Which organization ranked Fawlty Towers first in a 2000 list of British TV programmes?

The British Film Institute ranked Fawlty Towers first in its 2000 list of the greatest British television programmes.

The BFI TV 100 was compiled from votes by about 1,600 television-industry figures, including programme-makers, executives and critics. Fawlty Towers topped the poll ahead of Cathy Come Home and Doctor Who, giving the sitcom recognition beyond the comedy category.

The result is sometimes confused with other surveys. BBC Two was the channel that originally broadcast Fawlty Towers, while Radio Times and Channel 4 have conducted separate television and sitcom polls. The BFI ranking specifically named the British Film Institute as the organisation behind the 2000 list.

Fawlty Towers had only 12 episodes across two six-episode series, first broadcast in 1975 and 1979. Its compact run, sharp writing and memorable performances by John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Connie Booth and Andrew Sachs helped turn it into a lasting British television classic.