BBC to remove The Major's remarks from Fawlty Towers rerun

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 04 March 2021

The BBC says that it will edit out the Major's racist rant from 'The Germans' episode of Fawlty Towers when it is reaired later this month.

The BBC has confirmed that it will be editing an infamous scene in an episode of Fawlty Towers to remove racist remarks.

The John Cleese sitcom, first shown in the 1970s, will re-air on BBC One from Monday, March 15 - and on the same day, all 12 episodes of the show will become available as a boxset on iPlayer.

In a scene in one of the show's most memorable episodes, 'The Germans', the character of Major Gowan uses two racist slurs - including the "n"-word - while talking about watching the Indian cricket team play.

A spokesman for the broadcaster said: "We are adhering to Ofcom's language guidance and the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and broadcasting the same, pre-watershed compliant version of the show which we broadcast in 2013."

The BBC will also edit out an opening credits sequence that sees the letters of Fawlty Towers rearranged to spell 'Flowery Twats'.

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