Who played Mrs Hamilton in Waldorf Salad?

Claire Nielson played Mrs Hamilton in “Waldorf Salad.”

“Waldorf Salad” is the third episode of Fawlty Towers’ second series and was first broadcast on BBC2 on 5 March 1979. Nielson plays Mrs Hamilton, the British wife of Bruce Boa’s forceful American guest, Mr Hamilton. Their arrival drives the episode’s central conflict over late-night food, service and cultural expectations.

Mr Hamilton demands a Waldorf salad even though it is not on the hotel menu, leaving Basil Fawlty scrambling to produce a dish he barely understands. Mrs Hamilton is generally quieter than her husband, but she remains part of the couple whose complaints expose Basil’s increasingly desperate attempts to appear competent.

The episode’s guest cast is easy to confuse because several actors appear as hotel diners. Norman Bird and Stella Tanner play the Arrads, June Ellis and Terence Conoley play the Johnstons, and Beatrice Shaw plays Miss Gurke. None of those performers plays Mrs Hamilton; that role belongs to Claire Nielson.