Which Python was credited as starring only in series 1 to 3?

John Cleese was credited as starring in Monty Python’s Flying Circus only through series 1 to 3. He remained one of the programme’s defining performers, but he left before the shortened fourth and final series was made.

Cleese’s departure followed growing dissatisfaction with the show’s working process and his feeling that he had less fresh material to contribute. He also found Graham Chapman’s alcoholism increasingly difficult to deal with during production. Cleese stayed for all of series 3, then moved on while continuing to collaborate with the group on Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The wording can be confusing because Cleese was not entirely absent from the fourth series’ creative history. Some fourth-series episodes used material he had helped write, and he received writing credits on several episodes. However, he was not a starring performer in that series. The other five principal Pythons—Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin—continued into the final run, which consisted of only six episodes.