Monty Python star Michael Palin has hit back at co-star John Cleese after he called him “slightly boring”.
Palin, 81, didn’t take too long to respond to the brutal remark as he reflected on his contribution to Monty Python. He went on to claim 84-year-old Cleese “couldn’t have done it without him” while talking about their hugely successful comedy troupe.
Cleese had labelled his former co-star “boring” while talking on Zoe Ball’s BBC 2 Breakfast Show earlier this month.
Ball, 53, had asked the actor how Palin is, to which he responded: “Michael is just the same, sweet, kind, slightly boring man.”
Palin, 81, went on to claim 84-year-old Cleese “couldn’t have done it without him” while talking about their hugely successful comedy troupe Monty Python.
Palin shot back on Thursday when he claimed: “John is scintillating, we all know that. It’s in his passport.”
Speaking on This Morning, he added: “I really enjoy playing boring characters, and I’ve done a few, including the most boring man in Yorkshire, Eric Olthwaite [from Ripping Yarns].
John Cleese and Michael Palin in their Monty Python days
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“But you know, you just talk about rainfall all the time, and shovels. And putting a shovel next to the other one. It really irritates people who think they’re interesting.
“You go back to Python, and I always played the boring character, but John couldn’t have done without me.
“You had to have someone selling the parrot, or someone in the argument sketch to play off.
“So I think I’m going to continue to bask in John’s compliment that I’m boring. The more boring I can be the better.”
Palin has hit back at Monty Python co-star Cleese
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The comedy group was formed of Cleese, Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Terry Gilliam.
They rose to fame in the 1970s before turning their focus to the big screen with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.
The comments come after another apparent rift between Cleese and Idle earlier this year.
Cleese seemed to hit back at Idle after he criticised their much-loved comedy show and its creators, explaining he has to “work for a living” at his age.
The actor and comedian shared: “I don’t know why people always assume we’re loaded. Python is a disaster. Spamalot made money 20 years ago. I have to work for my living. Not easy at this age,” he went on before blasting manager Holly Gilliam.
In retaliation, Cleese, 84, penned on his X account: “I have worked with Holly for the last ten years. I find her very efficient, clear-minded, hard-working, and plea ant to have dealings with.
Cleese described Palin as ‘boring’ in a recent interview
GB News
“Michael Palin has asked me to make it clear that he shares this opinion. Terry Gilliam is also in agreement with this.”
Idle also posted that he hadn’t seen Cleese in “seven years” and was “happy” about it, seemingly confirming a rift between the former co-stars.
As surprised fans questioned Cleese further about his relationship with Idle, he replied to one writing: “We have always loathed and despised each other, but it’s only recently that the truth has begun to emerge.”
However, he has since argued his remarks weren’t serious, labelling publications that reported on the “feud” as having “got it totally wrong”.