Scripted series · BBC Two
Fawlty Towers
Don’t mention the war!
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
John Cleese
Basil Fawlty
12 eps
Prunella Scales
Sybil Fawlty
12 eps
Connie Booth
Polly Sherman
12 eps
Andrew Sachs
Manuel
12 eps
Ballard Berkeley
Major Gowen
12 eps
Brian Hall
Terry the Chef
6 eps
Gilly Flower
Miss Tibbs
12 eps
Renee Roberts
Miss Gatsby
12 eps
Michael Gwynn
Lord Melbury
1 eps
Diana King
Mrs. Rachel Lloyd
1 eps
David Kelly
O'Reilly
1 eps
Brenda Cowling
Sister
1 eps
Norman Bird
Mr. Arrad
1 eps
Nicky Henson
Mr. Johnson
1 eps
Bernard Cribbins
Mr. Hutchinson
1 eps
Mavis Pugh
Mrs. Chase
1 eps
Una Stubbs
Alice
1 eps
Ann Way
Mrs. Hall
1 eps
Joan Sanderson
Mrs. Alice Richards
1 eps
Sabina Franklyn
Quentina
1 eps
Robin Ellis
Danny Brown
1 eps
Bruce Boa
Mr. Harry Hamilton
1 eps
Geoffrey Palmer
Dr. Price
1 eps
Ken Campbell
Roger
1 eps
James Cossins
Mr. Walt
1 eps
Elspet Gray
Mrs. Abbott
1 eps
Conrad Phillips
Mr. Lloyd
1 eps
Jeffrey Segal
Mr. Heath
1 eps
John Quarmby
Mr. Carnegie
1 eps
David Simeon
Mr. Mackenzie
1 eps
Luan Peters
Raylene Miles
1 eps
Stella Tanner
Mrs. Arrad
1 eps
Allan Cuthbertson
Colonel Hall
1 eps
Richard Davies
Mr. White
1 eps
Trevor Adams
Alan
1 eps
Claire Nielson
Mrs. Hamilton
1 eps
Basil Henson
Dr. Abbott
1 eps
Steve Plytas
Kurt
1 eps
Derek Royle
Mr. Leeman
1 eps
Richard Caldicot
Mr. Twitchen
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Fawlty Towers actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Fawlty Towers reads strongest on Bingeability, Humour and Character Depth.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
Owner Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, a chambermaid Polly, and Spanish waiter Manuel attempt to run their hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding guests.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E01
Communication Problems
A selectively deaf woman named Mrs Richards insists that she has had a large amount of money stolen at the hotel, and against Sybil's wishes Basil puts a fiver on Dragonfly.
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E02
The Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist and his wife come to stay and Basil thinks Sybil is telling them all about his life.
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E06
Basil the Rat
The health inspector is coming and Basil tells Manuel to get rid of his pet rat, which he later finds out is named Basil.
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S01E06
The Germans
Sybil goes into the hospital for toe surgery, leaving Basil to cope with a fire drill single-handed. After a couple of blows on the head, Basil tells some German guests where Germany went wrong in WWII.
- Directed by John Howard Davies
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S01E04
The Hotel Inspectors
Some inspectors are in town and Basil gets paranoid, so he alternately fawns over and offends his guests.
- Directed by John Howard Davies
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E04
The Kipper and the Corpse
Unknown to Basil, a guest dies in the night and he tries to serve him breakfast anyway and an obnoxious woman insists on service for her dog.
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S02E06
Basil the Rat
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E05
The Anniversary
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E04
The Kipper and the Corpse
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E03
Waldorf Salad
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E02
The Psychiatrist
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
S02E01
Communication Problems
- Directed by Bob Spiers
- Written by Connie Booth, John Cleese
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Douglas ArgentProducer
- John Howard DaviesProducer
Writing
- Connie BoothWriter
- John CleeseWriter
Direction
- Bob SpiersDirector
- John Howard DaviesDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Britbox Apple TV Channel Streaming
- BritBoxStreaming
- BritBox Amazon ChannelStreaming
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