Cleese has defended Fawlty Towers
John Cleese has blasted UKTV for its controversial decision to remove The Germans episode of Fawlty Towers from its service.
UKTV said in a statement that it had “temporarily removed” the episode because it “contains racial slurs so we are taking the episode down while we review it”.
The statement concluded: "We regularly review older content to ensure it meets audience expecations and are particlarly aware of the impact of outdated language. Some shows carry warnings and others are edited. We want to take time to consider our options for this episode."
The 80-year-old star believes that UKTV is referring to a scene in the episode in which the Major uses racist language while telling Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) a tale about his time in India.
Cleese told The Age: “The Major was an old fossil left over from decades before. We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them.
“If they can’t see that, if people are too stupid to see that, what can one say?”
Cleese also said: “One of the things I’ve learned in the last 180 years is that people have very different senses of humour. Some of them understand that if you put nonsense words into the mouth of someone you want to make fun of you’re not broadcasting their views, you’re making fun of them”.
The Germans episode of Fawlty Towers was originally broadcast in 1975.
The Black Lives Matter protest movement has prompted broadcasters to look at their back catalogues and remove some shows, including the David Walliams and Matt Lucas comedy Little Britain.
Cleese wanted to make clear his support for the Black Lives Matter protest movement.
“At the moment there is a huge swell of anger and a really admirable feeling that we must make our society less discriminatory, and I think that part of it is very good.”
