"While the beloved show was never filmed in the Devon town or the surrounding English Riviera, it was chosen as the setting after the writer and star John Cleese's real-life encounter with an eccentric hotelier in the seaside town. Cleese and the Monty Python team stayed at Torquay's Gleneagles hotel in 1970, during which the proprietor and retired naval officer, Donald Sinclair, and his wife, Beatrice, provided the inspiration for two of UK comedy's most enduring characters, Basil and Sybil Fawlty."
"Julian Banner-Price, the owner of the lauded 25 Boutique B&B, says the town and the hospitality industry have long moved on from the days of Sinclair and Fawlty, allowing them to look back with affection for the Bafta-winning show. Most people look on it with fond memories, Banner-Price, 52, says from the drawing room. We're grateful that it still puts us on the map. I don't think anyone comes back thinking that Torquay is like that any more."
Basil Fawlty was inspired by Torquay hotelier Donald Sinclair and his wife after John Cleese stayed at the Gleneagles hotel in 1970. Sinclair reportedly berated Terry Gilliam for cutlery use and threw Eric Idle's bag over a wall believing it was a bomb, which was a ticking alarm clock. Torquay bed-and-breakfast owners embrace the association yet stress that modern hospitality has moved on. Julian Banner-Price says such conduct would not survive today's online reviews and describes 25 Boutique as vibrant, hi-tech and far removed from the fictional hotel. Playful nods remain, including a mannequin lamp dressed in a pink feather boa in a suite named Manuel.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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