JOHN Cleese comes to the Liverpool Empire next week as part of his first UK stand-up tour.

The actor, writer and comedian - a founding member of the Monty Python team and co-creator of hit BBC comedy Fawlty Towers - will be at the venue on Tuesday, May 31, as part of his Alimony Tour, which opened in Cambridge on May 3.

Looking forward to the show, the 71-year-old - who had planned to become a lawyer before embarking on a showbusiness career that spans almost 50 years - said: "It is an evening of well-honed anecdotes, psychoanalytical tit-bits, details of recent surgical procedures and unprovoked attacks on former colleagues, especially Michael Palin."

Born in Weston-Super-Mare, the insurance salesman's son was a maths teacher before reading Law at Cambridge University.

His performance skills were honed as a member of the university’s Footlight's comedy group.

His showbusiness career began in the early 1960s, writing sketches for BBC Radio shows, including The Dick Emery Show.

He moved on to write for, and perform in, David Frost's series' The Frost Report and That Was The Week That Was, working with fellow comics Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. One of their most famous sketches poked fun at the class system.

Other TV roles included that of Marcus Rugman in a 1968 episode of spy/action series The Avengers called Look – (stop me if you’ve heard this one) But There Were These Two Fellers… and a guest appearance on children's series The Muppets.

In 1969, he co-founded the Monty Python team, which also featured Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Graham Chapman.

Among Cleese's characters on the show were the Minister For Silly Walks and Miss Ann Elk with her new theory on the Brontosaurus.

After co-writing and starring in four series and three films, he went on to score huge success as neurotic hotel manager Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, which he co-wrote with then wife Connie Booth, who played the hotel’s unflappable waitress, Polly.

He also achieved big screen success with films such as A Fish Called Wanda, which he co-wrote and starred in alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline.

Other roles include gadget master Q's assistant R in James Bond films The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day and Nearly Headless Nick in the first instalment of the Harry Potter series.

The Oscar-nominated star split from third wife Alyce Faye Eichelberger in 2008 and the divorce settlement, believed to be in the region of £12 million, was announced in December that year.

The size of the payout was given as the reason for the tour.

Tickets for his show at the Liverpool Empire, which starts at 7.30pm, are from the box office, or by calling 0844 871 3017 or online at www.liverpoolempire.org.uk