Cleese writing memoirs to fund divorce settlement

'Monty Python' comedian-and-actor John Cleese is writing his memoirs in order to help fund his £12.2m (€13.9m) divorce settlement from third wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger.

The book, to be entitled 'The Maintenance Memoirs', will be written by Cleese with an official biographer, with them each taking it in turns to write a page. The book is thought to be able to command an advance of around £2m (€2.3m) from potential publishers.

Cleese told The Sun: "I don't think anybody's ever done one like this. I'd been putting it off - partly because I was too busy, and also because it was too difficult trying to remember things."

The 71-year-old star has previously said he needs to earn about £1m (€1.1m) a year to pay off the settlement and he is currently on a comedy tour of the UK, dubbed ‘The Alimony Tour’, which finishes on July 2.