{"id":109314,"date":"2025-09-02T14:34:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/109314\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T14:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T14:34:12","slug":"john-cleese-launches-blistering-attack-on-clueless-bbc-bosses-who-have-no-idea-what-theyre-doing-as-he-blames-woke-censorship-for-killing-british-comedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/109314\/","title":{"rendered":"John Cleese launches blistering attack on ‘clueless’ BBC bosses who have ‘no idea what they’re doing’ as he blames woke censorship for killing British comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.co.uk\u00a0<\/p>\n

By AYAAT YASSIN-KASSAB<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 05:24 EDT, 2 September 2025 | Updated: 07:46 EDT, 2 September 2025 <\/p>\n

John Cleese<\/a> has launched a withering attack on ‘clueless’ BBC<\/a> bosses he claims ‘have no idea what they’re doing’ – and has blamed woke<\/a> censorship for the death of British comedy.<\/p>\n

The 85-year-old comedy icon co-wrote the hit sitcom Fawlty Towers with his then-wife Connie Booth, also his co-star.<\/p>\n

Just two series aired in the 70s, but they have nonetheless gone down in British comedy history as an example of genius writing and comic timing.<\/p>\n

But Cleese, who starred as the hapless and perpetually irritated hotel owner Basil Fawlty, has insisted fans will never again see work from him on the BBC.<\/p>\n

Speaking on stage at the Slapstick comedy festival in Bristol, Cleese said of the broadcaster: ‘If you put a script in now it has to go through a f***ing committee who have no idea what they are doing.<\/p>\n

‘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.<\/p>\n

\"John <\/p>\n

John Cleese (pictured) has launched a withering attack on ‘clueless’ BBC bosses he claims ‘have no idea what they’re doing’ – and has blamed censorship for the death of British comedy<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The 85-year-old comedy icon co-wrote the hit sitcom Fawlty Towers with his then-wife Connie Booth, also his co-star (Pictured: The creative duo in the 70s)<\/p>\n

‘The whole process has been replaced by a bureaucratic process which does not begin to work.’<\/p>\n

The Monty Python star lamented the decline of British comedy, saying: ‘We used to be really good at it and now we are not and that is very sad.<\/p>\n

‘There weren’t committees when we started. Comedy now has to be clean. You must not play for laughs. I am going to write a book about writing comedy to make people aware how difficult it is.’<\/p>\n

And in a brutal takedown of BBC executives, Cleese continued: ‘The people organising comedy have never been very good but at the moment, particularly at the BBC, they are clueless.<\/p>\n

‘I don’t think it is a lack of talent – except among the executive classes. Those classes have no idea what they are doing.’<\/p>\n

For avid fans of Fawlty Towers, Cleese is now working on a sequel to the hugely popular 2016 stage adaptation of the sitcom.<\/p>\n

Bristol-born Cleese is in the process of assembling scripts for the new show, inspired by three episodes from the TV original.<\/p>\n

Among them is The Psychiatrist – where Basil accidentally gropes a guest’s breast as he reaches for a light switch – and The Kipper And The Corpse, where the desperate hotel staff try to hide the body of a dead guest.<\/p>\n

\"Just <\/p>\n

Just two series aired in the 70s, but they have nonetheless gone down in British comedy history as an example of genius writing and comic timing<\/p>\n

\"But <\/p>\n

But Cleese, who starred as the hapless and perpetually irritated hotel owner Basil Fawlty, has insisted fans will never again see work from him on the BBC<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Monty Python star lamented the decline of British comedy, saying: ‘We used to be really good at it and now we are not and that is very sad’<\/p>\n

Fawlty Towers was revived by Cleese with a stage show in London’s West End last year, which has received glowing reviews.<\/p>\n

Its story is pulled from three popular episodes, including The Germans, in which hotel boss Basil notoriously ends up imitating Adolf Hitler in front of horrified German guests in a major faux pas.<\/p>\n

Basil The Rat, which sees waiter Manuel’s pet rodent escape in the hotel, will also be included in the upcoming show.<\/p>\n

Cleese said of the new production: ‘In the West End, we took favourites such as Mrs Richards, The Germans and The Food Inspectors and put those together to make the show.<\/p>\n

‘But it has been so successful that I said “Let’s put together three other shows.”<\/p>\n

‘There is no reason we cannot do it again but we wouldn’t want to have it on at the same time so maybe in a year and a half’s time?’<\/p>\n

Cleese has previously been outspoken about the conflicts between free speech and political correctness when it comes to comedy.<\/p>\n

He previously noted: ‘What annoys me is how some people think they have invented kindness. Much of my comedy is about teasing people with affection.’<\/p>\n

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