Fans of the beloved BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers have been left furious as John Cleese confirmed that an iconic character will be killed off in the first episode of his new reboot.
John announced the reboot in February, which will star himself and his daughter Camilla. But many fans of the original show were already furious at the idea, and begged for the reboot to be “cancelled”. And things haven’t gotten much more positive as John confirmed a major character will be killed off…
Basil will return without his wife in Fawlty Towers reboot
John Cleese confirmed that the reboot of the show will kill off Basil Fawlty’s headstrong wife Sybil Fawlty. The character of Sybil was played by Prunella Scales, who is now 90 and has been living with dementia since her diagnosis in 2014.
The reboot will also not feature Andrew Sachs as hilarious Spanish waiter Manuel, as the actor passed away in 2016 at the age of 86. Major Gowen will also be missing from the reboot, as Ballard Berkeley died in 1988.
John told The Sun: “The new one starts with Sybil’s death and Basil’s daughter getting a text message from her father saying: ‘Sybil did’. She texts back: ‘Sybil did what?’ Basil is about to deliver the eulogy and says what an absolutely wonderful woman Sybil was. And then the camera pans around and you see that behind his back he has his fingers crossed.”
He then added: “Sybil dies and Basil goes to see his daughter because it was all part of a naughty affair that he once had with a guest at the hotel.”
Furious fans react: ‘What’s the point?’
Fawlty Towers only ran for 12 episodes in the 1970s, but has still been cemented as one of the most iconic British sitcoms of all time. But fans are worried the reboot might “ruin” the legacy of the show.
Fans of the sitcom haven’t been happy with the news that the favourite character won’t be returning. One fan complained: “No Sybil. No Manuel. No Major. What’s the point?!” Another fan added: “A very bad idea. The original is perfect and doesn’t need a follow-up. There’s absolutely no way it’ll be anywhere near as good as the original.”
That entire dynamic was the whole point and charm of the series.
A third person ranted: “It’s probably good to warn everyone in advance that it’s not going to be very funny.” A fourth person said: “No doubt the new ‘series’ will die at the start too.” Another fan argued: “That entire dynamic was the whole point and charm of the series. If Basil has no one to be afraid of being caught by… what’s the point?”
The reboot is being made by an American production company, and the broadcast channel hasn’t been confirmed yet. Although John Cleese said it would not be on the BBC. He believes the channel won’t give him “the necessary creative freedom”.
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