History Trivia / FawltyTowers

* FakeBrit: Yes and no. Connie Booth had lived in Britain for so long that she could be said to be actually British. Also played with in "Gourmet Night," where she sings in a perfect but annoying American accent.

* OldShame: John Cleese named The Builders as "the least good" of the Fawlty Towers episodes that were filmed, owing to a general lack of laughter in the studio on recording day. He recalls that members of the Icelandic Broadcasting Corporation were visiting the studio that day and many of them were in the front row seats, apparently not entirely amused.

* {{Jossed}}: A rumour circulated for years about a MissingEpisode involving a blackout in the hotel. Cast and crew have all denied this, and there is no BBC documentation for filming/recording dates.

* OldShame: No one was really happy with how "The Builders" turned out. Cleese notes on the DVD that it was the only episode not filmed with an audience, and he felt very awkward through the whole thing with no reaction to play off of.

** A guest asks Manuel where TheGeneralissimo is. Manuel replies that he's [[UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco in Madrid]].

* StreisandEffect: The widow of Donald Sinclair[[note]]Please do not confuse him with veterinarian Donald Sinclair, who was the inspiration for the Creator/JamesHerriot character Siegfried Farnon. That isn't fair to the vet[[/note]], the man Basil Fawlty was based on, once contacted the British newspapers to complain about how Creator/JohnCleese had greatly exaggerated her husband's eccentricities. Which had the unfortunate effect of prompting more witnesses, including Sinclair's own children, to come forward with even more stories that suggested that, if anything, Cleese had [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually been rather generous and respectful to him]].

** Cleese had an idea for a follow-up film. Basil and Sybil would have been invited to Spain to visit Manuel's family, but airport delays and a terrorist hijacking deter them. When Basil is so incensed he overcomes the terrorist in a fit of rage, he takes the terrorist's gun and demands the plane continue to Barcelona. When it lands, he's promptly arrested for hijacking and plane, and is released just in time to catch the flight back home. Cleese nixed the idea because he couldn't make a FawltyTowersPlot flow well enough over ninety minutes.

* TheRedStapler: The Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, which was the place off which Basil and Sybil's hotel was based, now runs Fawlty Towers weekends once a month. Guests are looked after by actors playing the parts of Basil, Sybil and Manuel.

* RealLifeRelative: Creator/JohnCleese (Basil) and Connie Booth (Polly) were married when they wrote and acted the first series (1975). By the time of the second, in 1979, they were divorced, although they were on good enough terms to keep working together.

** Sybil getting annoyed about Basil spending £40 on a newspaper ad seems strange until you consider that's £300 in today's money.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Sybil is frequently shown physically hitting her husband. During DVD commentaries, Cleese notes that Prunella Scales felt really bad about it and frequently apologized in-between takes, even though Cleese encouraged the hitting, and wanted it to be real.

* StreisandEffect: The widow of Donald Sinclair[[note]]Please do not confuse him with veterinarian Donald Sinclair, who was the inspiration for the Creator/JamesHerriot character Siegfried Farnon. That isn't fair to the vet[[/note]], the man Basil Fawlty was based on, once contacted the British newspapers to complain about how Creator/JohnCleese had greatly exaggerated her husband's eccentricities. Which had the unfortunate effect of prompting more witnesses, including Sinclair's own children, to come forward with even more stories that suggested that, if anything, Cleese had actually been rather generous and respectful to him.

* ActorAllusion: Basil's goose-stepping in "The Germans" is deliberately reminiscent of Cleese's "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''. Just check out the applause it gets.

* MultipleLaguagesSameVoiceActor: Andrew Sachs, who was born in Germany, reprised Manuel in the German dub, complete with Spanish accent.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Sybil is frequently shown physically hitting her husband. During DVD commentaries, Cleese notes that Prunella Scales felt really bad about it and frequently apologized in-between takes, even though Cleese encouraged the hitting, and wanted it to be real.

* StreisandEffect: The widow of Donald Sinclair[[note]]Please do not confuse him with veterinarian Donald Sinclair, who was the inspiration for the JamesHerriot character Siegfried Farnon. That isn't fair to the vet[[/note]], the man Basil Fawlty was based on, once contacted the British newspapers to complain about how Creator/JohnCleese had greatly exaggerated her husband's eccentricities. Which had the unfortunate effect of prompting more witnesses, including Sinclair's own children, to come forward with even more stories that suggested that, if anything, Cleese had actually been rather generous and respectful to him.

* StreisandEffect: The widow of Donald Sinclair, the man Basil Fawlty was based on, once contacted the British newspapers to complain about how Creator/JohnCleese had greatly exaggerated her husband's eccentricities. Which had the unfortunate effect of prompting more witnesses, including Sinclair's own children, to come forward with even more stories that suggested that, if anything, Cleese had actually been rather generous and respectful to him.

* UnfinishedEpisode: There is a thirteenth script which was meant to be the first episode of a potential series three. It's called "The Robbers", deals with Basil's homophobia and ends with Sybil being kidnapped and Basil preferring to keep the ransom money than hand it over.

* ActorAllusion: Basil's goose-stepping in "The Germans" is deliberately reminiscent of Cleese's "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch from Series/MontyPython. Just check out the applause it gets.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: Sybil is frequently shown physically hitting her husband. During DVD commentaries, Cleese notes that Prunella Scales felt really bad about it and frequently apologized in-between takes, even though Cleese encouraged the hitting, and wanted it to be real.

** There IS however a thirteenth script which was meant to be the first episode of a potential series three. It's called "The Robbers", deals with Basil's homophobia and ends with Sybil being kidnapped and Basil preferring to keep the ransom money than hand it over.

* ApprovalOfGod: There have been several attempts at remaking the series overseas. John Cleese admitted to enjoying the German pilot in a DVD commentary.