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The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Scare BnB – Why Fawlty Towers is still THE perfect British comedy

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On 19 September 1975, the nightmare story of a maniac who should never have been running a hotel, his tyrannical wife, their hapless Spanish waiter and a stream of eccentric guests made its debut on BBC2. Fifty years later Fawlty Towers still captures middle Britain at its most hilariously uptight – and Basil Fawlty has never been bettered as an Englishman on the verge of nervous breakdown. Comedy writer Jason Hazeley joins Andrew Harrison to explore the majesty of “Fatty Towels”… ponder whether John Cleese has actually turned into Basil… and ask why the show’s legend lasted so long. Would you like to listen first, or would you like to have a drink before the war? • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • Claim the Naked Wines offer here: ⁠⁠nakedwines.co.uk/thebunker⁠⁠ • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Audio production by Tom Taylor. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Art by Jim Parrett. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

There's quite a lot of ads on our podcasts these days. We need them to pay for our team.

0:04.0

But if you find them a little distracting, annoying maybe, there's a simple solution. Back us on Patreon.

0:09.4

That means no ads and uninterrupted listening. Follow the link in the show notes to find out more.

0:14.6

This edition of The Bunker is sponsored by Naked Wines. I'm Seth Tevall.

0:19.3

And I'm Zoe Grunewold. And here at the bunker, we don't believe

0:22.8

in guesswork. We go to the experts for the best insights into news and politics, and why should

0:28.1

wine be any different? That's why we're pleased to recommend naked wines. I enjoy their

0:33.5

bariccas Gallaudoro Reserva from Portugal. Well, I'm trying their small and small Savignon Blanc from New Zealand. Seth, tell me, what's your wine knowledge like? Very specialised, so pretty good on things Portuguese, but non-existent on those other things. How about you, Zay? I drink most anything, but I have to say I'm really enjoying this saveni en blanc. It's citrusy,

0:55.1

it's got notes of gooseberry. I could just drink the whole bottle. What makes naked wine so convenient

0:59.7

is that they deliver top quality wines right to your jaw from world-class winemakers from across

1:05.3

the globe, whether it's a French rosé, a New Zealand Riesling, or even a Lebanese syria.

1:10.2

Naked can help you find your next bottle to fall in love with.

1:13.5

And this premium doesn't have to come at a punishing price.

1:16.9

By working directly with the winemakers, they can pass on the benefit

1:20.2

and offer bottles up to 33% less than typical retail prices.

1:25.1

Head to Nakedwines.co.uk forward slash the bunker to get six top rated wines for just

1:31.4

£39.99. That's £6.67 a bottle. I repeat, that's six bottles of wine for just £39.99,

1:40.5

with delivery included. That's nakedwines.com.uk, forward slash the bunker, to grab six

1:47.0

bottles for just 3999. Click the link in the description.

1:59.3

Hello, are you enjoying your podcasts? I said, are you enjoying your podcasts?

2:02.2

I said, are you enjoying your podcasts?

2:04.3

Welcome back to the bunker. I'm Andrew Harrison.

...

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