John Cleese, 84, spends £17k a year to look younger

John Cleese has revealed he spends £17,000 a year to pay for stem cell therapy in an attempt to combat the effects of ageing.

The 84-year-old Fawlty Towers star admitted the fee was hefty but claimed it is “worth it if you’re buying yourself a few extra years”.

Cleese, who has been having the treatment for more than 20 years, said he doesn’t “look bad” for his age after getting the “highest quality” cells from Switzerland.

Stem cells can act as a repair system for the body and can help specialists in regenerative therapies to aid major conditions like Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.

Last year Prof Dr Ernst von Schwarz, a US-based clinical cardiologist, said Hollywood A-listers spend thousands of pounds on stem cell injections to fend off the ageing process.

Cleese told Saga magazine: “These cells travel around the body and when they discover a place that needs repair, they’ll then change into the cells that you want for repair, so they might become cartilage cells or liver cells.

“So I think that’s why I don’t look bad for 84.”

He admitted he was paying around £17,000 every 12 to 18 months, adding: “But if you’re buying yourself a few extra years, I think it’s worth it.”

Cleese also credited Jennifer Wade, his fourth wife and 32 years his junior, for the spring in his step.

He added: “A lot of people comment and then the moment they actually see us together for two minutes they say ‘oh, I get it’ and it never arises again.

“What I love is that she’s 30 years younger than I am, but she keeps me young.

“I mean, it is sad to think I shall die some time before she will, but I’m in pretty good health.

“I’m not fit, but the way I put it is the doctors don’t yet know what I’m going to die of.”