The Devon hotel that inspired British sitcom Fawlty Towers will meet the wrecking ball after developers secured permission to demolish the building.

Actor John Cleese, who created the show, based the comedy classic on the Gleneagles Hotel following a stay there with his Monty Python troupe. Its former owner even inspired the character of Basil Fawlty, played by Cleese himself.

The Torquay hotel closed for business earlier this year and since then, Churchill Retirement Living has been looking to build an old people’s home on the site. An initial application failed but the second has won approval from the local council.

‘Like its former guests, we’re sure new owners of the apartments will appreciate the development’s brilliant location and perhaps have a laugh at its quirky history,’ Andrew Burgess, planning director of Churchill Retirement Living, told the Belfast Telegraph.

‘We know how much the site means to people, and once construction starts we’ll be sure to produce something that Basil would be proud of.’

Churchill Retirement Living plans to build 32 apartments and expects the scheme to be completed in early 2017.