Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom

British sitcom

A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...

 produced by BBC Television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 and first broadcast on BBC2

BBC Two

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

 in 1975. Twelve television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 episode

Episode

An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...

s were produced (two series each of six episodes). The show was written by John Cleese

John Cleese

John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...

 and his then wife Connie Booth

Connie Booth

Constance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...

, both of whom played major characters. The first series in 1975 was produced and directed by John Howard Davies

John Howard Davies

John Howard Davies was an English television director and producer and former child actor.Davies was born in Paddington, London, the son of the scriptwriter Jack Davies...

; the second in 1979 was produced by Douglas Argent

Douglas Argent

Douglas George Charles Argent was a British television producer and director.Raised in Ilford, Essex, Argent served as a navigator during World War II with 84 Squadron, but his plane was shot down and he was held as a Japanese prisoner-of-war at Osaka's POW Following a career as an actor, he had a...

 and directed by Bob Spiers

Bob Spiers

Bob Spiers was a director. He is particularly noted as the director of the early series of Absolutely Fabulous , the musical comedy Spiceworld, and of the second series of Fawlty Towers . He also worked with Steven Moffat on Press Gang and Joking Apart...

.

Inspired by the rude behaviour of the proprietor of a hotel in the seaside town of Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

, on the "English Riviera", the show follows Basil Fawlty (Cleese) in his running of the fictional Fawlty Towers hotel in the same area.

In a list of the BFI TV 100 drawn up by the British Film Institute

British Film Institute

The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...

 in 2000, voted by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was placed first.