Monty Python's Life of Brian that the council had not seen the film, and had based their opinion on what they had been told by the Nationwide Festival of Light, a grouping with an evangelical Christian base, of which they knew nothing. Some bans continued into the 21st century. In 2008, Torbay Council finally permitted the film to be shown after it won an online vote for the English Riviera International Comedy Film Festival. In 2009, it was announced that a thirty-year-old ban of the film in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth had finally been lifted, and the subsequent showing was attended by Terry Jones
The Former Life of Brian magician outfit, Peter is seen wearing a "Count Crotchula" costume, this is a reference to the breakfast cereal and character of the same name, "Count Chocula". In a scene Dorothy says goodbye to the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, all of them from the film "The Wizard of Oz". When Peter gets his hair cut by Dylan, he is able to grow it back thanks to being "full of Play-Doh". In its original broadcast on April 27, 2008, "The Former Life of Brian" was watched by 8.42 million households according to the Nielsen ratings, the audience measurement systems developed