John Cleese has surprised Sunrise viewers by grabbing host Samantha Armytage’s arm and refusing to let go on Thursday’s show.

The actor, best known for Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, was in town promoting his upcoming comedy tour with Eric Idle when the segment took a turn for the weird.

Just as Armytage had wrapped up the interview and was crossing to the next segment, Cleese suddenly grabbed her arm with both his hands.

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“Mr Cleese let go!” laughed Armytage as she tried in vain to pull her arm back.

“What are you doing?” she asked the actor.

“Just being silly,” he replied, before smiling with the camera with her arm in hand, after noticing that co-host, David Koch, had run over to document the moment.

Eventually, Cleese let go of the arm and everyone in the room laughed awkwardly.

The incident caps off a tumultuous few weeks for Armytage, who was caught in the middle of a scandal when a skit featuring Sex and the City star Kirsten Davis was criticised being ‘ditzy’ and ignoring the actress’ humanitarian work for refugees.

As a result, Armytage was axed from hosting a UNHCR lunch where Davis was to be the guest of honour.

In response, Armytage penned a News.com.au article slamming her critics for being ‘anti-feminist’ and blowing the issue out of proportion.

Watch the strange incident in the video below: