Tim Diacono | 30th June 2026
John Cleese couldn’t resist taking a zinger at the French and their short-lived occupation of Malta during a recent trip to the island.
“I have visited Malta several times although I never stayed very long, and I had forgotten it is the most fascinating island, because you have the most extraordinary history,” he said.
“I’ve got to read a book about 1565 – a siege that lasted over a year and then you have the Knights of St John, and then you have the French and I’m delighted you threw them out after two years.”
Mr Cleese may have been off about the duration of the Great Siege, which actually lasted just under four months, but he was right in saying that the French did occupy Malta for only two years, between 1798 to 1800, before a Maltese uprising forced their surrender.
The British comedy legend, renowned for starring roles in Fawlty Towers, Monty Python and A Fish Called Wanda, was in Malta for the Mediterrane Film Festival.
Now 86 years old, he was granted the Icon award at the festival’s Golden Bee Awards.