BBC Comedy Boss Says “We Would Be Happy To Talk” With John Cleese Over ‘Fawlty Towers’ Revival As He Presents Next Generation Of “Very British” Shows

deadline.com:

BBC Comedy Director Jon Petrie has said his team would be “happy to talk” with John Cleese about the upcoming revival, as he unveiled the next generation of “very British” shows.

Cleese has already said that the surprise revival, which he is making with daughter Camilla Cleese and Rob Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment, will not appear on the BBC because the UK broadcaster would not give him sufficient editorial freedom.

But addressing a BBC Comedy Showcase Tuesday, Petrie described BBC original Fawlty Towers as a “legendary show” and said he would be open to discussions. “We found out about [the Fawlty Towers revival] when everyone else did,” he added. “I don’t know if it would work for us and we’ve not spoken to John Cleese but it’s obviously a legendary show and we would be happy to talk to John if he wanted to talk about it.” Cleese’s revival of what is broadly considered to be the greatest British comedy of all time, which aired more than 40 years ago, will see his over-the-top misanthrope Basil Fawlty navigate the modern world in a “small bijou hotel” in the Caribbean.

In recent years, the now-archly-anti-woke 83-year-old has repeatedly criticized the BBC for failing to show repeats of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, while he plans to host a show for right-leaning UK network GB News that will champion free speech. “Very British” comedy Almost 18 months into the role, Petrie was speaking to the press as he unveiled a set of seven comedies including Catherine Tate’s Queen of Oz, Black Ops from the creators of Famalam, Thatcher-era show Undoing Martin Parker and Dreaming Whilst Black, which is produced by Big Deal Films and backed by A24.