Accident at Fawlty Towers play

An actor playing Manuel in a stage version of Fawlty Towers was left concussed after being smacked over the head with a frying pan in rehearsals.

Worried cast members feared Simon Davies might have suffered serious injury after Lee Kendrick, who plays Basil Fawlty, mistimed the blow.

Since the accident, Davies has taken to wearing a hard hat in rehearsals, but says the amateur production at the King’s Theatre in Gloucester will go on as normal.

He told the Gloucester Citizen: ‘I think they thought I was joking until I didn’t get up. It was a complete accident but we like to make it look authentic.’

Kendrick added: ‘Simon is such a good actor - I didn’t know if he was joking or serious when he fell to his knees. I will just have to watch how hard I hit him in future.’

Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel in the original TV series, famously suffered several injuries at the hands of John Cleese’s overzealous acting.

Coincidentally, Prunella Scales, who played Sybil, is a patron of the King’s Theatre.

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Published: 4 Apr 2010