John Cleese blasts BBC bosses over lack of good comedy shows

Funnyman John Cleese has taken aim at BBC bosses, insisting modern TV executives have no clue how to make comedies.

The veteran performer shared his memories of working at the company's famed London headquarters, which is set to close at the end of month, for a special programme called Goodbye Television Centre, and he took the opportunity to comment on the current state of the BBC.

Cleese accused the broadcaster's current batch of executives of meddling in the creation of TV comedies despite having no real experience of writing or directing.

He said, "The people who became executives (in the 1960s and 1970s) had produced or directed a great deal of comedy.

"Now there seems to be an executive class and they have never written and never directed. They seem by some mystical process to understand comedy much better. And now they want to know what is going to be in every programme so that they can say, 'That won't work'. On the basis of what?"

Cleese's most famous works, the Monty Python shows and popular sitcom Fawlty Towers, were made by the BBC.

Goodbye Television Centre will air on Friday and features Sir David Jason, Ronnie Corbett and Miranda Hart.