Monty Python's Cheese Shop Sketch: The Cheeses and the Comedy
You ask for cheese.
You ask for cheese. Nothing doing. Behind the counter is Michael Palin’s shopkeeper; facing him is John Cleese’s customer, whose routine request has brought him to a cheese shop with no cheese.
The requests keep coming. So do the evasions, each one another small disappointment. You can almost admire the persistence on both sides, though you would hesitate to join the queue.
One broadcast, two catalogue trails
Go looking for the sketch and you find two catalogue entries. Monty Python’s official production history puts it in series three, episode 33, first broadcast on BBC1 on 30 November 1972. The record gives the episode no official title and includes the cheese shop among its sketches.
Apple’s episode catalogue calls the same instalment Salad Days, series three, episode seven. The descriptions differ, but the date holds firm: 30 November 1972.[1][2]
From the screen to the printed page
If you want to linger over the words, the official Monty Python bibliography points you towards The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Just the Words, published in 1989. You will find episode 33 in volume two. In America, the title is All the Words.
According to the official account, the collection draws on subtitle transcriptions and syndicated recordings. Unspoken character names came from camera scripts.[3]
Those details matter when you read closely. A published character name is not the same evidence as a name visible on the television set. A name spoken in a later performance belongs to that performance’s context.
Following the cheeses, request by request
To trace the cheese sequence precisely, you need the performance alongside the authorised text. The original broadcast recording and the relevant script pages are needed in a suitable form for that close reading.
The sequence, doubtful spellings and character names therefore remain uncertain. So do the individual writing credit and the precise variations between performances. If you are following every request, those distinctions matter.
Real cheeses and names to make you pause
Questions people ask
What happens in Monty Python’s Cheese Shop sketch?
John Cleese plays a customer who keeps asking for cheese, while Michael Palin plays a shopkeeper who keeps disappointing him. The shop has no cheese.
When was the Cheese Shop sketch first broadcast?
Monty Python’s official production history places it in series three, episode 33. It was first broadcast on BBC1 on 30 November 1972.
Which cheeses are named in the Cheese Shop sketch?
The page does not verify the cheese sequence or uncertain spellings. Neither the original broadcast recording nor the relevant script pages were retrieved in a form that allowed the sequence to be checked.
Where can I find the published script of the Cheese Shop sketch?
The official Monty Python bibliography points to The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Just the Words, published in 1989. Episode 33 appears in volume two.
Who wrote the Cheese Shop sketch?
The page does not verify an individual writing credit. It says the original broadcast recording and relevant script pages were not retrieved in a form that allowed the necessary checks.
Sources
[1] Monty Python, David Morgan, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Series 3, official production history, 2014. Episode 33 entry and BBC1 broadcast information.
[2] Apple TV, Salad Days: Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Series 3, Episode 7, catalogue record, undated, retrieved November 2026.
[3] Monty Python, David Morgan, The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Just the Words (Vol. 1 & 2), official bibliographical and editorial account, 2014, describing the 1989 edition. (montypython.com)
Research retrieved the official production history and bibliographical account, cross-checked the episode catalogue, and attempted to retrieve the original performance and authorised text; neither was available for the necessary passage-level verification.
Last checked: November 2026
Last checked November 2026.
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