Fawlty Towers legend Connie Booth sets the record straight on sitcom writing credit with ex-husband John Cleese
"When people quote back words from the script, instead of flattered I felt counterfeit."
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
As John Cleese and Connie Booth’s towering creation nears its 50th birthday — with a functioning fire extinguisher to hand, bearing in mind all those candles — you’d think there was no more to be said on the subject.
Cowboy builders, Waldorf salads and “Don’t mention the war” have entered the national lexicon, the show was voted the greatest British sitcom in a 2019 Radio Times poll and the hit stage show that began in the West End last year has now been filmed for U&Gold.
But RT reached out to writer/star Connie Booth about the imminent celebrations, and she has this to say…
“In the year and a half it took to write Fawlty Towers, John and I never imagined the impact the show would have. On its 50th anniversary, I’d like to take the opportunity to get something straight. John wrote the dialogue.
“Before that dialogue was written, he and I developed the plots. Each episode took about a month to contrive. Out of the ridiculous complications of farce, his brilliant lines emerged. When the issue of billing arose, I thought ‘Written by John Cleese, storyline by us both’ would’ve been fine for me. John said they didn’t do that in TV comedy and insisted on co-authorship.”
Booth, who left acting in 1995 and worked as a psychotherapist until she retired, adds: “Yielding to John’s generous offer turned out to be a kind of poisoned chalice. For half a century, I’ve been receiving praise for lines which John wrote. When people quote back words from the script, instead of flattered I felt counterfeit.
"I’ve had to say, ‘No, John wrote that.’ Because I’m American, this disclosure about the pitch-perfect dialogue may be self-evident, but at this celebration of our work, one of the things I wanted to celebrate was the truth.”
Cleese and Booth were married at the time of the first series in 1975 but divorced before the second aired in 1979. Just 12 episodes were made, yet the breakneck farce, peerless playing and polished lines ensured long-term success. Booth, of course, also played the hotel maid and general assistant Polly to Cleese’s splenetic proprietor Basil. She was the oasis of calm amid the chaos.
Last year when Cleese spoke about their writing sessions, he told RT: “I remember I suggested a line for Sybil, and Connie said, ‘A woman wouldn’t say that.’ And I thought, ‘I didn’t know that.’
"She was invaluable there: she was better on character, I was better on plot. I can get caught up in plot and then start putting the character maybe slightly off centre and she was always the one who said, ‘No no, that’s not right for the character at that moment.’
“Connie was an extraordinarily good actress. If you watch her in the scenes like I was the other day, in The Germans, nobody’s looking at her at all, they’re all looking at Basil. She just plays it so beautifully… So having all those instincts was incredibly helpful.”
What’s clear is that with theatre audiences now rocking with laughter, Fawlty is still funny at 50.
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