John Cleese cut N-word from Fawlty Towers revival because people ‘don’t understand irony’

Speaking at launch for West End adaptation, Cleese complains about literal-minded viewers ‘not playing with a full deck’

John Cleese said that he decided to cut the N-word from a scene in his West End Fawlty Towers revival because in contemporary Britain there are too many “literal minded people” who “don’t understand irony”.

Cleese was speaking at the media launch for the West End theatrical adaptation of the classic comedy, which follows a repressed hotelier trying to control his chaotic staff. The TV show finished in 1979 after two series that are widely regarded to contain some of the best-ever British sitcom writing.