Which BBC Head of Comedy wanted the title to include the word 'circus'?

Michael Mills, the BBC’s Head of Comedy, wanted the show’s title to include the word “circus.” The BBC had come to regard the six performers wandering around its Television Centre as a kind of circus, and “circus” captured the impression of a large, unruly comedy collective.

That suggestion helped shape the final title, but it was only one part of the naming process. The group considered several alternatives, including “Baron Von Took’s Flying Circus,” which referred to Barry Took. They eventually settled on “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” combining “Monty Python” with the word Mills had encouraged them to retain.

The word “flying” gave the title a more distinctive and slightly absurd character. It also evoked the World War I “Flying Circus” associated with Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. David Attenborough was a BBC executive known for natural-history broadcasting, not the comedy executive behind the naming request. John Howard Davies directed early episodes, while Barry Took helped bring the performers to the BBC.