Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 17, 2011 18:05:24 GMT
Too bad for the BBC that so many people actually have memories and can judge how much more crap there is today.
John Cleese hits out at British television
John Cleese has issued a damning indictment of modern British television, which he said was once the best in the world but is now so bad he cannot bear to watch it.
The comic actor said that he would rather read a book and had no desire to participate in shows that hold no appeal.
He disclosed that despite financial woes following his recent divorce settlement, he had turned a £200,000 offer to appear on a reality show as it would “mean the collapse of western civilisation”.
The 71-year-old star of Fawlty Towers and Monty Python's Flying Circus, said: “When I was growing up, we had the best television in the world.
“Now it's as bad as it is everywhere else, and I don't particularly want to participate in that.
"I don't really watch TV these days, except live sport. There's nothing much that appeals to me and I would rather read a book."
Cleese, who is currently appearing in AA advertisements, explained that he had a “filter” and would only do embarrassing things on television if he was well paid and people were unlikely to find out about it.
He said: “I was asked to do a reality show a few months ago. I forget which one it was, it might have been the jungle one or perhaps Celebrity Root Canal.
"I just laughed, then asked how much they were offering out of curiosity.
"It was £200,000, but I would never agree to one of those shows. That would mean the collapse of western civilisation.
"There is always a filter when it comes to accepting work. I call it the EQ – the embarrassment quota. I will only do embarrassing things if there is a lot of money involved and people won't really know about it.”
He admitted that he was he was happy to appear in AA commercials because it is “an extraordinarily impressive organisation and has been for decades” but he added: “Some people ask me to do ads and I think, I don't really want to sell potato crisps."
He last year attacked the BBC and ITV for going downmarket, blaming "hard-headed businessmen" for declining standards in the industry.
Cleese will this year bring his Alimony Tour to the UK, a series of stage appearances which he hopes will help to fund his £12.5 million divorce settlement from Alyce Faye Eichelberger, his third wife.
He has sold off properties including a beach house, an office and 15 acre ranch in Montecito, California, a New York flat and a mews house in Holland Park, London.
Cleese now lives with his girlfriend Jennifer Wade, a jeweller 32 years his junior, but remains bitter about the huge payout to his former spouse.
He told the Sunday Mercury newspaper: "The divorce settlement absolutely affects every decision I make professionally.
"I have to earn $1 million a year before I even get to keep a penny and I have to build my professional choices around that fact.
"It annoys me that in my seventies I am having to live in a way I don't choose to live.
"Imagine how much I'd have had to pay Alyce if she had contributed anything to the relationship – such as children or a conversation."
John Cleese hits out at British television
John Cleese has issued a damning indictment of modern British television, which he said was once the best in the world but is now so bad he cannot bear to watch it.
The comic actor said that he would rather read a book and had no desire to participate in shows that hold no appeal.
He disclosed that despite financial woes following his recent divorce settlement, he had turned a £200,000 offer to appear on a reality show as it would “mean the collapse of western civilisation”.
The 71-year-old star of Fawlty Towers and Monty Python's Flying Circus, said: “When I was growing up, we had the best television in the world.
“Now it's as bad as it is everywhere else, and I don't particularly want to participate in that.
"I don't really watch TV these days, except live sport. There's nothing much that appeals to me and I would rather read a book."
Cleese, who is currently appearing in AA advertisements, explained that he had a “filter” and would only do embarrassing things on television if he was well paid and people were unlikely to find out about it.
He said: “I was asked to do a reality show a few months ago. I forget which one it was, it might have been the jungle one or perhaps Celebrity Root Canal.
"I just laughed, then asked how much they were offering out of curiosity.
"It was £200,000, but I would never agree to one of those shows. That would mean the collapse of western civilisation.
"There is always a filter when it comes to accepting work. I call it the EQ – the embarrassment quota. I will only do embarrassing things if there is a lot of money involved and people won't really know about it.”
He admitted that he was he was happy to appear in AA commercials because it is “an extraordinarily impressive organisation and has been for decades” but he added: “Some people ask me to do ads and I think, I don't really want to sell potato crisps."
He last year attacked the BBC and ITV for going downmarket, blaming "hard-headed businessmen" for declining standards in the industry.
Cleese will this year bring his Alimony Tour to the UK, a series of stage appearances which he hopes will help to fund his £12.5 million divorce settlement from Alyce Faye Eichelberger, his third wife.
He has sold off properties including a beach house, an office and 15 acre ranch in Montecito, California, a New York flat and a mews house in Holland Park, London.
Cleese now lives with his girlfriend Jennifer Wade, a jeweller 32 years his junior, but remains bitter about the huge payout to his former spouse.
He told the Sunday Mercury newspaper: "The divorce settlement absolutely affects every decision I make professionally.
"I have to earn $1 million a year before I even get to keep a penny and I have to build my professional choices around that fact.
"It annoys me that in my seventies I am having to live in a way I don't choose to live.
"Imagine how much I'd have had to pay Alyce if she had contributed anything to the relationship – such as children or a conversation."