John Cleese "astonished" by cost of wife

John Cleese has admitted that he is "astonished" by the amount of money he is paying out to his estranged wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger.

The veteran comedy actor announced the end of his relationship with Alyce, his third wife, in January this year. They had been married for 19 years but have no children together.

"Guess how much I'm paying her at the moment? I'm paying her £900,000 a year," Cleese complained. "And we had no children. It really is astonishing."

Cleese made his remarks at a fundraising event in Bristol Zoo. The full details of his divorce have not yet been finalised.

He continued: "I guess Alyce is just feeling very insecure and wants to get everything she can. My two other divorces were very peaceful affairs. We went to mediation and it was very civilised. But this is quite different."

The former Fawlty Towers star also criticised his own mother, who passed away in 2002.

"I did have a dreadful mother. Isn't that a terrible thing to say? But it's true," he insisted. "She was classically self-centred. Always thought entirely of herself. And she lived to 101 - I thought I'd never get rid of her."