2014 John Cleese brands BBC comedy ‘awful c**p’ 2016 He’s signed up for new sitcom... on the BBC
HE HAS been brutally scathing about the state of BBC comedy, branding it ‘an awful lot of c**p’ overseen by executives who don’t know what they are doing.
But despite vowing never to work for the Corporation again, John Cleese is to return to the BBC to star in his first sitcom since Fawlty Towers almost 40 years ago.
He is taking a lead role in the bittersweet romantic comedy Edith, playing one of several men vying for the affections of the title character.
Cleese – whose own love life has been less than smooth, with three divorces to his name – will be hoping the new show proves better than his previous experiences with the BBC. In 2001, he described making the documentary The Human Face as a ‘total nightmare’.
And in 2014 he launched his attack on the comedy output, blaming commissioning editors.
‘What happened since my time is that a very simple process, which worked wonderfully well at the BBC, has been lost,’ he said.
‘In those days the departmental heads were very trusting of their producers. What happens now is you have a new species, a commissioning editor, who as far as I can make out haven’t actually written comedy or directed it and yet they think they understand comedy.’
He reiterated his complaints last year, vowing: ‘There’s no way I want to work in TV, especially at the BBC. I have a nasty feeling a large proportion of the commissioning editors have no idea what they’re doing.’ Indeed, he has been notably absent from BBC sitcoms since Fawlty Towers ended in 1979, save for a one-off guest appearance in the Last Of The Summer Wine in 1993. By contrast, he has taken roles in several major US series including Cheers, 3rd Rock From The Sun and Will And Grace. So his decision to join Edith is a major boost for the BBC’s beleaguered comedy department, which has been criticised for running out of ideas after reviving old sitcoms such as Porridge and Are You Being Served? A BBC insider said the Corporation was delighted to have 76-year-old Cleese back on board. The source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘It’s no secret there was a falling-out with John but he’s an immense talent and it’s great to have him back. A decisive factor for John will have been the storyline. Apparently he loved the fact that, after three divorces in real life, he will be playing a man who finally finds true love.’
Cleese may have been swayed by the involvement of Charles McKeown who has written the series. McKeown previously collaborated with Cleese’s Monty Python colleague Terry Gilliam on films including Brazil, The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen and The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
He even appeared in Fawlty Towers as a guest caught with a blow-up doll.
A BBC source said of Edith: ‘We are in the very early stages of development.
The show has not yet been commissioned and there are key decisions to be made about casting.
‘As the title suggests, Edith is the principal character. John is one of the leading male roles but it is very much a supporting role to Edith.’
The source said a final decision on who would play Edith had not been made.
Earlier this year, BBC comedy chief Shane Allen held out an olive branch to Cleese, saying: ‘He’s a comedy god and the door is always open to him.
‘There are certain people who have earned their badges, who have got the right to do what they want.’
Cleese, who married his fourth wife, Jennifer Wade, in 2012, last night said it was too soon to talk about the new show.
He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Things with the BBC are at an early stage, with key casting incomplete, many decisions still to be agreed, and no dates fixed at all, so there’s very little to say at this point.’