John Cleese's iconic sitcom Fawlty Towers is making its return to television screens in a long-awaited reboot.

The comedy originally won over a whole host of fans when it first came to screens in 1975, following the unfortunate exploits of highly-strung Torquay hotelier Basil.

The sitcom ran for two series, each consisting of 12 episodes, up until 1979 and saw Cleese's character Basil being constantly berated by his wife Sybil, portrayed by Prunella Scales, as they tried to keep their Torquay hotel afloat - as well as their marriage.

But despite its popularity, writing the new series may prove an arduous task with many fearing the slapstick humour of the original will fail to impress 21st century audiences.

And many of the jokes that proved a hit with lovers of the show more than four decades ago are now unlikely to get the green light from TV chiefs.

Below, MailOnline has taken a look at just some of the scenes and interactions that Cleese is unlikely to get away with this time around.

Major refers to former soldier as a 'pansy'

Discussing his plans to attend a memorial service for a former military colleague, Major Gowen discusses why he is dressed in a bright tie rather than the traditional black ensemble. 

Major, a senile former soldier played by Ballard Berkeley, responds by telling Basil that he did not like the man.

He says: 'Oh, I didn't like the chap. One of those - know what I mean?' before using the pejorative term to describe his former colleague.

In March 2021, the BBC announced it was editing out racist and homophobic remarks made by Major amid plans to re-air the show.

'There's another one snuffed it in the night'

Following the death of a guest in his sleep at the hotel, Basil becomes worries that the cause was some out-of-date kippers.

As a result, he attempts to remove the man's body without alerting the hotel's other guests.

He does this by hiding him in wardrobes, laundry baskets and even behind a hat stand.

Amid the chaos, Basil says: 'Oh, there’s another one snuffed it in the night. Another name in the Fawlty Towers Book of Remembrance.'

The scene would likely have to come with a trigger warning today.

Cleese is understood to have based the story on an anecdote from a friend in which they recalled having to discreetly remove a dead body from the Savoy in London.

Goose stepping Basil and 'don't mention the war'

With his wife Sybil in hospital to undergo treatment for an ingrowing toenail, Basil is left alone to welcome some German guests to the hotel.

Despite warning staff 'don't mention the war', Basil himself repeatedly references it in front of the guests in the dining room.

Responding to a food order, he mocks the Germans by saying: 'Hors d’oeuvres, vich must be obeyed, vithout qvestion.'

Asked to stop talking about the war, Basil tells the guests they 'started it'.

When the Germans refute his claim, Cleese's character responds: 'Yes you did, you invaded Poland.'

Constant mocking of Manuel's accent

Manuel, a Spanish waiter at the hotel played by German-born British actor Andrew Sachs, is often a target of both physical and verbal abuse due to his limited English.

Such repeated insults and abuse towards the waiter is unlikely to make it past TV chiefs today.

On one occasion, a delivery man refers to Manuel as a dago, an offensive term to describe a Spanish-speaking person.

Polly, arguably the show's most tolerant character, also calls him a 'dago dodo'.

Basil and the black doctor

Visiting his wife in hospital as she has an ingrowing toenail removed, Basil shrinks as he is approached by a black doctor.

Leaving Sybil's hospital room, the doctor greets Basil by his surname: 'Mr Fawlty.'

But Basil backs away towards the door before the medic, played by Gambian-born actor Louis Mahoney, explains the simple procedure she will undergo.

Major's racist rant about cricketers

A discussion about women with Basil lends Major to recall how he once took a companion to 'India', although only to watch them play in a cricket match at the Oval, south London.

But he recalls how his companion referred to the Indian cricketers as 'n****s'. He then says he corrected the woman by saying: 'No, no, no,’ I said, “the n****s are the West Indians. These people are w**s."'

He goes on to say that the woman went to the toilet and never returned, having also stolen his wallet.

The episode was subsequently removed by the BBC, though Cleese branded the decision 'stupid'.

He said the show was mocking the Major's use of the 'n-word' and added: 'We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them.'

Basil accidentally gropes guest while fixing light

As Basil tries to fix a light in a bathroom, an Australian guest is leaning against the stretching in the adjoining room.

It is all innocent and normal enough, until Basil attempts to reach around the door for the light switch and grabs her chest instead.

To make matters worse, his wife then walks in, obviously unimpressed.

Sybil says: 'One word of advice. If you’re going to grope a girl, have the gallantry to stay in the room with her.'

Later in the same episode, Basil investigates after becoming suspicious that a male guest is smuggling a woman into his room every night.

The suspicions lead Basil to hiding in a closet before jumping out to catch them in the act, only for it to be the same Australian guest. 

While intended to be innocent, the scene would understandably be taken differently in the 21st century.

'You need a plastic surgeon, not a doctor'

After bashing his head, Basil looks worse for wear as he wakes up in a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around his forehead.

He is in a rush to return to the hotel, despite his wife's protestations, but is then also confronted by a nurse.

Basil tells her: 'Don't touch me, I don't know where you've been. My god you're ugly, aren't you?'

When the nurse responds that she will fetch a doctor, he responds: 'You need a plastic surgeon, dear, not a doctor.'

Basil's 'cloth-eared bint' insult to staff

Basil is always at loggerheads with wife Sybil during the sitcom, to such an extent he is often found ranting about her to Manuel and Polly.

Basil is often seen verbally and physically abusing Manuel, but in one scene he also calls Polly as a 'cloth-eared bint' - a derogatory term used to refer to a woman.

During another interaction with his wife, Sybil labels Basil 'my little piranha fish'.

Sybil's run-in with a 'half-witted thick Irish joke'

Basil is attempting to convince and Irish builder to knock through a divide, but is met with resistance when O'Reilly says his men do not work on a Sunday.

But his response is met with fury from Sybil, who tells him he 'belongs in a zoo'.

She adds: 'He’s nothing but a half-witted thick Irish joke!'

And when O'Reilly says he will fix a botch job, she says: 'I have seen more intelligent creatures than you lying on their backs at the bottoms of ponds.

'I have seen better organised creatures running around farm-yards with their heads cut off.'