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Inside John Cleese’s daughter Camilla’s lavish LA life after it’s revealed she’s writing Fawlty Towers reboot
JOHN Cleese has thrilled fans with news he is bringing Fawlty Towers back - but his daughter Camilla is heavily involved too.
She might not be as well-known as the Monty Python legend, but Camilla has developed her own comedy and writing chops in Los Angeles where she lives.
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The 39-year-old can often be seen performing material around the comedy clubs of southern California and occasionally shares her stand-up material on Instagram.
The career clips are interspersed with glimpses into family life including meals out with huge US stars like Chevy Chase and even a little tour of John's Caribbean pad.
Camilla had him in stitches during a tour of his home writing room, which his daughter commandeered for her bedroom, with swords and artwork adorning the walls.
When John drew the camera's attention to a painting of old ships, Camilla chirped: "Why don't you read the Odyssey now?"
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creased with laughter and described her as his funniest biped.
The seeds for the Fawlty Towers reboot appear to have been planted years ago.
Camilla alluded to a joint project at the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
She wrote: "Coronavirus has been awful, and I know how lucky I am to be healthy, safe and able to take every precaution.
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"Of course I wish it never happened, but if there is a silver lining it was being able to spend so much time working and hanging with my Dad — the most time I have had with him since I moved to the US as a child. Love you @johncleeseofficial aka Dad."
The pair's relationship hasn't always been so jubilant though.
Camilla, who is 6ft 1ins, had a particularly troubled time in her 20s after giving up a promising equestrian career and becoming a student at the University of California.
She previously told the Mail: "I’d be given free booze and free drugs wherever I went, mostly because the guys like having a crazy blonde around and some people liked the idea that I was John Cleese’s daughter. I was never sober."
Her substance abuse got so bad that in 2006 John stopped talking to her and cut off her funds.
For a year they had minimal contact and John sold the 16-acre ranch that had housed Camilla's horses.
The bold move had the desired effect, and Camilla decided to seek help for her addiction at the Sierra Tucson rehab clinic in Arizona.
Camilla's mum is the late actress, Barbara Trentham, who died in 2013.
Barbara and John separated after six years of marriage in 1987, but their divorce wasn't finalised for another three years.
It was this separation that Camilla cited as the cause for a lot of her troubles because John's absence from home made her feel "abandoned".
She took a dig at her parents in an Edinburgh Fringe Show in 2014, telling the audience: "They’ve been married for almost 42 years – to seven different people. Not at the same time, we’re not Mormon or anything like that, not even close."
Fawlty Towers' return comes 44 years after the classic sitcom ended.
John will write it again and play Basil Fawlty, while Camilla will also write and star.
Manic Basil Fawlty will be seen running a hotel with his long-lost daughter and the show is likely to spark a bidding war between streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as US and UK channels.
American production company Castle Rock Entertainment, run by director Rob Reiner and producer Matthew George, is backing the new project.
Filming is likely to begin next year.
John said: “When we first met, Matt offered an excellent first idea, and then Matt, my daughter Camilla and I had one of the best creative sessions I can remember.
“By dessert we had an overall concept so good that, a few days later, it won the approval of Rob and Michele Reiner. Camilla and I look forward enormously to expanding it into a series.”
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George said: “I’ve watched the first two seasons so many times I have lost count. I dreamed of one day being involved in a continuation of the story. Now it’s come true.”
Fawlty Towers, which aired in 1975 with a second series in 1979, consistently tops all-time comedy lists thanks to famous scenes such as “Don’t mention the war” and Basil bashing his car with a branch.
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