BASIL TO A FAWLT

In an interview with Garth Pearce in the London Daily Express, John Cleese explained that neither he nor co-writer co-star ex-wife Connie Booth have been excited about doing a film version of their classic “Fawlty Towers” TV series--but he related some schemes they had in mind:

“Connie’s idea was to send Basil on holiday to Spain, where he gets a hotel just as bad as his own and has appalling service.

“The alternative was that he gets hijacked on the plane. Because he has been waiting 16 hours at Heathrow (Airport), he overthrows the hijackers single-handed out of sheer anger.

“He becomes the hero of the moment, but when the captain announces that he will have to return to Heathrow, Basil hijacks the plane himself and says, ‘Take me to Malaga!’

“When he arrives, he spends a fortnight in a Spanish jail.”