Eric Idles was among the comedic geniuses behind the revolutionary sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus
The 82-year-old star has previously fought pancreatic cancer(Image: Kevin Winter, Getty Images)
Actor and comedian Eric Idle has expressed gratitude for ‘every single day’ after overcoming pancreatic cancer. The Monty Python star, 82, received an early diagnosis in 2019 and was successfully treated for the illness.
Now, in a heartfelt ‘Letter To My Younger Self’ for the Big Issue, he’s once again reflected on the ordeal. “I miss a lot of people. Great people like Mike Nichols [director of The Graduate],” he wrote.
“I will find myself thinking of a funny line and thinking, you must tell Mike that. Or Jonathan Miller [a British public thinker and former comedian]. So many of my heroes have gone, like Robin Williams. I still kind of occasionally speak to Billy Connolly, but I really miss him.
The Monty Python star, 82, announced in 2022 that he received an early cancer diagnosis (Image: David Livingston, Getty Images)
“You’ve got to find other people, you know, because there are still other funny people you can have dinner with or play guitar with. I got lucky, because I had to, I survived pancreatic cancer. So I feel that since 2019 I’ve had a reprieve. So I don’t know or care what people say about me, I’m lucky every single day.”
Eric also looked back on some of the challenges in financing Monty Python’s Life Of Brian, a film whose creators received assistance from Beatles icon George Harrison.
He said: “For a while we had no money. (Media impresario) Lew Grade read it and just went nuts. He said, ‘We can’t possibly make this’. I went to America to find money.
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“I had been talking to George Harrison, who was a huge fan, and he said, ‘I’ll phone you in the morning, don’t worry’. And I thought, well, nobody’s got four and a half million dollars.
“But finally, when everybody turned us down, there was a call from him saying, ‘I’ve got you the money’. He had mortgaged his house and his business and raised the cash and put it all on a Python film. The most extraordinary thing to do.”
Eric Idles was among the comedic geniuses behind the revolutionary sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus(Image: Getty Images)
Eric, alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Sir Michael Palin, were the comedic geniuses behind the revolutionary sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
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The series was a massive success, with 45 episodes produced from 1969 to 1974. It also gave rise to five films, including the 1975 classic ‘The Holy Grail’, which later inspired the hit musical ‘Spamalot’, penned by Eric himself.
For more insights, catch the full interview with Eric Idle in the Big Issue, available now.
The Only Way Is Essex star Leah Wright has rushed her son to hospital and shared a concerning photo of him surrounded by wires and machines. She posted a worrying snap of her eight-year-old Christopher as he lay with his eyes shut.
Leah revealed her son is type one diabetic as she updated fans on the heath situation. Christopher lay on the hospital bed in loose fitting clothes and rested one hand on his stomach.
He had a bottle of water close by as well as a cardboard sick bowl. The little boy had his arm wrapped in a bandage and machines hooked up. Following the scary rush to get help, Leah revealed Christopher was doing much better.
Leah shared the concerning photo of her son Christopher ( missleahwright_/Instagram)
She told her followers: “Happy Sunday all ok now though.” However, it proved a very tough time for them both as she added an exasperated open-mouthed emoji.
Leah, 45, has been open about Christopher’s diabetes diagnosis, which he received five years ago. Earlier this year, she heaped on the praise for her son as for how he has been dealing with the condition.
She wrote: “5 years today you my precious boy was diagnosed with #typeonediabetes I’m so so proud of how far you’ve come. It hasn’t been easy as anyone with this illness knows. You have cried, I have cried for you. But you have given me the strength to take care of you.
“I salute all the mums and dads taking care of children with type one diabetes. Being a single mum with no help has been a challenge. But you’re worth the world to me and I’ll do my best to keep you safe. Here’s to all the diabetics out there stay strong.”
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Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said he was “just trying to separate the players” after being caught up in a scuffle on the pitch at the end of his team’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
Television footage showed the PSG boss raising his arm to the neck of Joao Pedro, who had earlier scored Chelsea’s third goal following a Cole Palmer brace at the MetLife Stadium.
“There was pushing and shoving, a lot of tension and pressure. The situation obviously should have been avoided,” Luis Enrique told reporters.
“My intention was clearly to just try to separate the players.”
READ ALSO: Rampant Chelsea Thrash PSG To Clinch Club World Cup Title
Paris Saint-Germain’s Spanish coach Luis Enrique gestures at the end of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final football match between England’s Chelsea and France’s Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (Photo by JUAN MABROMATA / AFP)
He admitted that Chelsea were deserved winners as he urged his team to enjoy a short summer break at the end of a remarkable campaign.
Defeat for PSG denied them what would have been a stunning clean sweep of trophies as they failed to add the Club World Cup to the UEFA Champions League and French league and cup double they claimed in May.
“I think over the course of the game they deserved their win. They played very well,” Luis Enrique said.
“I said beforehand that Chelsea were a very good team and they deserve their victory and the trophy.”
Chelsea’s English defender #24 Reece James lifts the trophy with teammates next to US President Donald Trump during the award ceremony for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Champions, following the final football match between England’s Chelsea and France’s Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 13, 2025. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
A historic season for PSG ends after 11 months and 65 matches, and they now have exactly one month before returning to action in August — there will be another trophy on the line in their next game, against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup.
“I think is important for us to enjoy our holidays. They will be very short. But we need to make the most of them,” he said.
PSG’s victory in this year’s Champions League also means they will have another crack at winning the Club World Cup when they participate in the next edition, which is due to take place in 2029.
“I think this tournament was born out of the need to know who the best team in the world is. I think it is an interesting format and I think it could become a real top-level competition,” said the Spaniard.
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BBC Sport journalist
Chelsea’s Club World Cup celebrations were shared with an unexpected guest – US President Donald Trump.
Following the Blues’ 3-0 win over Paris St-Germain in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump presented the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James before being invited to move aside by Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
England international James said: “They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage, and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.
“He just congratulated me and the team for lifting the trophy and told us to enjoy the moment.”
Cole Palmer, who scored twice for Chelsea in the final, added: “I knew he was going to be here but I didn’t know he was going to be on the stand when we lifted the trophy.
The conclusion of the revamped, expanded Club World Cup – which included extensive pre-match entertainment and a half-time show – was attended by 81,118 people at MetLife Stadium.
Trump watched Chelsea’s impressive victory in the final alongside Infantino and said in an interview with Dazn at half-time that he was “having a really great time”.
In a longer interview broadcast later on Sunday, he added: “Gianni is a friend of mine, he’s done such a great job with the league and with soccer – or as they would call it ‘football’, but I guess we call it soccer. I’m not sure that change could be made very easily.
“But it’s great to watch – and this is a little bit of an upset that we’re watching today, isn’t it?”
When it was suggested he could make an executive order so that the sport was referred to as “football” from now on, Trump smiled and said: “I think we could do that. I think I could do that.”
At least seven people have been injured in an explosion at a residential building on the outskirts of the Iranian city of Qom, according to several Iranian news outlets.
At least five emergency vehicles were dispatched after Monday’s blast to the Nasim Pardisan residential complex to attend to the injured, Iran’s Student News Network (SNN) reported, quoting Dr Mohammad Javad Bagheri, head of Qom’s Emergency Services.
The state-affiliated Fars News Agency said the explosion happened at one of the buildings in the complex and damaged four residential units.
The explosion shattered windows of neighbouring buildings, and firefighting and police forces were deployed to the site, according to Fars.
Images and videos posted on social media showed several damaged vehicles next to the building.
انفجار در یکی از مجتمعهای مسکونی پردیسان قم ۷ مصدوم برجا گذاشت. به گفته اورژانس و آتشنشانی، حادثه صبح دوشنبه رخ داده و علت احتمالی آن نشت گاز بوده است. 🔗https://t.co/pg6uSrkMbW pic.twitter.com/Z8XP3ZbosU
Translation: An explosion in one of the residential complexes in Qom’s Pardisan left seven people injured.
According to the emergency services and fire department, the incident occurred on Monday morning and the probable cause was a gas leak.
Preliminary investigations indicated a gas leak may have caused the incident, but a detailed probe is being carried out to ascertain the source of the blast, Fars reported.
In recent days, some accounts on social media have linked such incidents across the country to last month’s Israeli war against Iran.
Fars quoted an unnamed official as saying people “should not worry about this narrative-building”, adding that if any hostile acts were to occur, “news of it would immediately be announced to the public.”
Similar explosions have been recorded across Iran since the June 24 ceasefire, which led to speculation that Israeli drone strikes launched from inside Iran might be responsible for the incidents. But authorities have rejected such speculation.
The latest incident came four days after an explosion occurred at a residential building in western Tehran’s Chitgar suburb, which was extensively bombed during the 12-day war. Many high-rise buildings in that district were built by Iran’s armed forces.
Authorities said the Chitgar explosion, which injured at least seven people, was also caused by a gas leak.
The next day, Iranian media reported the death of Ali Taeb, a senior Muslim scholar and veteran of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. No cause of death was provided, and officials have not commented.
Taeb was a former representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Sarallah Headquarters, the heart of the domestic security structure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a frequent target of Israeli attacks during the 12-day war.
He was also brother to Hossein Taeb and Mehdi Taeb, two senior figures within Iran’s theocratic establishment and the IRGC.
A sensational peace summit between King Charles and Prince Harry’s teams marks the first official step towards reconcilliation, and now Prince William’s ‘hidden role’ in the landmark meeting has been revealed
Royal experts say that William would have been involved behind the scenes(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Prince Harry left royal watchers reeling earlier this year when he told the world that his father the King “won’t speak to him” whilst pleading for reconciliation in the boldest of terms.
And just two months on from the bombshell interview – which finally confirmed suspicions that he is all-but estranged from the royal fold – a slither of hope has emerged in the bitter years-long row, with the first official step towards reconcilement being made between the Palace and Sussex camps.
King Charles and Harry’s senior aides have held a secret peace summit in London, said to be the first notable step in in a ‘rapprochement process’ where broken bonds can finally heal.
Talks between the King and Harry’s aides were held at a London private members’ club that champions international friendship, it is claimed(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Mail on Sunday revealed that Meredith Maines, the Duke of Sussexes’ chief communications officer, sensationally flew in from LA to meet Tobyn Andreae, the King’s communications secretary, at the members-only Royal Over-Seas League club just a stone’s throw away from Clarence House, the King’s London residence. The top dog in Prince Harry’s UK PR team, Liam Maguire, was also present.
A source told the publication: “There’s a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in year. There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.”
While Prince William’s team were reportedly not invited to the shock summit, experts have revealed the hidden role he will have likely played behind the scenes as the future of the monarchy.
Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly haven’t spoken in years(Image: Getty Images)
They claim that while William is far less inclined to reconcile with his estranged brother, whom he’s reportedly not spoken to in years, the meeting would have never happened without his ‘support and understanding’.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Mail Online: “The King would never have made these moves without William’s support and understanding. William and Catherine are the future of the monarchy.
“He has undoubtedly been furious at the way the Sussexes have behaved and undoubtedly regards Harry’s behaviour as treason of a sort. They reportedly have not spoken in over two years.’
And royal author Phil Dampier said: “The King is more anxious to patch things up than William, who I believe will never be close to his brother again.”
Harry is due to head back to the UK in September for the annual WellChild events, an opportunity which could see him reunite with his dad for the first time in 18 months. But William doesn’t appear to have any plans to see his brother, despite the peace talks.
It is understood that the historic meeting did not cover Harry returning to a formal royal role, but both teams discussed avoiding any media clashes and conflicts in the calendar.
It comes as the self-exiled Duke failed to meet his father during a trip to the UK in May last year due to a timetable clash between Charles’ royal garden party and an Invictus Games event.
Tensions brewed after Harry’s team released a statement at the time stating that the monarch too busy to meet up with his son – a narrative that was swiftly contested by sources close to the Palace.
The meeting is seen as the first step towards reconciliation between Harry and Charles(Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
It was then revealed that Charles had invited Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace during his time at home, but he declined.
A source said at the time: “I don’t know what more the King could have done. He offered Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace, but that it seems wasn’t good enough.”
The last time the Duke saw Charles was in February of last year, shortly after the King revealed his cancer diagnosis.
After Harry’s explosive BBC interview in May where he pleaded for reconciliation with his family – and claimed that some members will never forgive him – sources told the Mirror that William had no intention of speaking to his brother.
“At its very heart, for the family there is a major trust issue when even thinking about speaking to him,” a source said. “There is certainly no incentive to do so when he is so free to openly criticise and only ever present one view, being his.”
Harry and William both attended a memorial service for their mother’s brother-in-law Lord Robert Fellowes in August last year, but they did not speak to each other.
King Charles and Prince Harry have been involved in a bitter feud for years(Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Royal experts noted just how wounded Harry seemed in the sit-down chat with the Beeb, fresh off the back of losing his latest legal challenge over the level of security he and his family are entitled to while in the UK.
The security battle was said to be a thorn in Charles’ side, as Harry lay blame firmly at the Palace’s door, claiming they held influence over the decision to strip back his taxpayer funded security when he moved to California.
Describing the court blow as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up,” Harry spoke out for the first time about his father’s role in the security issue.
The Duke said: “I never asked him to intervene – I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.” He also claimed that the reason Charles “won’t speak to him” is all down to the “security stuff”.
In a move that shocked royal experts, Harry said that he did not want to fight any more, admitting he did “not know how much longer my father has”.
In April, King Charles was hospitalised due to the side effects of his ongoing cancer treatment, and it was claimed that Harry was not informed personally.
