Fawlty Towers: The best of Sybil

If you have any favourite clips from the show, let us know and we'll upload them!
All copyrights belong to the BBC.

[@robkeeleycomposer]

Prunella Scales is so gorgeous! And magnificent timing.

[@sid2112]

As a kid, she was the Dragon Lady.... As a middle aged man, wow, cute figure!

[@Sane-wq8ug]

What a real name🎉

[@PalisUK]

I always thought she was pretty

[@Zephaniah3verse17]

"An ageing, brilliantined stick insect." Never fails to make me laugh out loud. Best putdown ever!

[@carlodonn8983]

Cleeses was only in his 30s tho. I always felt that basil was meant to be about 10 years older then Cleese

[@BarekHalfhand]

I think she said "brilliantine" in reference to a gel used make hair look glossy... I'm not fluent in British lingo so I'm not completely sure

[@nneeerrrd]

​​@@BarekHalfhandrilliantine is a thing, she said brilliantined - meaning "covered in brilliantine". Exactly as OP wrote.

[@BarekHalfhand]

@@nneeerrrd Got it thanks... At first I thought she was saying "brillianting" as perhaps a British expression for balding.

[@silverkitty2503]

haha ha

[@db7541]

“Ooh I know” -you wouldn’t believe such a simple line could be so well delivered and so iconic

[@davidcole9971]

The brilliant Prunella Scales. I find it so interesting that Cleese says that when Scales auditioned for the part for him and Connie she did it in a different way than they wanted, but went with her interpretation, that's class.

[@mattjames7386]

It makes me wonder how Cleese and Booth imagined Sybil as a character... less acidic and more sarcastic, perhaps?

[@startracker5895]

@@mattjames7386 she was sarcastic.

[@nztv8589]

@@mattjames7386 they imagined her posher and classier than him.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@nztv8589 I thought they had said that they imagined Basil and Sybil had got together because she was attracted to how posh he sounded, almost like she was a social class below his. That seemed to be the explanation for why on earth she would have been interested in him. I had the impression they meant that he had less choice in women than Sybil had in men, and that she was conventionally attractive enough for him to overlook her slightly lower class.

[@nztv8589]

@@dronesclubhighjinks yes originally Cleese envisaged Sybil as posher than him, as it gave the social climbing Basil motivation to marry above him. However, Scales said this wouldn't have worked dramatically as she wouldn't have married someone lower than herself , so she played it slightly more "common ". This made more sense as Basil would need someone who knew how to run hotel well , and she would think she was social climbing .

[@sorchamcgowan98]

Happy 90th birthday to Prunella Scales! Thanks so so much for all the laughter! 💖💖

[@bendalymckenna6271]

Ha ha ha ha 🦭🔫

[@lindamckenzie6500]

Sybil acted her role so well , never looses her cool so believable . Made Basil look like an incompetent fool. One of the greatest comedies of all time.

[@royfearn4345]

The character of Basil WAS that of an incompetent fool. It's just that Basil didn't think so! Brilliant!

[@stephengarth8575]

Such absolute brilliance. I feel that Prunella, just like every other character staring in this magnificent comedy, was the perfect choice for the role. It doesn't matter how many times i have seen each episode, the laughs never diminish, even though i know what is coming next. To all the actors, living or dead, thanks for the laughter, time and time again.

[@AlexEssex8]

Sybil had so many fantastic lines but I always loved the confidence trickster episode when she didn’t actually have lines as such but when Basil said “Sybil I forbid you...” ; such brilliant comic timing! I also loved the “Mother has more of a death force dialogue - “open spaces....... confined spaces” and “...its a little difficult, chef’s just opened the tin” 😀

[@Simon0]

I want a Waldorf salad 🥗🥗!!

[@jasonhurd4379]

'Do you really imagine, even in your wildest dreams, that a girl like this could possibly be interested in an aging, brilliantined stick insect like you!?'

[@mejustme683]

A girl like who dear?

[@magicmike6961]

and he called Polly a cloth eared bint,

[@Declanmaceircc]

Ave Christus Rex

[@susandumbill8805]

"It's alright dear, just checking the door!" "What's going on?!" The rapport between Basil and Sybil is something to behold!!!

[@silverkitty2503]

i do ha ha

[@HiVizCamo]

Great, but missing one. The Gourmet Night dinner, while she's stalling the guests waiting for the meal to arrive, she's telling stories and laughing. Great character, so well played.

[@veronicacampbell9095]

3:14 The way she snaps "Basil!" makes me laugh out loud each time

[@phavok]

The O'Riley bit still makes me laugh

[@moneybus8975]

Veronica Campbell I knooooow !

[@AAngerJ]

Me too! She’s serous!

[@db7541]

Best bit is when Basil looks around, sees she’s nowhere to be found, and slaps himself while saying “Basil” like she normally does

[@robintyson591]

"What are you doing? I'm kissing you dear. Well - don't." So well delivered.

[@Euroviking86]

Seeing Sybil put Basil in his place was endlessly entertaining.

[@levenscott645]

Prunella Scales was a wonderful comic actress. In Sybil, she created a character for all time.

[@johnkehoe646]

So practical ,organised and composed.Exactly the opposite of Basil. Loved the way she immediately grasped the situation when Polly told them Lord Melbury was a conman....while Basil was still in denial😅Without a doubt she was easily the funniest female character to ever take part in a sitcom.

[@mejustme683]

Bazil:Hello dear * kisses * Sybil:What are you doing? Bazil:kissing you dear. Sybil:well dont 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mejustme683]

@@MND139 Sybil: * talking about friends * They have all said at one point or another how on earth did the 2 of us ever get together? Black magic my mother says. Basil: * moment of silence * Well she would know wouldn't she?

[@Toby_the_Glen]

Sybil had a great figure!

[@strontiumstargazer103]

These clips missed her arse in the golfing trousers.

[@pietjepuk5427]

The best show on earth.Loved it in the 70's.Love it now .Sybil was awesome in that role.But then again the entire cast was.National treasure this.

[@LeofromFreo]

Sybil’s morbid fears lines are so masterfully delivered.

[@Mike8981]

You weren’t listening were you? Lol

[@nickwalter9630]

agreed. perfection.

[@bryanpalmer9660]

Basil describing Sybil laughing as sounding like "somebody machine-gunning a seal"

[@johnmitchelljr]

Timeless comedy is timeless. Thank you for sharing.

[@flat5sharp11]

Brilliant character acting by Prunella Scales (also a Shakespearean theatre actress) And of course, genius scriptwriting from Cleese and Booth.

[@joejones9497]

Imagine the joy of proceeding... and realizing more and more just how good it was going to be.

[@Robert_Fordin]

The most accurate comedy sitcom of all the time.

[@marklythall8712]

there’s a really quick one liner when basil wanting a some toast holds up a piece of bread as sybil walks by and says “breathe on this please dear” or words to that effect

[@galebailey5583]

Sybil’s walk in the ladder scene…LMAO!

[@Gwailo54]

It is perfect. It’s a mutton dressed as lamb waddle in an outfit one or two sizes too small that she conveys. Prunella Scales was amazing. Saw her at the National in Alan Bennett’s spy plays. She was convincing as the graceful and elegant Coral Brown but when she entered as the Queen she was small and dumpy and just as convincing. Both parts a million miles away from Sybil but both thoroughly as convincing. Terriifc characterisations every time. Anybody older than me who remembers Marriage Lines?

[@arthurwebber-g4l]

She is so wonderful

[@keepgoing1973]

"he put basil in the ratatouille?" "I do apologize, he's from Barcelona" Great.

[@ZoKitchen]

He’s still looking for it

[@keepgoing1973]

@@ZoKitchen I just can't imagine ever wanting to put basil (herb) in a ratatouille. The French would prefer the rat.

[@am74343]

I like when Sybil scurries in high heels outside the hotel so she can slap Basil! LOL!!

[@photo161]

The greatest episodic comedy show of all time. But the bits in these clips work much better in context of course.

[@alking7655]

My two favourites are "Ageing brilliantine stick insect like you?" and when Mr O Reily smiles at her. Basil: "Oh for god sake, don't smile." Sybil: "Why are you smiling Mr O Reily?" Mr O Reily: "Well to be perfectly honest Mrs Fawlty I like a woman with spirit." S: "Oh do you, is that what you like?" Mr O: "I do, I do!" Where she proceeds to whack them both with the umbrella.

[@garyhickman6897]

...and I love Basil's description of Sybil as a "golfing puff adder"......

[@lachlanholidayaccessibletr6758]

+

[@7x34hj]

Yes, but she used 'brilliantine', a noun, as an adjective.

[@robertmoore2527]

@@7x34hj Call the spelling police and they can go back 45 years or so in a time machine.

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

Basil KNEW what was coming for O'Reilly. And even though he hated him, and was also a very unsympathetic character, he was obviously feeling sorry for what O'Reilly was putting himself in for. 😂

[@jackfitzpatrick8173]

Fawlty Towers...perfectly written...perfectly acted.

[@stewux]

Honestly, I think that slap in the last clip and Cleese's fall is one of the great comedy moments of all time.

[@StephenGrayce]

So hard to play the "straight woman" among such hilarity. Prunella Scales is amazing.

[@papercup2517]

Her and Polly. Forever holding the fort/keeping that sinking ship afloat. Wonderful women.

[@SpookyElectric319]

Her and Polly, Connie Booth who co wrote it, can.

[@geoffpoole483]

She had some excellent lines. I think Polly was the closest to a straight character.

[@1830mof]

Am I the only man of a certain age who quietly fancies Sybil?

[@hughmacfarlane9662]

Oh , you old dog , you !

[@speakertreatz]

no, there's two of us

[@johnmc3862]

Feisty one she is!

[@edlawn5481]

You like a girl with spirit, don't you?

[@GFYM_Finance]

I think she had a real-life affair with that young guy with the yellow shirt that she was fawning over.

[@stevejelly3161]

BRILLIANT ACTRESS !!!!!!!!!!!!! ,,,,,, absolutely outstanding. !!!!!!!!!!

[@jenniferjones188]

I agree brilliant actress

[@eddiemaxwell6949]

Prunella Scales, a national treasure.

[@rogerpritchard]

Great cast. Thanks for the memories

[@Fendermanpaul]

Brilliant Scripts, Fantsastic acting, and very wobbly sets. I have all the episodes recorded and watch them all the time. We ALL know a Basil Fawlty don't we?

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

Probably. But if one doesn't know a Basil Fawlty, then that means that one is the Basil Fawlty. Come to think of it...I myself don't actually know a Basil Fawlty, lol.

[@vincentbugalia3858]

I watched this show on tv way back when and loved it.

[@jackbenimble1373]

Always had a crush on "Sybil" since i was a kid.

[@Robert_Fordin]

She is perfect background for Basil. Marvelous acting.

[@MultiRwarren]

outfits are fire everytime

[@MrPlantpot20]

A clip I found really funny was when Basil was behind reception listening to the radio. . Sybil storms in through the hotel entrance and says " What's that racket? " Basil says calmly " Thats Brahms dear. . Brahms 3rd racket"!

[@jessesands4099]

"Sybil I Forbid You To Open That Safe"!😆👩‍⚖️🗄️

[@jamesbannon6443]

my favorite character on this show!

[@keepgoing1973]

I feel that Sybil was in her own world completely.

[@olesrensen7819]

"How long have you been married, mrs. Fawlty?" "Oh, since 1485" 😄😄

[@barry7608]

Real talented actors...brilliant.

[@dianderson7022]

Totally brilliant acting, love it.

[@SusannahAgnone]

She was gorgeous inside and out

[@keepgoing1973]

John wrote this along with Connie and some of the best lines were given to Prunella.

[@adamschwartz3449]

Prunella Scales is still acting (as of 2021) in audio drama for The Wireless Theatre Company, and still great.

[@davidnelson7149]

I'm sorry to tell you, but she's suffering from late stage Alzheimer's now.

[@petewilliams6404]

Guest: "Do you think we can cancel our fruit salads?" Sybil: "It's a little tricky, chefs just opened the tin" Genius!

[@nigelw512]

A time when the BBC made brilliant comedy. Puts the crap they make now to shame

[@brendanmcbrearty554]

I agree with you. Far too much crap on TV today.

[@soulshine8281]

Same as with American TV!

[@masterfarr8265]

oh I know

[@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER]

I'm American and the crap that Hollyweird puts out today is beyond shameful. Ironically, I didn't care for this, or really get it, when I was a kid. But I love it now. The only problem with British TV is that when it is at its best, they starve you to death for it, lol. I mean..."Here's your 12 extraordinary episodes, strung out over several years...that's all you're going to get. Learn how to starve happily! And be glad we didn't only make ten or eleven." It makes me wonder seriously if there's a universe in the multiverse somewhere, where John Cleese made hundreds of these, and at the same quality level. And the same goes for Downton Abbey and Are You Being Served, and a few other brilliant British TV shows I'm starving for more of. And I'm sure there's more I don't know about yet.

[@nigelw512]

@@DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Unfortunately the Woke BBC is now censoring a lot of these old classics like Dads Army, Steptoe and Son, Till death us do part and ruining them. Make sure you watch the old ones.

[@mejustme683]

Sybil:Awww! Your only single once! Basil:Twice can be arranged How the hell did they not divorse half way through?!🤣

[@SuperMisterInvisible]

Hello dear. What are you doing? I'm kissing you dear. Well don't. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@omikronweapon]

definitely one of my favorite Fawlty Towers bits :P

[@DrRock2009]

“Benzedrine puff adder” 🤣

[@mdaniels6311]

Such great acting from everyone.

[@USA_WeAre_BACK_47]

I loved all of your outfits. Very classy.

[@Jakegothicsnake]

It’s missing the parts where Sybil does her signature laugh. MWUAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! *wheeeeeeez*

[@jasonhurd4379]

Also the bedtime phone conversation with Audrey: 'I know...I know...Oh, I know...'

[@studiobencivengamarcusbenc5272]

I bloody love Sybil and Basil - brutally funny

[@redlabel3977]

Classic comedy , never to be repeated 🎭

[@malcolmabram2957]

8:00 love the walk of Sybil. So focused, so full of purpose with only one aim in mind: To clobber Basil.

[@Zephaniah3verse17]

Yes!! To see that is to understand the meaning of "singularity of purpose". Hilarious.

[@grannym2880]

I thought there might have been a few "ooh, I knoooooooow" -s in there but still a great compilation.

[@kitcarson9047]

absolutely brilliant comedy

[@urszulab8397]

So entertaining 😂thank you 🙏

[@bythebreach]

That golfing puff adder! [proceeds to strangle gnome]

[@assafnaor5752]

The wonderful Prunella Scales

[@jonkline709]

All those shows were great!!

[@JohnMichaelson]

The very first one is my favorite, the "aging, Brilliantined stick insect" line. It's almost like they were ad-libbing the insults on the fly.

[@roberttaylor148]

She was definitely a good looker in her prime.

[@eddyfinkful]

@Charlie Miller Me too! We see her in the Uk, on the Canal boats, with her husband. Still got the timing.

[@jasonhurd4379]

Check her out in the film Hobson's Choice. She was twenty-one and just as sexy as she wanted to be.

[@davidhoward2487]

Sorry I believe she was 19...

[@omikronweapon]

@Charlie Miller with all respect to her, she's 87... She hasn't aged badly and I'm sure she's a nice person, but she's hardly sexy anymore.

[@malcolmtinker4259]

@@davidhoward2487 p

[@zacktong8105]

She really made the show!

[@christianf7740]

She is awesome!

[@annhatchet3799]

My favourite Sybil moment is when she throws coffee at Basil but most of it lands on the Major 😭

[@DaveThompsonfairlife4all]

I've watched these a thousand times, but only just noticed the blooper where Basil holds his arm after Sybil hits him with the umbrella.

[@MrsSlocombesPuddyCat]

??? How is that a blooper?

[@DaveThompsonfairlife4all]

@@MrsSlocombesPuddyCat Cos she didn't hit his arm.

[@dubbelhenke854]

She is perfect. 😂 And she was so good as the tragic Miss Bates in the TV series "Emma" 1996.

[@Hipppy1001]

07:50 Hello Dear.. I was just going to ehr SMACK!! HAAAAh

[@arlichar11]

im 44 now in 2024, and she was obvious much older than i but i alwas thought she was very sexy.. but in reality a brilliant actress

[@kevinjohnston1957]

44 years? I've been waiting for my drink longer than that.

[@Steven_Rowe]

I was 22 when they filmed this and I loved how she dressed Prunella Scales was a very sexy woman. You think at 22 #I would like Polly but Sybil to me was feminity PLUS

[@Robard65]

“Charming people.” “Hmm ....?” “The Abbot’s ... charming couple.” “Yes, all three of them.” 😂😂 “You’re only single once.” “Twice can be arranged.” 😂😂 “Oh hi dear ... i was just .. ehm ...” Wack. 😂😂 And that one sentence; yes, a knoow ..

[@Mary-po4ti]

Pru made that show. Outstanding ❤

[@BobbySMiles]

I bought the complete series for my own enjoyment back a few years ago .

[@laurieparker-stuart868]

Yes. The some will remove these from public view.

[@MontysKillerRabbit]

The scene when Sybil's listing her mother's worries.. That's Cleese's mother.

[@alanobrien4020]

Marriage is made In heaven But so is thunder and lightning 😆

[@paullacey2999]

Shes a National Treasure👍

[@Mck0948]

Sybil’s mother’s phobia are almost identical to Jon Cleese’s mother’s phobias as described in his autobiography

[@user-ep9fu2be4z]

Haha. That's pretty great.

[@omikronweapon]

"all of them" you mean? Maybe Basil should have called his little man in Fulham ;P

[@jockstrapp21]

The last scene is the best. I love her

[@HLk-jb9nt]

Sybil was a one off ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@TheFetter04]

Aging brilliantine stick insect🤣🤣🤣kills me every time! 😂😂😂

[@TheSteveRobinson]

A classic TV show from the UK.

[@lorenzomagazzeni5425]

I loved Sybil - always in control

[@vitothepizzaguy7475]

"He's from Barcelona..."

[@ianpeddle6818]

She was fabulous what a figure and what a dresser wow

[@nrjelley]

"Memories? Huh...Agincourt?" Pmsl

[@mahdikhorram2449]

Basil needs to tame that shrew😂

[@jcee6886]

The older I get the more attractive I find Sybil.

[@arthurscrote4640]

Prunella Scales as Sybil was a wonderful actress, sadly not too well these days. Connie Booth was the woman of my dreams. Utterly desirable. Fory four years after release, the series has never been eclipsed.

[@AAngerJ]

Well, when Ben comes, you can give them to him!😂

[@JuggernautVault]

"Villains whose motives are hard to find fault in and arguably better than the hero's." Elder God Tier Villain

[@Cladcreeper]

2:20 I DEW I DEW!!