
Bristol-educated comic legend John Cleese has angered the residents of Weston-super-Mare after branding his home town "a tedious little place."
Cleese also incensed hurt feelings by mocking the horrors of a 1940 German bombing attack which claimed a total of 34 lives in the North Somerset resort.
After being born in Weston, John moved to Bristol to study at the prestigious Clifton College before moving-on to find fame with the Footlights theatre group at Cambridge where he met fellow Pythons.
Monty Python star Cleese is on a UK Alimony Tour aimed at making light of his #12m divorce settlement from third wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger.
And the show sees Cleese deliver a biographical lecture that starts with references to his childhood in the Somerset resort that helped inspire the Fawlty Towers sitcom.
But his decision to pour scorn of his birthplace and to make light of the loss of life in World War II has triggered demands for an apology and a change of heart.
During his tour performance Cleese states: "I grew up in Weston-super-Mare, a tedious little place.
"It's supposed to be a seaside resort - more like a seaside last resort if you ask me.
"Weston seemed to be a place that people, and the French, went to wait for the rain to stop.
"I despised Weston so much in fact that I once wrote a little poem about it...'I do not care for Weston-super-Mare and so I'm glad that I'm not there.'
"Everyone was too embarrassed to talk about sex let alone have it. Every child was a virgin birth which is why I could never understand all the fuss about Mary and Jesus.
"The Germans bombed Weston-super-Mare in 1940, an event which has baffled historians ever since as they have toiled with the question... Why?
"The Germans are supposed to be an economical and logical people, so why did they do it?
"There was nothing in Weston that would have been worth more than the bomb."
But councillor Keith Morris from Weston-super-Mare town council said the comic's views are offensive and out-of-date.
Cllr Morris said: "I am not impressed with Mr. Cleese's remarks.
"Weston-super-Mare is working very hard to make bring itself into the 21st century.
"It's not helpful for Mr. Cleese to come-out with these statement which are, quite frankly, out-of-date.
"I think it's about time he came back to Weston to see the massive improvements we've made over the last four years.
"He could start by coming into Western-Super-Mare Town Council and apologising to the people who work here to make it better."
Cleese's Alimony Tour continues with shows at the Bristol Hippodrome Grand Theatre and Opera House in Leeds.
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