Do mention the war, says German ambassador, as he lauds Fawlty Towers
John Cleese is working on a new TV version of Fawlty Towers with his daughter
Do mention the war, the German ambassador has signalled to Britain, as he backed a controversial Fawlty Towers episode.
Miguel Berger, the German ambassador to the UK, has expressed his support for the Fawlty Towers scene in which the hotelier played by John Cleese offends German guests with repeated references to the Second World War.
In the 1970s sitcom, Mr Cleese’s Basil Fawlty tells Polly, the waitress: “Don’t mention the war. I mentioned it once and I think I got away with it all right.”
He repeats the German family’s meal request as a “prawn Goebbels, a Hermann Goering and four Colditz salads”, and describes their requested food as “orders which must be obeyed at all times without question”.
When asked by a German guest to stop mentioning the war, Fawlty says: “Me? You started it!”. The guest responds, “We did not start it”, to which Fawlty says: “Yes, you did, you invaded Poland.”
Fawlty is also seen marching through the hotel with a finger over his lip to symbolise a moustache in an imitation of Adolf Hitler.
The ambassador said the embassy in London is amused by the episode – Roger Askew/Shutterstock/Shutterstock
Now, a spokesman for the German ambassador has told The Mail on Sunday that the embassy in London is amused by the episode.
The spokesman said: “We here at the embassy think the iconic restaurant scene is funny. To quote Basil Fawlty, we think it’s ‘veally good’.”
His comments come ahead of the opening of a stage adaptation next week of the Fawlty Towers TV show. The adaptation by Mr Cleese is based on three episodes, including “The Germans”.
It will open at the Apollo Theatre in London.
The spokesman for Mr Berger said: “Fawlty Towers is widely considered one of Britain’s finest comedies and has remained popular with German audiences since it was first broadcast.”
He added: “Like many people in the UK, we’re looking forward to seeing how this landmark comedy translates to the stage.”
John Cleese said Germans have never complained about the controversial episode – Radio Times/Radio Times
Mr Cleese told The Mail on Sunday that Germans have never complained about the controversial episode.
He said: “The only people who have never ever complained about the German episode are the Germans. No German has ever complained to me about that because they are what I call grown-ups. They can take a joke.”
Mr Cleese is working on a new TV version of Fawlty Towers with his daughter, Camilla. Writing in The Telegraph this month, he said the remake is “a modern update in which Basil (played by me) goes out to the Caribbean where his long-lost daughter (played by Camilla) is a hotelier and wants a bit of help.”
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