Major Gowen Major Gowen Major Gowen, usually known as the Major, is a fictional character played by Ballard Berkeley in the BBC sitcom "Fawlty Towers". Major Gowen is an old, befuddled, slightly senile, retired artillery officer permanently residing in the hotel. He appears in all 12 episodes, along with the other permanent residents Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs. He enjoys talking about the world (especially the cricket scores and workers' strikes) and is always on the lookout for the newspaper. He has trouble forgiving Germany for the Second World War. He often appears slightly hard of hearing, which leads to some confusion
Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby of the series, though are uncredited in "A Touch of Class" (the pilot). They seldom have main roles in the plot, usually being background characters adding to the atmosphere. Miss Tibbs plays a larger role in the episode "The Kipper and the Corpse", the only time she is seen away from Miss Gatsby, where she is repeatedly startled by a guest's corpse, which Basil, Manuel and Polly are desperately trying to keep hidden from guests until the undertaker arrives. Her unfortunate encounters with the deceased include being knocked unconscious by Polly, being locked in a cupboard with Leeman and fainting