1979: Life of Brian debate

Shortly after the release of their film Life of Brian, Monty Python members Michael Palin and John Cleese appear on BBC Two's Friday Night, Saturday Morning to debate the film with Roman Catholic journalist and satirist Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop of Southwark, Mervyn Stockwood.

The film had been surrounded in religious controversy, due to its depictions of a fictional Messiah that many claimed had satirised Jesus Christ.

From the BBC Archive. Originally broadcast 9 November 1979.