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John Cleese prepares to hand over his iconic Basil to another actor as he attends Fawlty Towers Live rehearsals in Sydney

Published: 19:59 EST, 11 August 2016 | Updated: 01:32 EST, 12 August 2016

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His bad-tempered hotel manager Basil Fawlty is one of the most iconic TV characters of all time.

And now, John Cleese is preparing to hand over the reins to the beloved character to another actor when Fawlty Towers Live opens in Australia next week.

The veteran actor and writer, 76, flew to Sydney this week to check out the last week of rehearsals before the opening night in Sydney next Thursday.

Ready to laugh? John Cleese joins the cast of Fawlty Towers Live in Sydney (L-R) Stephen Hall (Basil), Blazey Best (Sybil), Syd Brisbane (Manuel) and Aimee Horne (Polly)

After watching the cast in action recreating some of the iconic scenes from the classic Seventies TV show, John joined them for a group photo.

Stepping into his shoes as Basil is Australian actor/comedian Stephen Hall, who has been given the seal of approval by John.

John told the Sydney Daily Telegraph: 'I liked (him) because he is different from how I am. I love the fact he doesn’t look like Basil because it already makes it more interesting.

Ready to hand over the reins? John flew to Sydney to watch the last week of rehearsals for the touring production

Watch and learn: After watching the cast in action recreating some of the iconic scenes from the classic Seventies TV show, John joined them for a group photo

'I’ll be looking at what they’re doing and making suggestions but I won’t be getting them to do it like we did it, because they were doing things at auditions that were new and just as good, if not better, so we’re not looking for a carbon copy,'

Joining Stephen is Blazey Best as Sybil Fawlty, Syd Brisbane as Manuel and Aimee Horne as Polly.

The new show is adapted from three episodes of the BBC show, which ran for two series in 1975 and 1979 and was originally written and starring John and his ex-wife Connie Booth, who played Polly.

Back behind the check-in desk: The Torquay hotel has been recreated in a Sydney theatre

Pep talk: John talks to the cast and crew during a break in rehearsals

The episodes 'The Germans', 'Basil The Rat' and 'Communication Problems' have been woven together to create one play.

The production is directed by CJ Ranger, who wrote and directed the Monty Python Live reunion in London in 2014.

Fawlty Towers Live runs for five months, opening in Sydney on 18 August before travelling to Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.

Fawlty Towers Live runs for five months, opening in Sydney on 18 August before travelling to Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane

Iconic: John as Basil with co-stars Prunella Scales as Sybil Fawlty, Andrew Sachs as Manuel and Connie Booth as Polly Sherman in the original Seventies series