A COMEDY icon returned to a stage in York nearly half a century after appearing in the city as a student performer.

John Cleese took the chance yesterday to look around the Grand Opera House, where he will present two nights of his Alimony Tour on May 28 and 29.

The Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star once performed at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in a week-long run of the 1963 Cambridge Footlights revue in advance of its transfer to London.

Such memories will feature in a retrospective show where will he recall his career on stage and screen and offer his thoughts on why the British love black humour.

For tickets, phone 0844 847 2322 or book online at grandoperahouseyork.org