Pythons on parade

Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones joined Eric Idle for the gala opening of his musical at the Palace Theatre.

John Cleese, whose voice is heard in the musical playing God, was filming in Australia. Graham Chapman died of cancer in 1989. The get-together came as Idle celebrated glowing reviews for his musical, already a huge Broadway hit.

Idle said: "It was a lovely, emotional night. It was great hanging out with the other Pythons backstage before the show and during the interval. We don't meet often so to be forced to hide backstage together was really lovely."

After the performance of Spamalot led by Tim Curry as King Arthur, Idle appeared on stage with the show's cast and crew before bringing on Palin, Gilliam and Jones. He said: "I haven't read the reviews but Mike Nichols [the Hollywood filmmaker who directed Spamalot] called me from Morocco and said we've got all these raves.

"I have been abused [by critics] many times so I was really thrilled they like the show." Terry Jones said: "I hope I will be able to survive the emotional shock of it all." Stars who attended the opening night included Gary Lineker, Cilla Black, Brian May, Pamela Stephenson and Richard E Grant.