Monty Python stars paid £6,000 a show by BBC, Palin archive reveals

 Michael Palin has donated his personal archive to the British Library, including a first job offer from the BBC offering the Monty Python members a top salary of 12 guineas a minute for their half-hour shows.

The archive includes more than 50 “Python Notebooks” containing drafts, working material and personal reflections on the classic comedy programme. There are also annotated scripts, the “Dead Parrot” sketch among them, and personal diaries. The collection spans the years 1965-87.

A 1969 letter from the BBC agreeing to commission Monty Python’s Flying Circus set out the troupe’s salary. Palin, John Cleese and Terry Jones commanded 12 guineas a minute, Eric Idle’s rate was 11 guineas and Graham Chapman 10 guineas. A guinea was worth £1.05, meaning 12 guineas is about £200 in today’s money.

The collection also covers Palin’s other film, television and comedy work, and ends a year before he made the film A Fish Called Wanda. It will be available to view in the British Library Reading Rooms from spring 2018.

Palin, 74, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the “doodles, notes and scribbles” could give fans an insight into how the Python team worked. He added that he had felt “a bit shy” about putting his notes on display but said “future generations will know not to make the same mistakes”.