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It looks like the highly anticipated Fawlty Towers reboot is bringing some dramatic plot twists!
Creator John Cleese has revealed that Basil Fawlty's wife, Sybil, will be killed off when the comedy makes it comeback later this year.
The British star announced in February a reboot was in the works after the second and final series ended over 40 years ago.
John (83) starred as eccentric Basil from 1975 to 1979 with Prunella “Prue” Scales (now 90) as Sybil. She was forced to retire from acting in early 2020 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
John has been writing new episodes of the former BBC show with his comedian daughter Camilla Cleese (39) and the reboot will look at how cynical and misanthropic snob Basil fares in the modern world.
One of the plot twists will see Basil's illegitimate daughter being introduced.
“Sybil dies and Basil goes to see his daughter because it was all part of a naughty affair he once had with a guest at the hotel,” John told The Sun.
“My daughter will probably be a hotelier who’s running this small hotel. It’s going to be a sort of slightly posh boutique hotel in the Caribbean with a multicultural staff because that’s the world of hotels.”
The original series was broadcast on BBC television and propelled its cast to international fame. While it only had two seasons, it became the most-watched series in Britain and became a favourite around the world.
In 2019, it was named the greatest British sitcom of all time by a panel of TV experts for Radio Times magazine.
John, who's said to be worth a whopping £17,7 million (R382m), previously said he wouldn't be returning to the BBC as his content is too controversial for the broadcaster.
“I’m not doing it with the BBC because I won’t get the freedom,” the star, who's been married four times, told Dan Wootton on GB News. He explained that he reckons the BBC has become dominated by people who are "frightened of offending others".
READ MORE | John Cleese: I’ve made countless love mistakes
As such the reboot is being developed by veteran American actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner's Castle Rock Entertainment.
Speaking about their collaboration, John says, “When we first met, he offered an excellent first idea, and then Matt, my daughter Camilla and I had one of the best creative sessions I can remember.
“By dessert we had an overall concept so good that, a few days later, it won the approval of Rob and [his wife] Michele Reiner. Camilla and I look forward enormously to expanding it into a series.”
Speaking about his collaboration with his daughter, he said they'd been writing together for 16 years, “which people don’t know”.
“We had dinner and we suddenly realised that if we do a sequel, first of all it’s interesting.
“Secondly, it doesn’t rely upon Manuel – dear Andy Sachs who’s not with us anymore – and Prue Scales who has difficulty remembering stuff, and certainly almost everyone else is dead.”
Andrew “Andy” Sachs, who played the Spanish-speaking waiter Manuel, a role that earned him a Bafta nomination, died from dementia in 2016 aged 86.
Connie Booth (82), who played clueless waitress Polly, was married to John from 1968 to 1978, but they split up shortly before Fawlty Towers ended.
In 1995, she switched careers to train as a psychotherapist.
Their daughter, Cynthia (51), has followed in her parents’ footsteps and become an actress. As a teen, she played her dad's onscreen daughter in the hit 1988 comedy A Fish Called Wanda.
John is now married to jewellery designer Jennifer Wade (51), and they split their time between the UK, America and the Caribbean.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, express.co.uk
