20 February 2023 , 12:26
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John Cleese has apologised for the distress caused after announcing that he and his daughter would be working on a Fawlty Towers reboot.
The actor famed for his role as Basil Fawlty has been working on the new series but says he "naively thought it might be fun" but the news has been hit with backlash.
In recent weeks, John had been begged by fans not to relaunch the series with many saying it should now be left untouched.
Fans have stated that should the original series have launched in modern days, it would have been "cancelled" due to the comedy involved.
John Cleese has apologised for the "distress" caused by the Fawlty Towers reboot (Getty Images)
The actor says he never meant to cause any harm (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)Now, in view of his 5.7 million followers on Twitter, he addressed the uproar by saying: "I must apologise.
John Cleese to star in new series of Fawlty Towers alongside his daughter
"I had no idea that the idea of writing a new sitcom with my daughter would cause so much anger and distress.
"I truly meant no harm. Naively I thought it might be fun."
The 83-year-old actor went on to write: "But I feel terrible about having released this tide of negative emotion.
"Please forgive me."
Some fans took to the replies to claim that John should ignore the backlash surrounding the new series, with one writing: "Please keep going! Ignore the utter nonsense. Whatever you write is always TV gold. Britain needs some Cleese back in their lives!"
John will be reprising his role as Basil Fawlty (BBC)
The television star will be working alongside his daughter Camilla on the new series (Getty Images)"You have nothing to apologise for. You are responsible for one of the characters in British television history. You do you, John. Your legacy will remain for generations," added a second.
While others stated that they were unsure as to whether the show needs to return to screens, with one viewer penning: "Just wondering if we really need an addition to the 12 most perfect sitcom episodes ever written."
"FT is a classic, possibly my favourite TV comedy. A sequel? I don't know, it would be a different cast for starters! Most comedy on TV nowadays just isn't funny because TV companies fear they'll upset someone!"
Do you think there should be a Fawlty Towers reboot? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
The original series followed John's character and his wife managing their hotel in Torquay but this time around, it will only follow John and his daughter as they navigate through modern society.
John Cleese's Monty Python co-star shares concern over Fawlty Towers revival
Cleese has previously addressed the reaction to the news, explaining: "I worry that so many of the British critics are saying that the FT sequel is such an awful idea because Rob Reiner might start getting cold feet, and cancel the whole thing.
"He's fairly new to comedy and doesn't have that fingertip sensitivity to it that British critics do."