10 February 2023 , 11:36
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John Cleese has turned his back on working with the BBC as he looks to remake Fawlty Towers - the comedy that originally aired on BBC2 in the 1970s.
Speaking about the proposed revival, the actor and comedian blasted the broadcaster for being "too woke" and "too afraid to offend."
The Basil Fawlty star said: "I’m not doing it with the BBC because I won’t get the freedom."
"I was terribly lucky because I was working for the BBC in the late 60s, 70s, beginning of the 80s and that was the best time because the BBC was run by people with real personality...," the 83-year-old said.
(Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)"But I believe it’s become far too dominated by people who are frightened of offending people.
John Cleese to star in new series of Fawlty Towers alongside his daughter
"I want to deal with subjects that get people upset but I want to get sensible people with a sense of humour who will listen to each other and who will trade arguments rather than simply making speeches," he told GB News.
The UK TV sitcom is set to be revived by the actor after more than 40 years.
John will be writing and starring in the series alongside his daughter Camilla Cleese.
(BBC)Fawlty Towers ran for just two series in 1975 and 1979 but the comedy became an instant hit and remains a classic to this day.
The new series will explore how grumpy hotelier Basil navigates the modern world as he teams up with his newly discovered daughter to run a boutique hotel.
On Tuesday, Castle Rock Entertainment confirmed it had closed a deal with the actor to bring back the comedy series.
It's not yet known which channel or streaming service the Fawlty Towers reboot will appear on.
(BBC)
(Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)The UK sitcom was originally written by John and his then wife Connie Booth, who also starred in the series as chambermaid Polly.
Set in the seaside town of Torquay, the series focussed on snobby Basil struggling to run his hotel with his wife Sybil, played by Prunella Scales and the hapless Spanish Waiter Manuel, played by Andrew Sachs.
The Monty Python star announced last year that he would be joining GB News and in a tease for his new show, the actor explained to viewers why he was joining the news channel.
John Cleese's Monty Python co-star shares concern over Fawlty Towers revival
"One, they want me to," he joked. "And two, they want programming for viewers who are completely out of touch, a much-neglected demographic. So, stay out of touch with me."