FAWLTY Towers fans were stunned this evening as the BBC aired the show’s controversial “banned” episode – including the famous Nazi scene in full.
The 1970s British sitcom aired after EastEnders on BBC One tonight, with some viewers blasting it as “inappropriate” online.
Classic 1975 episode The Germans was removed from BBC Studios-owned platform UKTV due to its “offensive content and language” last year.
However, it was reinstated with a warning message, and some of the highly offensive slurs edited out.
The episode is best known for Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, goose-stepping while imitating German Nazis – with the character also famously exclaiming: “Don’t mention the war!”.
Those two moments aired in full on the Beeb tonight, but some of character Major Gowen’s shock language about the West Indies cricket team was edited out, including his use of the N-word.
The decision divided fans online – with some slamming the BBC for airing any the shocking episode, while others slammed the “woke” broadcaster for the edits.
Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “Are the BBC really showing THIS episode of Fawlty Towers??”
Another argued: “It’s just not really appropriate in this day and age.”
A third said: “I’m surprised the BBC showed as much of that episode of Fawlty Towers as they did. Although there were some cuts.”
One more seethed: “Why is Fawlty Towers back on with is casual racism and misogyny?”
A fan wrote: “Loved watching that classic episode of #fawltytowers. Glad they didn’t edit out that infamous scene.”
UKTV previously said in a statement about Fawlty Towers: “We already offer guidance to viewers across some of our classic comedy titles, but we recognise that more contextual information can be required on our archive comedy, so we will be adding extra guidance and warnings to the front of programmes to highlight potentially offensive content and language.
“We will reinstate Fawlty Towers once that extra guidance has been added, which we expect will be in the coming days. We will continue to look at what content is on offer as we always have done.”
Last year, 81-year-old Cleese slammed the “stupid” decision to drop the episode from air, complaining at the time: “One of the things I’ve learned in the last 180 years is that people have very different senses of humour.
“Some of them understand that if you put nonsense words into the mouth of someone you want to make fun of you’re not broadcasting their views, you’re making fun of them.
“The Major was an old fossil left over from decades before. We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them. If they can’t see that, if people are too stupid to see that, what can one say?”
Cleese also hit out at BBC management for bowing to pressure to purge its catalogue of “problematic” material in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests.
