Monty Python icon John Cleese has revealed that he spends £17,000 each year on stem cell treatment in the hope of living forever.
The British comic legend may be 84 going on 85, but if his bank account costs are any indication, he’s as energetic as a spring chicken.
In a recent interview, the booked and busy actor explained why he doesn’t ‘look awful for 84’. He said that he had undergone stem cell treatment every 12-18 months for the past 20 years.
The real catch, however, is the exorbitant cost of the anti-ageing procedure, which comes in at £17,000. That implies Cleese has spent around £250,000 since starting the therapy.
‘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 that repair, so they might become cartilage cells or liver cells,’ he explained to Saga Magazine about the process.
‘So I think that’s why I don’t look bad for 84.’
Cleese shared he only uses the ‘highest quality stem cells’ sourced from a place in Montreux, Switzerland called La Prairie.
‘If you’re buying yourself a few extra years, I think it’s worth it,’ he added.
He also hailed his 52-year-old wife, jewellery designer Jennifer Wade, for keeping him youthful.
‘I mean, it is sad to think I shall die some time before she will, but I’m in pretty good health,’ Cleese said.
‘I’m not fit, but the way I put it is that the doctors don’t yet know what I’m going to die of.’
The statement is startling given that, earlier in the interview, the Fawlty Towers actor admitted to being’surprisingly destitute’ following his divorce from third wife Alyce Faye in 2008. The costly breakup prompted Cleese to propose a $20 million (£16 million) compensation.
According to Cleese, the divorce prompted him to relocate from a mortgage-free home in Holland Park to a full-mortgage flat on Sloane Square. This prompted The Alimony Tour to refill cash.
‘I don’t know how they found out she was worth $20 million,’ he claimed, condemning the ‘absurd’ sum.
‘I’m shockingly impoverished; I never believed it was necessary to own so much,’ Cleese continued. ‘The most essential thing is to have enough money to eat well, purchase clothing twice a year, and take great vacations,’ he said.
We may now add stem cell treatment to the list.
Cleese rose to prominence with Monty Python, a British comedic company he founded in 1969 with Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. He is also well-known for his role as Nearly Headless Nick in the Harry Potter books.
What is stem cell therapy?
There are several types of stem cell therapy. Stem cell transplants have historically been utilised in the NHS to treat blood cell disorders such as leukaemia and lymphoma.
According to The Telegraph, anti-ageing stem cell therapy is considered a regenerative therapeutic technique, but there is no evidence-based research to back up its claims.
Private clinics have sprung up all around the world to give stem cell treatment to the rich, but few have received formal government approval.
