Monty Python's dead parrot has made a new appearance in London - as a giant fibreglass model.

The bird at the centre of the famous Monty Python 'Dead Parrot' sketch has been carefully recreated, as a celebration of the screening of the final Monty Python live show on comedy channel Gold.

Flickr/Taylor Herring



The sketch, originally performed by John Cleese and Michael Palin in 1969, was recently voted Britain's favourite Monty Python sketch of all time.

The huge sculpture of the 'Norwegian Blue' was hung upside down from a crane in London, before being laid to rest at Potters Fields on the South Bank, near Tower Bridge.

The parrot measures almost 50 feet in length, the equivalent to the height of five elephants standing on top of one another. It took a team of three sculptors over two months to design, construct and paint the model.

Lead sculptor Iain Prendergast said: "We are all Monty Python fans, so we were delighted to receive the brief from Gold to recreate the mythical 'Norwegian Blue' on a giant scale. We watched both live and televised versions of the sketch and found that there have been a number of different incarnations of the parrot with a variety of different plumages.

"Our sculpture provides a colourful hybrid of the dead parrots which have featured in the celebrated sketch. The key challenge for us was capturing the comedy value of the dead parrot, keeping the realism of the bird whilst also adding touches like the bloodshot, 'stunned' eyes."

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The parrot will soon be taken to the O2 arena, where the live shows are taking place. Here, fans will be able to take photos of the model and upload them to Twitter with the hashtag #montypythonlive.

General manager of Gold Steve North said: "We believe that our giant dead parrot provides a fitting tribute to a sketch that is so loved by audiences throughout the world. We hope that fans will join us for the final Monty Python performance this Sunday to see Britain's greatest ever comedy group bow out in style."

Gold will screen the live broadcast of the final Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down, Five to Go stage show on Sunday, July 20.

Read our review of Monty Python Live

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