Basil Fawlty is the main character of the infamous British sitcom, Fawlty Towers. Basil is flustered, sarcastic, arrogant and short-tempered but also dominated by his wife and extremely neurotic. Basil longs to bring in a higher, better but most importantly richer and sophisticated kind of class into his hotel which normally results in him being humiliated. Basil is portrayed by John Cleese.