'Fawlty Towers' is a famous British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Although only twelve episodes were produced (two series with six episodes each) the programme has had a lasting and powerful legacy.The setting is a fictional hotel called Fawlty Towers located in the seaside town of Torquay on the 'English Riviera' (which was where the Gleneagles hotel that inspired John Cleese was situated). The show was written by Cleese and Connie Booth, both of whom played main characters. The first series in 1975 was produced and directed by John Howard Davies; the second in 1979 was produced by Douglas Argent and directed by Bob Spiers.In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 that was voted by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was placed first. It was also voted fifth in the BBC's "Britain's Best Sitcom" poll in 2004.