Eric Idle "shouldn't be alive"

Asked if having cancer had changed him, he told The Times newspaper: "Oh, I shouldn't be alive. I'm a lucky b****** and I enjoy every moment."

The Monty Python star initially thought his doctor was joking when he broke the news of his diagnosis.

He said: "I had been working on a project called 'Death: The Musical' and I asked my doctor which type of cancer I could use to finish off one of my characters. He said, 'Pancreatic cancer, it can finish people off in three weeks.'"

Ten years later, Eric had routine tests with the same doctor and queried an ominous-looking blood result.

The comic added: "He said, 'Pancreatic cancer' and I burst out laughing because I thought he must be joking."

Eric's close friend George Harrison died of cancer in 2001 and he was by the Beatles legend's side to witness his "beautiful" passing.

He said: "I was with George when he died and it was beautiful. He wasn't frightened or angry, he was very calm about the process. It was a lovely death to go through and we should talk about these things more because it's there for all of us."

The comic - who has Carey, 51, with first wife Lyn Ashley and Lily, 33, with spouse Tania Kosevich - always valued the advice he received from the musician.

He said: "George was a beautiful human being and taught me so much about handling one's ego.

"I was moaning about the others one evening in Tunisia and George said to me, 'What do you think it's like for me trying to get a look-in with Lennon and McCartney?'

"George Harrison was a man of immense grace and he taught me how to get through many challenges - life, death, divorce ...

"When I was going through mine, George cheered me by telling me I was going to die. He said, 'You can have all the money and fame in the world but you're still going to die.'

"That's the great leveller. That quells the ego. "