Sir Michael Palin ‘hurt’ by Morecambe and Wise saying they were ‘bored stiff’ by Monty Python

Sir Michael Palin has said he’s ‘a little hurt’ after Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise said they were ‘bored stiff’ by Monty Python in an unearthed interview.

The comic and actor rose to fame as part of the iconic group, but it seems their predecessors weren’t so impressed.

Wise said in the interview, which was conducted for the University of East Anglia (UEA) TV station Nexus in 1973: ‘I like Monty Python but, as I said, what I find watching is there’s times when there’s five or six minutes of utter boredom and then there’s three minutes of very funny and another eight minutes of boredom.’

Morecambe added: ‘What they give you is, for want of a better expression, university comedy…I’m afraid a lot of it is very unprofessional and that irritates me, being a professional.’

According to the BBC, Palin has been shown the footage and said he was ‘a little hurt’ but ‘intrigued’ by it.

He added: ‘It was a very interesting little interview. Though the quality wasn’t great, you got exactly their feelings.

Sir Michael Palin said he was ‘a little hurt’ (Picture: WireImage)

‘I wasn’t too surprised – I felt the way they talked about us, and the way they talked generally, was rather nice.’

Morecambe and Wise were one of Britain’s best-known and loved double acts, with their partnership lasting from 1941 until Morecambe’s death in 1984.

They were best known for their popular TV shows on the BBC.

Meanwhile, the Monty Python comedy troupe, made up of Palin, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, and Terry Jones, rose to fame in 1969.

Morecambe and Wise said they found parts of Monty Python ‘boring’ (Picture: Redferns)

Last year, Cleese said Monty Python would not be commissioned for TV if it was made today.

Asked on The One Show whether the work of Monty Python would be commissioned today, Cleese replied: ‘No, I don’t think it would.

‘The problem with television and television executives has always been that they think they know what they are doing.’

The star – who has spoken out against ‘woke’ culture – added: ‘They don’t know what they are doing and they won’t trust people, so they try to control the shows despite the fact they can’t actually write or act themselves.

‘The key thing is to choose people you think are really good – get Eddie Izzard or Steve Coogan – and say to them: “What would you like to do?”

More: Monty Python

‘Not come up with some executive idea that you think might actually be what the marketing people say people want.

‘It’s got to come out of a real sense of confidence and saying to good performers and good writers: “What would you like to do? What would make you feel good?”

‘Then you will get something. Otherwise it will be like everything else.’

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