It's the reunion which John Cleese once dismissed as absolutely impossible. But hatchets had been buried and grudges set aside as the surviving members of the ground-breaking comedy troupe confirmed that the Monty Python circus would fly again.
Following months of secret talks, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin will announce their plans at a London press conference. The reunion, expected to involve a stage show and a television special, is the first time the remaining members have worked together on a full-length project since The Meaning Of Life film in 1983.
The death of Graham Chapman in 1989 was previously thought to have ended any hopes that their hugely influential brand of absurdist humour, which revolutionised comedy following the 1969 television debut of Monty Python's Flying Circus, could be recreated.
Previous attempts to engineer a reunion tour, usually driven by Idle, 70, creator of the 100 million-grossing Spamalot musical, have fallen foul of squabbles over business issues. Cleese, 74, said even sitting the Pythons down in one room was a geographical impossibility. But the parrot was not dead, just resting for 30 years, it transpires.
Jones, 71, told the BBC: "We're getting together and putting on a show, it's real. I'm quite excited about it. I hope it makes us a lot of money. I hope to be able to pay off my mortgage!" Idle tweeted: "Python meeting this morning. Can't wait."
