Fawlty Towers

Duck surprise. The car that wouldn't start. The psychiatrists. Those builders...

Fifty years ago, Fawlty Towers hit British TV screens for the first time, becoming an instant classic. Now, for the first time, John Cleese tells his stories from behind the scenes of his favourite moments. From writing scripts that were so carefully planned they were double the length of similar shows, to casting, lighting, and how the show was almost cancelled before it started, these are your favourite moments from Fawlty Towers as you've never seen them before.

Exploring the how and why of creating classic comedy, there is a laugh on every page and a dose of nostalgia for vintage TV fans. With gorgeous commissioned illustration and archival imagery, the book revisits such iconic scenes as Basil thrashing his car, a rat appearing in a box of cheese biscuits, and Basil goose-stepping across the dining room to an audience of horrified guests.

Written by and starring Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth, the first series of Fawlty Towers aired in 1975, with a second series broadcast in 1979. It featured Cleese as the irascible hotel manager Basil Fawlty, Prunella Scales as his sybaritic wife Sybil, Andrew Sachs as the hapless waiter Manuel, and Booth as Polly, an efficient waitress and art student. It won three BAFTAS and, despite having only 12 episodes in total, continues to be regularly voted the best sitcom in British history.