A racial slur in one of the episodes of Fawlty Towers, one of the most loved comedies in BBC history, has been censored 35 years down the line.

The episode in question is The Germans, in which hotelier Basil Fawlty clashes with visiting German tourists, is one of its most-loved.

In the scene, a hotel regular, the elderly Major Gowen (Ballard Berkeley), relates a conversation in which he corrected someone for using a particular racist slur, by suggesting they use another, equally racist, slur.

In the context of the episode, the line is clearly intended to mock the old-school British upper class for their inherent racism. In that sense, the joke is on Major Gowen, as it were, and not aimed at racial minorities.

However other culturally insensitive jokes in the episode - such as Basil Fawlty goose-stepping in front of the German tourists, using a finger to simulate the moustache of German dictator Adolf Hitler and referring to a German tourist in a disparaging way - were not cut.

Fawlty Towers ran for five years between 1975 and 1979 but reruns continue right to this day.