Fawlty Towers: Corked wine

From the episode "The Hotel Inspectors" - Basil has a little difficulty get the wine out the bottle.

If you have any favourite clips from the show, let us know and we'll upload them!

All copyrights belong to the BBC.

[BenBanjo]

I love that over half of this was ad-libbed by John Cleese and James Cossins because the cork failed to come out the first time, yet it all looks as slick and fluid as the rest of the episode!! A scene all the more priceless because it could never have been done like this again in a million takes!

[Treblaine]

This is classic comedy, they never quit. At any point they could have cut it short but the writer is generous, giving us one gag after another from the premise.

[ivankaramasov]

Cleese's facial expressions are priceless

[Ubylmoen]

This has to be the most magical thing that has ever happened in television history.

[ZetaReticuli_]

I remember having a similar problem once with a wine bottle cork. The wine itself wasn't bad, but the cork gave me a struggle, and actually came apart in the bottle.

[Hank..]

RIGHT, WELL THATS COST ME, HASN'T IT?

[garycampbell]

A Classic Fawlty Towers Sketch filmed in front of a live studio audience Great Acting from the Late James Cossins and John Cleese.

[tristanwhite]

I’ll have another one standing by just in Case. Ha Ha Ha 😂 😂

[davidriggs]

How did James Cousins keep a straight face, because he was a fine fine actor.

[spirallion]

Wish you could watch full episodes this programme was genuinely FUNNY 😢😅😊

[DrCrabfingers]

He really was a hideous guess you all know the story that after J Cleese gave an interview and revealed the name of the hotel he'd stayed in that inspired Basil Fawlty, journalists tracked down the true life Basil Fawlty who had moved to America. I think he had died but they found his daughter and showed her an episode of Fawlty Towers..."oh yeah.... that's him"...she said, instantly recognising here father. How mad is that...

[franciscondon]

The waiter opened it for me.

The waiter opened it for you. 'I've told you about him haven't I?

[wisteela]

This is how I learnt about wine being corked. Not the opening meaning.

[TamptheChamp]

I think this scene itself is more well known than the meaning of the term “corked wine”.

[u.v.s.]

Poor Basil could not possibly have known that the wine had reacted with the cork and gone bad. If he had known that the wine had reacted with the cork and gone bad, he would not have uncorked the wine in the first place.

[lorenzomagazzeni]

When the cork breaks... I only buy screw tops, back then it was probably anathema.

[stefannystrom]

The wine has reacted with the cork! He will always be associated with that.

[TheLobsterCopter]

So...why exactly are wine bottles sealed using a material that can react with the wine and make it go bad?

[stagna]

corked wine is just a bad luck. You cant say which bottle is and which is not corked from outside, but of course customer dont have to buy it in restaurant. It is not dangerous or anything, but taste and smell is unpleasant because of chemical compound TCA caused by mould in cork. Wine experts say ca 8 % of bottles are corked, so bad luck indeed that Basil had to pay for it and had to throw it away since customers did not want to drink it.

[Unedited]

Ah those days when you could grope girls and blame it on the lights. 😢