Manuel (Fawlty Towers)
| Manuel | |||
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| Fawlty Towers character | |||
| Portrayed by | Andrew Sachs | ||
| Duration | 1975–1979 | ||
| First appearance | "A Touch of Class" (1975) | ||
| Last appearance | We Are Most Amused (2008) | ||
| Created by | John Cleese and Connie Booth | ||
| Profile | |||
| Occupation | Waiter | ||
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| Sons | Mateo |
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Manuel is a fictional character from the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. Played by Andrew Sachs, he is one of the most iconic characters in British comedy history. He reappeared for a small sketch with John Cleese in We Are Most Amused in November 2008.
Manuel himself appeared on the audio adaptations of Fawlty Towers as a linking narrator, explaining things from his point of view, when the series was released in audio format. The first two episodes released did not feature him at all, as the dialogue was edited and short burst of piano music would indicate a change of scene. However, when the whole series was re-released, they were re-edited with Manuel's linking commentary.
Manuel is a well-meaning but dim, disorganised, and constantly confused waiter from Barcelona with a limited grasp of the English language and customs. He is constantly verbally and physically assaulted by his boss. He is afraid of Mr. Fawlty's quick temper and violent assaults, yet often expresses his appreciation for being given the position, despite Basil's abusive treatment toward him. Sybil also appears to hold Manuel in low esteem, dryly remarking, "It'd be quicker to train a monkey." When told by either Basil, Sybil or Polly what to do, he frequently answers "Sí" ("Yes"), and "¿Qué?" ("What?") which once led to a particularly harebrained guest (Mrs Richards) believing Basil's name to be "C.K. Watt". Manuel and Polly are both quite scared of Basil. An oft-quoted catchphrase of the character is "I know nothing", from the episode "Communication Problems". Other phrases commonly associated with Manuel are "I can speak English, I learn it from a book", "she go crazy" and "Is hamster". By the time of the second series, his English has improved greatly (though a sequence in "The Germans" implies that he actually improved his English off-screen during the first series, but chose to hide this fact from Basil to make his life easier), although he still has problems understanding specific orders or people, such as Mrs. Richards, owing to her way of talking (and partially due to her own dottiness). He is also very good friends with Polly, who can communicate best with him (Basil claims to have learnt "classical Spanish", whereas Polly speaks the actual language) and often uses him as a model for her sketches. Basil also suggests she take him to the local ice rink in "Basil the Rat".
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