Flowery twats
New Zealand Listener|March 11-17 2023
Amid all the sadness of the past few weeks, one news item delighted me. John Cleese has decided to reboot Fawlty Towers with his daughter, Camilla Cleese. This production will not, however, be hosted by the BBC because Cleese considers the British broadcaster to be the epicentre of wokery.
CHRIS FINLAYSON
Flowery twats

I consider Fawlty Towers to be the greatest-ever comedy series. I cannot even now watch some of the programmes without cringing: Basil with the kipper stuffed down his jersey or climbing up a ladder to catch an unauthorised guest. Every episode is hilarious. Quite simply, it is a masterpiece. Some of the actors, such as Andrew Sachs who played Manuel, are dead, but I am very much looking forward to the new series, which follows Basil finding out he has a secret daughter and how he struggles to navigate the modern world.

Several commentators have criticised the idea of a reboot. A few days ago, Cleese responded to that criticism with the following sarcastic apology: "I must apologise. I had no idea that the idea of writing a new sitcom with my daughter would cause so much anger and distress. I truly meant no harm. Naively, I thought it might be fun. But I feel terrible about having released this idea of negative emotion. Please forgive me."

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Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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