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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

David Walliams eyeing role in John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers reboot: ‘I’d do it in a heartbeat!’

David Walliams has thrown his support behind the upcoming Fawlty Towers reboot and says he would love to be a part of it.

The comedian and children’s book author, 51, recently quit his role as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent after facing a backlash when derogatory comments he made about a contestant came to light.

Despite apologising, he decided that after 10 years it was time to move on and has since been replaced with ex-Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli, 67.

Fawlty Towers creator and star John Cleese, 83, has faced his own controversies over the years and recently railed against the so-called “cancel culture” ruling the BBC and signed on be a presenter at GB News.

The original 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers first aired between 1975 and 1979 and documented the hilarious trials and tribulations of a hapless hotelier (Cleese) on the Devon coast.

Andrew Sachs as Manuel and John Cleese as Basil in the BBC’s Fawlty Towers (PA Media)

The reboot was first announced in February and will “explore how Cleese’s over-the-top, cynical and misanthropic Basil Fawlty navigates the modern world”.

Walliams was full of praise for the Monty Python icon and his vision, telling The Sun: “To my mind the man can do no wrong, so if he wants to revive Basil Fawlty then let him do it, and I would work with him in a heartbeat.”

He was also drawn on whether he would consider reviving his controversial sketch show Little Britain after previously revealing that he and co-star Matt Lucas are writing together again.

He said: “You could do Little Britain now, but you could do it differently.”

Adding: “My son’s into a lot of comedy films like Anchorman, Borat, Austin Powers. God, I love these, I laugh my head off at all of them. I look at all those things. I’m not sure you could do them, but you’d get criticism for it.”

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