The hotel inspectors - wikipedia The hotel inspectors For other uses, see Hotel Inspector. `` The Hotel Inspectors '' Fawlty Towers episode Episode no. Season 1 Episode 4 Directed by John Howard Davies Written by John Cleese & Connie Booth Original air date 10 October 1975 Guest appearance ( s ) Bernard Cribbins Episode chronology ← Previous `` The Wedding Party '' Next → `` Gourmet Night '' `` The Hotel Inspectors '' is the fourth episode of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. In the episode, Basil hears of hotel inspectors roaming Torquay incognito and realises with horror that a guest he has been verbally abusing could easily be one of them. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Connections 4 References 5 External links Plot Two guests, Mr. Walt and Mr. Hutchinson, arrive separately at reception. Mr. Walt says very little ; Mr. Hutchinson speaks in a very drawn - out and pompous, overly affected manner ( claiming that he finds `` the air here ( in Torquay ) most invigorating '' ) that immediately irritates Basil. Basil becomes increasingly irate as Hutchinson makes unreasonable requests and asks for specific directions to a meeting. While Basil draws Hutchinson a map containing an abbreviation of Post Office ( `` P. Off '' ), Mr. Walt misinterprets a comment from Basil ; Walt thinks he himself is being told to `` P - off ''. Basil also produces picture cards for Manuel to understand what he is saying, after which Manuel produces a card of his own : `` OK ''. After Sybil finally finishes on the phone, she informs Basil that a friend of Audrey 's discovered the presence of three hotel inspectors in town. This information raises Basil 's blood pressure several notches ; determined to work out who the inspectors are, he realises with horror that any of the guests he 's been monstering could be one of them. While Mr. Hutchinson is requesting to reserve the television to watch a documentary he is interested in, he says something which makes Basil 's hair stand on end : `` In my professional activities I am in constant contact with hotels. '' This -- combined with Hutchinson 's neediness, his suggestions on how the hotel could be improved, and his overinflated style of speaking -- convinces Basil that Hutchinson is actually an inspector ; he changes his attitude towards Hutchinson, instead treating him like a VIP. He escorts him to the dining room, where lunch is about to be served. Basil ends up overlooking Mr. Walt, who is forced to wait after his bottle of wine proves to be corked ( just after Basil is forced to dig out the bad cork so he can serve the wine ), even though Hutchinson is taking a phone call. Sybil quietly reveals to Basil that Mr. Hutchinson is in fact a cutlery salesman ( she had overheard his conversation ). Feeling conned, Basil promises revenge on Hutchinson. However, Basil 's relief is short - lived when -- during a conversation with Basil -- Mr. Walt casually mentions that he is in Torquay `` on business with two colleagues. '' This convinces Basil that Walt is actually the inspector. In order to avoid making a bad impression on Walt, Basil tries to pacify Hutchinson... who is annoyed because some spur - of - the - moment table - switching ( by Basil, who else ? ) has caused confusion in the kitchen, and led to Hutchinson being served several dishes he did not order ( actually, Walt did ). To stifle Hutchinson 's complaining, Basil gags him and then subtly punches him, rendering him unconscious. Hutchinson regains consciousness and starts punching Basil at reception desk, who uncharacteristically accepts it without retaliation, since they are in Mr. Walt 's presence. Hutchinson storms off to gather his things, declaring that he does not expect to receive a bill. Walt is flabbergasted, especially when Basil tries to bribe him against mentioning this recent chain of events when he reviews the hotel. Basil immediately goes into hysterics, realising how much he has just risked the hotel 's reputation. Mr. Walt reveals he is actually an outboard motors salesman, and consoles Basil. Thinking he is in the clear, Basil thanks Walt for staying at Fawlty Towers and then runs to the kitchen with Manuel, who stops Mr. Hutchinson from leaving just long enough so that Basil can `` say adios ''. Basil then slaps pies on Mr. Hutchinson 's face and crotch, while Manuel pours cream into his briefcase. Hutchinson is marched to the door and forcibly ejected from the hotel by a vengeful Basil, who kisses Manuel on the head for his help. Returning to the reception desk, Basil welcomes John, Brian and Chris -- three smartly - dressed businessmen, who have just witnessed the bouncing of Hutchinson -- to Fawlty Towers. He screams in terror when it becomes clear that they are the hotel inspectors. Cast Episode - credited cast : John Cleese as Basil Fawlty Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty Andrew Sachs as Manuel Connie Booth as Polly Sherman Ballard Berkeley as Major Gowen Gilly Flower as Miss Abitha Tibbs Renee Roberts as Miss Ursula Gatsby With : Bernard Cribbins as Mr. Hutchinson James Cossins as Mr. Walt Peter Brett as Brian ( hotel inspector ) Geoffrey Morris as John ( hotel inspector ) ( These two characters are credited as Brian and John but the credits make no clear connection between their names and being hotel inspectors as their names in the programme are never revealed. ) Uncredited : Alexander Lewis as Chris ( hotel inspector ) Connections Interior scenes of this episode were recorded on 27 August 1975, in Studio TC8 of the BBC Television Centre, before a live audience. At the end of the episode the 1st inspector says `` Twenty - six bedrooms, twelve with private bathrooms. '' The 2nd inspector says `` Yes, well, why do n't you have dinner here, and Chris and I can try the Claremont. '' The 1st inspector replies `` OK. The owner 's one Basil Fawlty. '' The 3rd inspector, Chris, is not credited as he does not speak at all. `` Bill Morton '', whose friend overheard the hotel inspectors in a bar, was named after the vision mixer for the series ; he is the only member of the crew mentioned in the series. Mr. Hutchinson asks if the hotel has a table tennis table, to which Basil replies, `` Indeed we do. It is not... in absolutely mint condition. But it certainly could be used in an emergency ''. John Cleese has stated this is among his favourite lines in the entire series. The scene in which the wine is ' corked ' involved improvisation on the actors ' parts. John Cleese and James Cossins were unaware of which way the wine would go, if at all. Loosely scripted dialogue was therefore at hand. The only time in the series we ever see evidence of Basil smoking is when Sybil takes back all the matches ( she is `` just lighting up '' ) and gives him back just one, in the opening scene. Queen 's Square and Queen 's Parade, the locations Mr. Hutchinson asks for on his diagram, do not exist in Torquay. A merge of the plot of this episode, and the plot of `` Gourmet Night '' was the basis for the pilot episode of Payne an American remake of Fawlty Towers. References Jump up ^ Kempton, Martin. `` An unreliable and wholly unofficial history of BBC Television Centre... '' An incomplete history of London 's television studios. Retrieved 17 December 2014. External links `` The Hotel Inspectors '' at BBC Programmes hide Fawlty Towers Characters Basil Fawlty Sybil Fawlty Manuel Polly Sherman Major Gowen Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby Guest characters Cast members Episodes Series 1 `` A Touch of Class '' `` The Builders '' `` The Wedding Party '' `` The Hotel Inspectors '' `` Gourmet Night '' `` The Germans '' Series 2 `` Communication Problems '' `` The Psychiatrist '' `` Waldorf Salad '' `` The Kipper and the Corpse '' `` The Anniversary '' `` Basil the Rat '' Remakes Amanda 's Payne Related articles Donald Sinclair Gleneagles Hotel, Torquay Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Hotel_Inspectors&oldid=831356815 '' Categories : Fawlty Towers episodes 1975 British television episodes Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from November 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 20 March 2018, at 04 : 55. About Wikipedia

Question: in hotel inspectors what does mr. hutchinson sell
Answer: cutlery