John Cleese responds to Miriam Margolyes's claims he was ‘venomous' by saying: ‘We shrank away from her'

It has been over 60 years since Miriam Margolyes and John Cleese were at university together, yet they are still publicly feuding over an incident that happened in their student days. Monty Python star Cleese has responded on social media to Margolyes's claims that he was 'venomous' to her while performing in a comedy show, with the comedian saying he had 'literally never met someone so brash and vulgar'. It comes after clips from Margolyes's interview on The Romesh Ranganathan Show, which was released in May, started circulating online. In the chat, Margolyes revealed that her experience with comedy troupe Footlights at the University of Cambridge was 'not joyous', with the all-male group choosing not to speak to her off-stage while acting in a 1962 revue. Read more Dolly Parton's 'psychic connection' to Ireland: Singer loved to speak of family link and enjoyed visiting 'the old country' 'John Cleese and Graham Chapman were particularly venomous,' said the Harry Potter star (85), who is known for her bawdy, unfiltered comments. 'It wounded me terribly, and I wasn't invited to the cast party, so I complained and I went to the cast party, but I've never really forgiven them.' She said Cleese (86) and Chapman, who died in 1989 aged 48, were 'brilliant young men' who 'lacked that thing which is a human part of the gene', adding about Cleese: 'I'm glad he's old and unfunny.' Sharing the clip on X on Thursday, Cleese gave his take on the fall-out, writing: 'Several of us, rather repressed and socially unskilled lower middle-class boys, had literally never met someone so brash and vulgar, and I'm afraid we shrank away from her. John Cleese said Margolyes was brash and vulgar © WireImage 'No abuse or anything. We just kept out of her way. Recently, Miriam also blamed Bill Oddie for our bad behaviour. Not fair. He wasn't in the show that year, 1962, I think it was. Sixty-four years ago. How time flies.' In 2021, Margolyes called the late presenter Bill Oddie – as well as Cleese and Chapman – a 'total shit' over the same incident, adding: 'I'd assumed comedy was not for me after the nastiness of Footlights.' At the time, Oddie responded to Margolyes on X, explaining that he actually campaigned for women to join the Footlights troupe, which only allowed men at the time. 'Hey, Miriam. It would really sadden me if you had me down as a Footlights misogynist,' he wrote. Read more Bill Oddie: From 'The Goodies' fame in the 1970s to becoming a beloved wildlife presenter 'I was incensed that women couldn't be 'members', but I got no support from the 'all-male' council, whom I accused of not wanting the competition! Such as Germaine Greer, Emma Thompson and YOU! X.' While on Ranganathan's podcast, Margolyes said she still bears 'so much rage and irritation' over her treatment in the show, calling the Footlights men 'all so mean-spirited and jealous of anybody who took their light'.