Fawlty Towers will be repeated on BBC with racist remarks by Major edited out Mirror 2/03/2021 Nicola Methven The BBC is re-running Fawlty Towers to cheer Britain up - but with racist outbursts from cantankerous Major Gowan removed. The classic comedy, which runs to 12 episodes, airs from March 15 in its Festival of Funny. Last year writer and star John Cleese, who plays Basil Fawlty, branded Beeb bosses “gutless” for temporarily removing the episode with the Major’s racist remarks from the UKTV streaming platform. Arguing the remarks were fine in context, he said: “The major was an old fossil. We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them.