John Cleese doesn't think 'Fawlty Towers' would work today because of smartphones.
John Cleese
The 81-year-old comedy legend - who wrote and starred as hapless hotelier Basil Fawlty in the classic BBC show - admitted a lot of the humour in the sitcom and his film 'A Fish Called Wanda' relied on the characters having no idea what was happening elsewhere, which is no longer an issue with improvements in technology since the 1970s.
He told the 'Jam Nation' podcast: "A lot of 'Fawlty Towers' and 'A Fish Called Wanda' was people having to find telephones so they could find out what was going on.
"I'd have to completely re-write it because everyone has phones now."
Over the summer, John showed his support for Torbay council's use of the slogan "2 metres = 1 Basil Fawlty" in their bid to encourage people to keep their distance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
John - who is 1.96m tall - tweeted: "Going forward if I see you too close to one another I shall lay down in-between.
"Social distance! 2 metres = 1 Basil Fawlty. (sic)"
The council replied saying: "The guidance was a little confusing.
"So we tried to think of a simple way to explain it. And finally, we think we've got it right, thanks to you!"
However, the campaign didn't go down well with everyone.
Helen Brenton, marketing officer for a block upmarket flats in Torquay, said at the time: "We've spent years as an industry trying to shake off the 'grotty' Fawlty Towers association.
"We should be encouraging visitors to see us as a classy resort with professional and welcoming operators."
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