Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs dies aged 86

Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs, who played hapless Spanish waiter Manuel in the BBC sitcom, has died aged 86, his family has confirmed.

The actor died on 23 November and was buried on Thursday, according to an interview with his wife Melody in the Daily Mail.

She told the newspaper that Sachs was diagnosed with dementia four years ago.

On his role of Manuel, Sachs told the BBC in 2014: “It was just a part I was playing and people seemed to laugh.”

Manuel was one of the most imitated comedy characters of the 1970s. The waiter, who famously hailed from Barcelona, often said little more than the word “Que?” to generate laughs, but arguably his most famous line was “I know nothing”.

John Cleese took to twitter to pay tribute to Sachs;

“Just heard about Andy Sachs. Very sad. I knew he was having problems with his memory as his wife Melody told me a couple of years ago and I heard very recently that he had been admitted to Denham Hall, but I had no idea that his life was in danger. A very sweet gentle and kind man and a truly great farceur. I first saw him in Habeas Corpus on stage in 1973.I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired.”