A MAN has revealed he knows the hotel manager who inspired the Fawlty Towers character, Basil, and what he really looked like.
John Couch, 80, said while the man John Cleese played was indeed a rude hotelier, he also had another side.
He said the hotelier’s name was Donald Sinclair and he was a ‘decent man’[/caption]
It was announced this week that the classic 1970s sitcom will be getting a new series – 44 years after it ended.
The 83-year-old actor will write it again and play Basil Fawlty – who John says was inspired by a man named Donald Sinclair.
Speaking in light of the ‘big’ news, the Devon local remembered times past.
The 80-year-old lives in Torquay, the town that inspired Fawlty Towers – the Gleneagles Hotel.
And John said that although the hotel has since been demolished, his memories of it are strong, including those of hotelier Donald Sinclair.
John told The Sun Online: “He had been an officer in the Royal Navy in World War II and he was very brave.
“Two ships he was on sank while he was at sea, but he loved the sea so much he kept going back to it.
“He just really enjoyed life on the ocean waves.”
John said he was also familiar with Donald’s wife, Beatrice, who inspired the character of Sybil.
He said: ‘She had had a series of hotels in the town before buying what was to become the Gleneagles Hotel.
“She was really the dominant force in their marriage, so to that extent Sybil’s portrayal is accurate.
“But I think Donald’s image suffered because while he could be short-tempered, he was a decent man.”
John continued: “A life in a hotel by the sea was not exciting enough for him.
“But when he married Beatrice, she wanted him around the hotel to help her.
“I felt like that wasn’t what he wanted out of life.
“That’s probably where the bad mood comes from and that’s probably what John Cleese captured when he stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel.”
Although he could be irascible, he was an honest man.
Jean Sofa
Donald died in 1981 aged 72 and the hotel itself was reduced to rubble in 2015.
In its place now stands an upscale retreat resort known as Sachs Lodge – named after actor Andrew Sachs who played the often puzzled Spanish waiter Manuel.
The only evidence that Fawlty Towers is based on the hotel is a blue plaque hanging from the front door.
It reads: “Sachs Lodge, formerly The Gleneagles Hotel (the hotel and its staff became the inspiration for the 1970s TV series Fawlty Towers).”
And local John said he welcomes the news of the show’s return – as long as it includes one point in particular.
He said: “A remake of the series would be great if it could be based in Torquay again.
“The city benefited so much from it by the time the first two series were made and it would be great to get that same feeling back.”
John Cleese has revealed that filming for the new series, which he will be working on with his daughter Camilla, will begin in 2024.
He also said it would not be shown on the BBC and would be “in a very different form” from what fans remember.
The show was inspired by the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay[/caption]
And while the hotel has since been knocked out, a plaque to remember it hangs[/caption]
