£950,000 cloud over Channel 4 chateau's "Mr Fawlty"

But now it can be revealed that David Darrell has a far from comic past - he was struck off from his previous role as an insolvency practitioner after allegations that he claimed nearly £1million for work he may not have completed.

Industry regulator the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) began investigating Mr Darrell in 2003 after creditors raised concerns about him. The IPA's inquiries allege that Mr Darrell drew money from 35 bankrupt firms without providing proof that he had carried out work for them.

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In 2003 his insolvency practitioner's licence was taken away and the IPA went to the High Court to remove him from the cases for which he was legally responsible.

Kingston Smith, an insolvency firm appointed by the IPA to investigate Mr Darrell, has applied for a court order forcing him to hand over paperwork proving he did the work he claimed for the 35 firms.

IPA chief executive Nick Sabin said: "David Darrell was excluded from membership in 2003 and his licence to practice was removed. It's pretty rare for a licence to be completely removed in this way. We felt that in the public interest we had to move quickly, and we did."

Kingston Smith confirmed it was seeking £950,000 in relation to the 35 cases.

A source at the firm said: "There is no evidence that he kept time records, so there is no mechanism for him to calculate his fees. Therefore any amounts drawn cannot be substantiated."

The claims have shocked Channel 4 and Tiger Aspect, the production company that made the documentary about Mr Darrell and his wife Ann's hapless attempts to start a hotel business in Slovakia.

They bought the crumbling Chateau Salgovce for £77,000 and have spent £800,000 to transform it into a boutique hotel.

There are uncanny similarities between the series, which finished two weeks ago, and the classic John Cleese sitcom Fawlty Towers. Mr Darrell, 41, has been lampooned for being rude to guests, his wife has Sybil Fawlty's gift for flirting with male guests, and there is even an inept waiter similar to Manuel from Barcelona - Marek from Bratislava.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "Both Channel 4 and Tiger Aspect were unaware of these allegations and we would have investigated them thoroughly if we had been aware of them."

Asked why her husband stopped working as an insolvency practitioner, Ann Darrell said: "That's got nothing to with you or anybody. I don't wish to talk to you."

Neither she nor her husband responded to emails.