lost count. I dreamed of one day being part of a sequel to the story. Now it has come true.”
Rob Reiner said: “John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the thought of working with him makes me laugh.”
Former Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs, best known for his portrayal of Spanish waiter Manuel on the classic sitcom, died in 2016 at the age of 86 after a secret four-year battle with dementia that left him wheelchair-bound unable to speak.
Iconic: John starred in both series from 1975 to 1979 (LR: Prunella Scales as Sybil, John Cleese as Basil, Connie Booth as Polly and Andrew Sachs as Manuel in 1975)
He died in a nursing home with his wife Melody, who cared tirelessly for him and said at the time: “For a long time, my heart has been broken every day.”
She said the couple was happy to the end, adding: “I never heard him grumble.”
Melody shared how her husband was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2012. It is the second most common form of the disease after Alzheimer’s.
She said: “It wasn’t all doom and gloom, he worked two more years.
“We were happy, we always laughed, we never had a dull moment. He had dementia for four years and we didn’t really notice it at first until the memory started to fade.
Update: In the new series, which was originally only filmed for 12 episodes, Basil will be opening a new boutique hotel with a daughter he didn’t know was the father
“It didn’t really get that bad until the end. I took care of Andrew, I was there every moment.’
The actor died on November 23, 2016 and his family and close friends gathered for his funeral and burial in north London on November 30 of the same year.
Sybil Fawlty actress Prunella Scales was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, but last November her husband Timothy West insisted she was “still enjoying life” after celebrating her 90th birthday in June.
Former Coronation Street star Timothy, 88, told the Mirror: “She’s enjoying life, which is really important. She likes to do things.’
Farewell: Andrew Sachs, best known for his portrayal of Spanish waiter Manuel on the classic sitcom, died in 2016 at the age of 86 after a battle with dementia
John also announced last year that he was joining GB News after being told it was a “free speech channel”.
Announcing the move on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, he said: “The BBC didn’t come up to me and say, ‘Would you like to have some hour-long shows?’
“And if they did, I’d say, ‘Don’t get on your nerves,’ because I wouldn’t get five minutes into the first show before I got canceled or censored.”
Today presenter Amol Rajan replied at the time: “Well we’ve given you five minutes today and I can promise you that you haven’t been censored yet.”
Synopsis: The original series followed the exploits of tense Torquay hotelier Basil and his wife Sybil as they tried to keep their hotel and their marriage afloat (John was pictured as Basil in 1975).