Paul Whitehouse has offered three words of advice to John Cleese after it was revealed that a Fawlty Towers reboot was in the works.
Cleese will reprise the role of Torquay hotel owner Basil in the new series, it has been announced, while daughter Camilla, 39, will play the daughter he just discovered is his.
Fawlty Towers aired between 1975 and 1979, with just 12 episodes ever being produced.
It is regularly ranked among the funniest British sitcoms of all time.
The show followed hotel operator Basil and wife Sybil, portrayed by Prunella Scales. Andrew Sachs, who died in 2016, starred as hapless Spanish waiter Manuel.
Scales, 90, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014, though her husband Timothy West insisted last year that she is “still enjoying life”.
Castle Rock Entertainment, which made Seinfeld and was co-founded by Spinal Tap star Rob Reiner, will produce the new series.
Reiner, his wife and actress Michele Reiner, director and producer Matthew George and Derrick Rossi will serve as executive producers.
Cleese told the PA news agency: “What I like about Matt is that, unlike many producers, he really ‘gets’ the creative process.
“When we first met, he offered an excellent first idea, and then Matt, my daughter Camilla, and I had one of the best creative sessions I can remember.
“By dessert we had an overall concept so good that, a few days later, it won the approval of Rob and Michele Reiner.
“Camilla and I look forward enormously to expanding it into a series.”
Fellow veteran comedic actor Whitehouse was asked about the revival by Andrew Marr on his eponymous LBC talk show on Tuesday.
“You think I’m going to give Cleese advice? Don’t do it, John! Get someone younger in!” Whitehouse joked.
Marr then asked the Harry and Paul star about the state of comedy and the acceptability of jokes made years ago.
“Things you could say last year, you have to reevaluate now and you have to tread very carefully,” the 64-year-old replied.
“There’s a zeal about it – of addressing, perhaps, issues that have gone unaddressed in the past,” Whitehouse said, adding that there were times when censorship had gone “a bit too far”.
“As we all know, there have been so many injustices in society that need to be addressed, and as I say, we’ve probably gone too far in our attempt to suppress those.”
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