Donald Sinclair was the unwitting inspiration for Basil Fawlty – the irascible protagonist of the hugely-successful BBC comedy series Fawlty Towers.

Before the Second World War rolled around, Sinclair was an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve. Consequently, in 1939, he was called up for military service. His naval career was dramatic – and he was torpedoed several times. Which probably didn’t do much for his mood.

In April 1946, Sinclair, now a salty old sea dog with a well-earned reputation as a disciplinarian, returned to Blighty. Having achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander; as an officer with his own bagman, he was used to giving orders – and having them carried out to the letter.

Arriving in Torquay, his wife Beatrice somehow persuaded him to give up his Naval career in favour of the safer option of running the hotel she’d just bought. Though he grudgingly agreed, he was not a man well-suited to the service industry.

Sinclair managed the Gleneagles with only the very keenest reluctance, treating anyone checking in as a source of considerable irritation. Marching about the hotel, swathed in his dressing gown, he would angrily berate guests – and interpret any interaction with them as the most unforgivable imposition.

In May 1970, the comedy troupe of the BBC sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus were filming for their upcoming TV series in the nearby town of Paignton – and, by chance, found themselves booked into the Gleneagles.

John Cleese became instantly fascinated by the hotel manager, describing him later as ‘the most wonderfully rude man I had ever met.’

Though the rest of the Pythons soon relocated to the Imperial Hotel, Cleese decided to stay on – and even sent for his wife Connie Booth to join him – and the pair set about observing Sinclair and gathering material that would later be used to create Cleese’s most enduring comedy creation, Basil Fawlty.  

This is a special bonus episode made especially for my Patreon – and sometimes Film Crowd – bestie, Mark Vent. Long may he prevail.

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