Fawlty Towers at 40: seven surprising facts about the perfect sitcom Dismissed by a BBC script editor as nothing but a disaster, Fawlty Towers almost didn't get made by The Week team 25 Sep 2015 Fawlty Towers, one of the best-loved sitcoms ever made, was first broadcast 40 years ago this month. Thanks to its availability online, the show about a calamitous hotel continues to gather new fans. Despite the affection in which it is now held, many of the ingredients that gained Fawlty Towers a place in TV history were originally pooh-poohed by the BBC, which thought them old-fashioned. In fact, the BBC nearly rejected the show.