Miriam Margolyes has hit out at John Cleese in true Miriam style (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Miriam Margolyes has shared how she feels about John Cleese and, in true Miriam style, she didn’t hold back
The Harry Potter actress, 82, branded the Fawlty Towers star, 83, ‘poisonous’ in a new interview.
While she claimed he was once a ‘brilliant’ comic, Miriam – famous for her outspoken nature and wild celebrity anecdotes – reckons John has now gone ‘sour’.
Oh dear.
Speaking to The Guardian ahead of the release of her new book, Oh Miriam!: Stories from an Extraordinary Life, Miriam reflected on her interactions with John back in the day.
The witty star recalled being treated with contempt by John and his Monty Python co-star Graham Chapman while at university.
The actress branded the Fawlty Towers star ‘poisonous’ (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
She performed as part of a student sketch group called Cambridge Footlights in the early 1960s, but was ‘ignored’ as she was the only woman.
‘I think they thought I was too full of myself because, in those days, women were literally not allowed to join the club,’ she began.
‘Graham Chapman and John Cleese were poisonous.’
‘John was a brilliant comedian in his day, but something has turned,’ Miriam added.
‘Like milk, he’s gone sour. He’s an irrelevance.’
Miriam did heap praise on two Pythons, however.
John reckons he is still very much ‘relevant’, despite Miriam calling him ‘irrelevant’ (Picture: Tom Walko/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)
‘Michael Palin is completely different,’ she declared. ‘He’s a darling, a special man.
‘And Eric Idle is lovely – a friend of mine. He’s incredibly intelligent and very funny.’
‘Cleese is a puny tadpole of a person,’ she stated – ouch!
John himself has never really been one to hold his tongue.
The actor was recently confirmed as the latest addition to GB News, due to host on the controversial channel in September and give ‘a no-holds-barred account’ of the news.
It is being billed as: ‘Unpredictable, engaging, informative, and fun-filled’. Anybody else a little bit scared as to what this means?
He’s never been one to hold his own tongue (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
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They also added that the star’s ‘signature dry wit and tongue-in-cheek demeanor’ will be used throughout.
And despite Miriam blasting him as ‘irrelevant’, John reckons he is quite the opposite.
Back in May while appearing on Ben Fordham Live, he said: ‘I don’t get cancelled because I do stage shows.
‘People think to themselves, “I like him, so I’ll buy a ticket.”
‘The audience is basically pre-selected to like me, so when I come out they like me and they like the sort of humour I do.’
Miriam is set to release her new book, detailing more of the wild celebrity stories we know and love her for (Picture: PA)
‘I think that people who do the cancelling don’t seem to have much of a sense of humour,’ he added of cancel culture.
‘And I don’t think people without a sense of humour should cancel stuff that people with a sense of humour enjoy.’
Reps for John Cleese have been contacted for comment.
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Miriam reckons he’s ‘irrelevant.’
