Comedy legend John Cleese has vowed never to work with the BBC again and has slammed the corporation’s bosses as “clueless” who haven’t made anything funny since The Office
John Cleese has sworn off working with the BBC in the future. The 85-year-old comedy legend, who created the iconic sitcom Fawlty Towers for the broadcaster alongside his first wife and co-star Connie Booth, has criticised the BBC’s reliance on “committees” to decide which comedies get aired.
Speaking at the recent Slapstick comedy festival in Bristol, John expressed his frustration: “If you put a script in now it has to go through a f****** committee who have no idea what they are doing.”
He lamented the lack of quality comedy since The Office, stating: “There has been nothing funny since The Office. It is sad and it is because the people in charge have no idea how to make comedy happen.”
He further criticised the bureaucratic process that has replaced creativity, saying: “The whole process has been replaced by a bureaucratic process which does not begin to work.”
The Monty Python star voiced his disappointment over the perceived decline of British comedy and the requirement for all humour to be “clean” in today’s climate. He said: “We used to be really good at it and now we are not and that is very sad. There weren’t committees when we started. Comedy now has to be clean. You must not play for laughs.”
Cleese revealed plans to write a book about comedy writing to highlight its challenges, adding: “I am going to write a book about writing comedy to make people aware how difficult it is.”
He concluded by criticising those in charge of organising comedy, particularly at the BBC, saying: “The people organising comedy have never been very good but at the moment particularly at the BBC they are clueless. I don’t think it is a lack of talent – except among the executive classes. Those classes have no idea what they are doing.”
Meanwhile, John is bringing his Not Dead Yet tour across the pond to America and joked that the gruelling schedule might be the death of him.
He added: “I’m 85 years old. I’ve got two replacement hips, a replacement knee, I’m deaf in one ear, I’ve got a pacemaker – and I’ve had three hair transplants.
“I’m hoping not to die while I’m on tour. It’s exhausting, it’s ridiculous – and frankly, it might kill me. If this is the last time. It’s not a bad way to go.”
The tour, celebrating half a century since Monty Python and the Holy Grail hit screens, has been captured in Cleese’s forthcoming documentary John Cleese Packs It In – chronicling his preparations for 23 shows across five nations.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
