The character Manuel is often criticized as an overtly racist stereotype that would not be allowed in a modern television series. However Andrew Sachs defended the character, saying, "If it's insulting to the Spanish what is Basil to the British?" According to John Cleese, the character of Manuel was not meant to be a joke about stupid foreigners, since Manuel is a very lovely man who really does his best to get everything right. Manuel's problem is his poor English, which is a parody on mingy hotel and restaurant owners, simply hiring cheap people who are desperate for work, without giving them proper training.
During the original run of the series, Richard Ingrams - then editor of "Private Eye" - wrote a scathing review of the programme. John Cleese had known Ingrams for many years and was also a friend of the magazine's proprietor, Peter Cook, and so took great exception to the review. Cleese's revenge was to write in a character called Mr Ingrams into a later episode, a guest whom Basil discovers in his pyjamas, blowing up an inflatable sex doll.
Andrew Sachs (Manuel) was paid damages for his injuries by the BBC after a jacket was treated with acid by the special effects department to look as if it was on fire. It really did burn through to his skin and he bore the scars for a long time until they peeled off.
Basil and Sybil Fawlty were based on Donald and Beatrice Sinclair, genuine hoteliers who ran the 41-bed Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay where John Cleese stayed whilst filming on location in early May 1970 with the Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969) team. Mr Sinclair's irascible antics included: berating Terry Gilliam for eating his meals in "too American" a way (ie. with knife and fork in the 'wrong' hands); throwing Eric Idle's briefcase over a wall because of a "bomb scare" (the scare was that Idle left the briefcase in reception, though the proprietor attributed his concerns to recent staffing problems); disbelief at Michael Palin asking to pre-book the hotel TV to catch a show; after Graham Chapman requested an omelette made with three eggs, Sinclair brought him an omelette with three fried eggs perched on top (and refused to serve him a brandy); when asked by Cleese to call for a taxi, he argued with Cleese and took his time calling for the cab. Mrs Sinclair later complained that the sit-com had been unfair to her husband, and she described John Cleese as an "utter fool" who had "made millions out of our unhappiness". The Gleneagles Hotel, under new ownership, ran Fawlty Towers weekends once a month where guests were looked after by actors who play the part of Basil, Sybil and Manuel. Opened in 1963, it closed permanently in February 2015, and was demolished with retirement apartments built on the site. Cleese later used the name "Donald P. Sinclair" for his eccentric billionaire character in the movie Tá Todo Mundo Louco! Uma Corrida por Milhõe$ (2001).
John Cleese (Basil Fawlty) and Connie Booth (Polly Sherman) were really husband and wife when they created and wrote the scripts for the first series. By the beginning of the filming for the second series, their marriage had fallen apart and they had divorced.