Who co-created Fawlty Towers with John Cleese?

John Cleese co-created Fawlty Towers with Connie Booth. The pair wrote the series together and developed its tightly constructed mixture of escalating misunderstandings, physical comedy and character-based conflict.

Booth also acted in the programme as Polly Sherman, the sensible chambermaid who often helps keep the hotel functioning while Basil Fawlty creates new disasters. Her involvement was therefore both creative and onscreen, although she is sometimes remembered mainly for playing Polly.

Fawlty Towers was made by Cleese and Booth during and shortly after their marriage. They produced only two series, each containing six episodes, because they felt it would be difficult to maintain the writing quality indefinitely. The programme first aired on BBC Two in 1975, with its second and final series following in 1979.

A common mix-up is confusing Booth with Prunella Scales, who played Basil's wife, Sybil, or with Andrew Sachs, who played the Spanish waiter Manuel. Booth was the co-writer and co-creator, not merely a member of the supporting cast.