John Cleese says the BBC doesn’t know how to ‘nurture comedy’

Fawlty Towers actor John Cleese has said he thinks the BBC doesn’t know how to “nurture comedy”, and that “there’s not much great comedy these days”, while reflecting on his time working with the broadcaster.

Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, the 86-year-old said he thinks “very few people understand comedy”, and reminisced about the “wonderful” collection of talent that used to be at the BBC.

He went on to say the BBC is a bureaucracy, and said: “Bureaucrats aren’t very good at humour”.

Cleese said: “In the case of the BBC, there isn’t the executive understanding of how to nurture comedy, which is why there’s not much great comedy these days.”

“I think it’s because John Birt turned the BBC into a bureaucracy.

“And bureaucrats aren’t very good at humour – because they try to decide things in committee.”

Speaking to presenter Nick Ferrari, the comic actor said: “They use a lot of committees to make decisions – which is rubbish.

“You can’t write comedy in a committee.”

“It was wonderful when there was a collection of talent at the BBC,” he added.

He went on to remember working on BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers with actor Bernard Cribbins, saying: “I’d never seen such a wonderful performer.”

He also reminisced about working on the show with actors Ken Campbell and Geoffrey Palmer, and said: “There’s so many good comedy actors in England, we should be celebrating them.”

Speaking about the Fawlty Towers theatre production, Cleese said: “It’s a really wonderful production.

“It’s not dating at all.”