After a couple comments about Torquay and Fawlty Towers (Joan and Greg), I looked up some info on the connection.  This is a town of many many small hotels and guesthouses, so it is not hard to believe that Torquay would be the setting for the show.    Here is what I found about the beginnings of the show.  Too funny!!

Even though the comedy series Fawlty Towers was based in Torquay none of the show was ever filmed on the English Riviera. The one strong connection with the show was Hotel Gleneagles, but this property was demolished for redevelopment in 2016. This was where John Cleese and the Monty Python team first encountered hotel proprietor, Donald Sinclair, who would become the inspiration for one of comedy’s most famous characters.

During their stay at the hotel the Monty Python team experienced first hand the eccentricities of Donald Sinclair. Most notably Sinclair berated Terry Gilliam for using his knife and fork incorrectly and throwing Eric Idle’s bag over a wall believing it contained a bomb (it actually turned out to be a ticking alarm clock!).

While many of the Monty Python team decamped to the Imperial Hotel, John Cleese decided to stay on and take notes. He even invited his wife, Connie Booth (who later played Polly in the series) to come down and join him at Hotel Gleneagles. This was the beginning of one of the most famous and popular comedies of all time.