Basil Fawlty returns to Torquay after 50 years

The iconic sitcom Fawlty Towers returns to its spiritual home next week as the play of the same name opens in Torquay.

The appearance at the Princess Theatre will be the first time the hilariously rude, impatient and dysfunctional lead character Basil Fawlty has been back to his roots in more than 50 years.

John Cleese, who played Basil Fawlty and who wrote the comedy with his then wife Connie Booth, will be in the audience on the opening night.

The much-loved show was inspired by Cleese's stay at a hotel in Torquay, a town he said he has a "great affection" for.

In 1971 Cleese was staying with the Monty Python team at The Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, where he encountered its co-owner Donald Sinclair.

"He was sitting at a reception desk, and he saw me coming in, and registered [and shouted] 'guest' and turned his back and started working on something," Cleese told BBC Devon.

"So I wandered up and stood there for a very long time. He must have known I was there, so I cleared my throat and he turned around and said 'oh what?!'"

The other Pythons left to stay in another hotel, but Booth and Cleese stayed on, and he said "several things happened which were just very funny, and thank heavens we did as it provided a wealth of inspiration".

Cleese said his original connection with Torquay started in his schooldays when he and friend would visit the town.

"We used to go to Plainmoor and watch Torquay United and I once saw them beaten 7-0 by Birmingham in the FA Cup, so I have a great affection for the place.

He added: "It's nice being in England in a place with palm trees, it's very special."

Fawlty Towers has had a cultural impact on Torquay, and it is a connection many residents are proud of.

Alan Lark lives in a flat at the site of the former Gleneagles Hotel, and said the residents hold film nights to watch the episodes.

"Fawlty Towers has gone down in history as good television," he said.

"Even today you get a good laugh out of every episode."

Antony Neenen is a former Torquay bus driver and recalled passengers asking to be dropped off at the Fawlty Towers Hotel and how everyone would be in good humour as they arrived.

"So many people wanted to go down there and take pictures," he said.

Carolyn Custerson is CEO of the English Riviera BID company and said the show was "an integral part of our history... which attracts visitors from all around the world".

She said its Fawlty Towers guided walk is one of the moist popular in the town as "people love the humour and to fine out about is history".

"Everybody knows Torquay has come on a long way since then but it is a very important part of our history and we are very proud to be associated with it."

She said having the stage show visiting the town was an "amazing thing to happen".

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.