John Cleese says he’s been spending £17,000 annually on stem cell therapy to ‘buy a few extra years’

John Cleese has revealed he has been spending £17,000 every 12 months for the past 20 years on stem cell therapy in an attempt to combat the effects of ageing.

The Monty Python star and co-creator, who also opened up about being “surprisingly poor” despite his five-decade career, said he doesn’t “look bad” for his age after getting stem cells from Switzerland.

Stem cells can act as a repair system for the body and are sometimes used in regenerative therapies for long-term conditions like Crohn’s disease. The potential benefits of stem cells as an anti-ageing remedy include cell rejuvenation, reduced risk of age-related diseases and improved organ function.

In an interview with Saga Magazine, the comedian said: “These cells travel around the body and when they discover a place that needs repair, they’ll then change into the cells that you want for repair, so they might become cartilage cells or liver cells.

“So I think that’s why I don’t look bad for 84.”

He admitted he spends approximately £17,000 every 12 to 18 months.

“But if you’re buying yourself a few extra years, I think it’s worth it,” he said.

Cleese also said his wife, jewellery designer Jennifer Wade, 52, “keeps me young”.

Addressing their 32-year age gap, he said: “A lot of people comment and then the moment they actually see us together for two minutes they say ‘oh, I get it’ and it never arises again.

“What I love is that she’s 30 years younger than I am, but she keeps me young.

“I mean, it is sad to think I shall die some time before she will, but I’m in pretty good health.

“I’m not fit, but the way I put it is the doctors don’t yet know what I’m going to die of.”

In the same interview, Cleese said he is “surprisingly poor” after his five-decade career.

He joked that his $20m divorce from his ex-wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger resulted in him having to work in his eighties.

Cleese was married to Eichelberger, an American psychotherapist, for 16 years before their split in 2008. Eichelberger received a $20m (£16m) divorce settlement, after which Cleese travelled the world with “The Alimony Tour” to raise the money.

When the interviewer notes Cleese’s continued busy work schedule despite his elevated age, he refers to Eichelberger in his response: “Well, you’re quite right, but there’s only one person responsible for that.”

He continues: “Can you believe when I met her, I had a beautiful house in Holland Park and no mortgage and when I broke up with her, I had a flat in Sloane Square and a full mortgage? How they figured out she was worth $20m, I have no idea.”

The interview also mentions that Cleese does not own a car or property, having handed over the short lease of his flat to his current wife, Wade.

Although he states that this decision made “a huge difference” to Wade, Cleese said: “But I’m surprisingly poor”.

“I never thought it was necessary to own a great deal. The most important thing is to have enough money to have some really good food, buy clothes twice a year and have nice holidays.”

The May 2024 edition of Saga Magazine will be released next week.