Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest his body works differently from other people". The executives were bemused by an incomplete story where one of the main characters was dead, but commissioned the series soon after receiving the full script. In retrospect, Linehan and Mathews noticed that the plot was very similar to that of the "Fawlty Towers" episode "The Kipper and the Corpse". Despite being fans of the show, they only noticed the parallels afterwards, and would likely have abandoned the episode if they had seen them earlier. Kevin Sharkey, who plays the black Donegal priest, was a friend of the writers', and was brought in
The Kipper and the Corpse spotted earlier, Basil immediately panics that the kippers killed him, but Dr. Price examines Leeman's body and concludes that he actually died at least ten hours ago, much to Basil's initial delight. Basil, Manuel, and Polly are then burdened with the task of trying to move the body from the room without the guests seeing. However, while moving him across the upstairs hall, Miss Tibbs sees the body and gets hysterical. On Basil's advice Polly slaps her, knocking her out. The unconscious Miss Tibbs and the dead body are hidden in a bedroom cupboard. The room's occupants Mr. and Mrs.