Photo Credit: BBC Worldwide
Fawlty Towers having a post-Brexit remake starring an idiot English waiter is fake news. There is no truth that the iconic British show created and written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, who also starred in the show, was being remade in a post-Brexit world. Brexit was the prospective withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. In a referendum on June 23, 2016, 51.9 percent of the participating UK electorate voted to leave the EU, out of a turnout of 72.2 percent.
Where did this fake news originate? The Daily Mash published the news article on April 6, 2018, reporting that producers were bringing back Fawlty Towers with a post-Brexit twist as the show will now star an idiot waiter named Manny. You can read the fake news article below.
A REMAKE of Fawlty Towers has been criticised for stereotyping the English as stupid and gormless because they voted for Brexit.
The updated version of the series is set in a Torquay hotel run by Basila, a 36-year-old woman from Barcelona with a first-class degree in management studies who is fluent in four languages, including German.
Her staff includes local Brexiter Manny, an idiot incapable of following simple instructions ‘because he’s from England’.
However, there is no truth to the above story. What is the problem with the story to make it false? For one thing, there is no legitimate news coverage of such a remake being made with the BBC. Although it is over 40 years old, Fawlty Towers is still regarded as one of the best BBC sitcoms ever made. Luckily every episode is now available to stream on Netflix so check it out there.
Here are some examples of people sharing the fake news on social media.
I loved the episode with Lord Melbury, the faux aristocrat who Basil becomes infatuated with, much as today a certain type of Englishman is infatuated with @Jacob_Rees_Mogg https://t.co/trFr0baFmx
— Richard Steeden #FBPE (@SteedRO) April 6, 2018
“Forthcoming storylines include Manny getting into a dispute with some Irish builders which leads to the collapse of the Good Friday Agreement.” https://t.co/iLCAWtQFFw
— Adrian Chamberlin (@MisterGolien) April 7, 2018
Post-Brexit remake of Fawlty Towers to star idiot English waiter. https://t.co/TcZDlXnZNo
— Gary (@GKM77X) April 6, 2018
The Daily Mash: Post-Brexit remake of Fawlty Towers to star idiot English waiter https://t.co/iLrEOzuCTY
— SAMCRO (@CaptBlueballs) April 8, 2018
Finally, and most importantly, The Daily Mash is a satirical website from the U.K. which sports following disclaimer on its about page:
About the Daily Mash
The Daily Mash is a satirical website which publishes spoof articles, i.e. it is all made-up and is not intended, in any way whatsoever, to be taken as factual. Glad we’ve got that sorted.
Fawlty Towers is a British television sitcom broadcast on BBC Two in 1975 and 1979. Only 12 episodes were made (two series of six episodes each). The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000.
The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay on the “English Riviera”. The plots centre on tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), comparatively normal chambermaid Polly (Booth) who often is the peacemaker and voice of reason, and hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs), showing their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests and tradespeople.
What did you think of the fake news that Fawlty Towers was being remade in a post-Brexit world starring an idiot English waiter? Did you believe the fake news or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.