A MAN has revealed he knew the hotel manager who inspired Fawlty Towers’ character Basil – and what he was really like.
John Couch, 80, said while the man who John Cleese played was indeed a rude hotelier, there was another side to him, too.
John Couch has revealed he knew the man who inspired Basil in Fawlty Towers
He said the hotelier’s name was Donald Sinclair and he was a ‘decent man’
But John said Donald could also be ‘irascible’ – as John Cleese portrayed in the 1970s sitcom
It was announced this week that the classic 1970s sitcom is to get a new series — 44 years after it ended.
The 83-year-old actor will again write it and play Basil Fawlty – who John says was inspired by a man named Donald Sinclair.
Speaking in light of the “great” news, the Devon local reminisced times gone by.
The 80-year-old lives in Torquay, the town which was home to the Fawlty Towers‘ inspiration – the Gleneagles Hotel.
And John said while the hotel has since been knocked down, his memories of it stand strong – including those of hotelier Donald Sinclair.
John told The Celeb Report Online: “He had been an officer in the Royal Navy in World War II and a very brave one at that.
“Two ships he was on were sunk during his time at sea, but he loved the sea so much he kept going back.
“He just really enjoyed life on the ocean waves.”
John said he also knew Donald’s wife Beatrice, who inspired the character Sybil, well.
He said: “She had had a series of hotels in the town before buying what was to become the Gleneagles Hotel.
“She really was the dominant force in their marriage so to that extent the portrayal of Sybil is accurate.
“But I think Donald’s image has suffered because although he could be irascible he was a decent man.”
John continued: “A life in a seaside hotel wasn’t exciting enough for him.
“But when he married Beatrice she wanted him to be around the hotel to help her.
“I got the impression that was not what he wanted out of life.
“That’s probably where the ill-temper came from and that’s probably what John Cleese captured when he stayed at the Gleneagles Hotel.”
Donald died in 1981 aged 72 and the hotel itself was reduced to rubble in 2015.
In its place now stands an upmarket retirement complex known as Sachs Lodge – named after the actor Andrew Sachs who played the often bemused Spanish waiter, Manuel.
The only evidence of Fawlty Towers being based on the hotel is a blue plaque that hangs at the front door.
It reads: “Sachs Lodge, previously The Gleneagles Hotel (the hotel and its staff became the inspiration for the 1970s TV series Fawlty Towers).”
And local John said he welcomed the news of the series’ return – as long as it included one point in particular.
He said: “A remake of the series would be great if it could be based again in Torquay.
“The town benefited so much at the time the first two series were made and it would be great to have that same feeling return.”
John Cleese has revealed filming for the new series, which he will work on with his daughter Camilla, will begin in 2024.
He also said it would not air on the BBC and would be “in a very different form” to what fans remember.
The show was inspired by Torquay’s the Gleneagles Hotel
And while the hotel has since been knocked, a plaque to remember it hangs
