Entertainment John Cleese one show

This super weird John Cleese moment on The One Show was like Mel Brooks back in the day, but without the fun

Poke Reporter. Updated August 19th, 2026

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Rupert Lowe superfan John Cleese has got a new tour coming up in which he talks about the fabulous Monty Python and the Holy Grail so it was only natural that he would go on BBC1’s The One Show to talk about.

What was less natural, you might think, was this super weird opening (ish) exchange in which Cleese took time out to ask the names of the people he was talking to.

If that sounds weird written down, it’s nothing to how it played out on screen, as shared by @jonoread over on Twitter.

Like that brilliant Mel Brooks moment back in the day, but without any of the humour (surely you’d do your interviewers the courtesy of finding out their names before the cameras rolled?)

Maybe the clues were there in the pre-show publicity shot that went out on Twitter.

Anyway, Twitter was divided (is it ever anything else)

You mess with the absolute queen who is Lauren Laverne at your peril, and that is our last word on the matter.

Now that would have been good.

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Source @jonoread