Donald Sinclair is the name of two people who were the real-life inspirations for two of the most memorable fictional characters on British television.

• Donald Sinclair was the owner of the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay after an extensive career in the British Navy. He was the inspiration for the character Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, due to his stuffy and eccentric treatment of his guests, including John Cleese and members of the Monty Python cast. Cleese, who played Basil Fawlty, also played a character named Donald Sinclair in the movie Rat Race. Sinclair died in 1981 and is survived by his wife Beatrice, daughter Beatrice (Ann) and daughter Helen. See Donald Sinclair (Fawlty Towers)

• Donald Sinclair was also the name of the man who inspired the character Siegfried Farnon in James Herriot's semi-autobiographical novels and their film and television adaptations All Creatures Great and Small.

Other people named Donald Sinclair include:

• Donald Sinclair, who represented Bruce North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1883
• Donald Sinclair, a Scottish poet