The real hotel used in Fawlty Towers was a hub for ‘gambling, illicit encounters and crime’.
The show’s floor manager Tony Guyan spoke on the Chatabix podcast this week where he made claims about what went on at the location.
Wooburn Grange Country Club in Bourne’s End, Buckinghamshire – which burnt down in 1991 – was used for exterior shots in the sitcom.
Basil Fawlty – played by John Cleese – hopelessly ran the fictional hotel in the show which was set in Torquay, Devon.
Tony said of the venue: ‘It was where you could gamble, hire a room, and take your ”secretary” for an afternoon’.
The real hotel used in Fawlty Towers was a hub for ‘gambling, illicit encounters and crime ‘, it has been claimed
Basil Fawlty – played by John Cleese – hopelessly ran the fictional hotel in the show which was set in Torquay, Devon (L-R: Prunella Scales as Sybil, John Cleese as Basil, Connie Booth as Polly and Andrew Sachs as Manuel in 1975)
He added: ‘One guy turned up in his Jaguar and was sitting in his car when a guy stepped out of the bushes with a sawn-off shotgun and blew his head off.
‘He was a hitman hired to top someone, but they found out he’d killed the wrong guy.’
Recalling one meeting to discuss filming, he said: ‘The boardroom table is about 12ft long, and piled 3ft high with 50s, 20s, 10s, five and 10 shilling notes. Huge pile of money.
‘I stood with my back hard against the wall because I didn’t want him to think I’d taken a couple of handfuls. It was well dodgy.’
He also said a crew member once saw a guest drop a gambling chip. When he handed it to him he was told to keep it, with Tony claiming it was worth ‘ten grand’.
Last February it was reported that John is set to return to screens as Basil Fawlty, with a reboot of the star’s famous comedy Fawlty Towers in the works.
The second and final series ended more than 40 years ago but Monty Python actor John, 84, is writing new episodes of the former BBC programme with his comedian daughter Camilla Cleese, 39.
Developed by actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment, the new series will look at how cynical and misanthropic snob Basil fares in the modern world, it was announced on Tuesday.
The show’s floor manager Tony Guyan spoke on the Chatabix podcast this week where he made claims about what went on at the location
Last February it was reported that John is set to return to screens as Basil Fawlty, with a reboot of the star’s famous comedy Fawlty Towers in the works
While plot details are mostly being kept under wraps, the story will look at hotel manager Basil’s relationship with his daughter, who he has only recently discovered he is father to.
Despite being tortured by ‘that annoying section of the general public who insist on staying at hotels’ in the previous two series which ran from 1975 to 1979 for 12 episodes, Basil and his daughter decide to reenter the industry and open up a boutique property.
The original series followed the unfortunate exploits of highly-strung Torquay hotelier Basil and his wife Sybil, portrayed by Prunella Scales, as they tried to keep their hotel and marriage afloat.
In 2019, the show was named the greatest British sitcom of all time by a panel of television experts for Radio Times magazine.
Actor Rob Reiner, his wife and actress Michele Reiner, director and producer Matthew George and Derrick Rossi will act as executive producers on the series.
John said: ‘What I like about Matt is that, unlike many producers, he really “gets” the creative process.
‘When we first met, he offered an excellent first idea, and then Matt, my daughter Camilla, and I had one of the best creative sessions I can remember.
‘By dessert we had an overall concept so good that, a few days later, it won the approval of Rob and Michele Reiner.
In 2019, the show was named the greatest British sitcom of all time by a panel of television experts for Radio Times magazine
‘Camilla and I look forward enormously to expanding it into a series.’
Producer Matthew said that meeting John and Camilla was one of the ‘great thrills’ of his life, adding: ‘I’m obsessed with Fawlty Towers and the legendary characters he created.
‘I’ve watched the first two seasons so many times I have lost count. I dreamed of one day being involved in a continuation of the story. Now it’s come true.’
Rob Reiner said: ‘John Cleese is a comedy legend. Just the idea of working with him makes me laugh.’
