Fawlty Towers was only on our screens for 12 half-hour episodes, but it has stayed in our lives ever since. The Major; ''Don''t mention the war!''; ''He''s from Barcelona''; Basil the Rat -- everyone has a favourite line, moment or character. In this, the first biography of the show, Graham McCann holds up to the light each of the unpredictable elements - the demented brilliance of John Cleese, his creative partnership with Connie Booth - that added up to an immortal sitcom, beloved all over the world, even in Barcelona.

Fawlty Towers was only on our screens for 12 half-hour episodes, but it has stayed in our lives ever since. The Major; ''Don''t mention the war!''; ''He''s from Barcelona''; Basil the Rat -- everyone has a favourite line, moment or character. In this, the first biography of the show, Graham McCann holds up to the light each of the unpredictable elements - the demented brilliance of John Cleese, his creative partnership with Connie Booth - that added up to an immortal sitcom, beloved all over the world, even in Barcelona.