John Lydon an enthusiast than an expert". He went to present two further programmes: "John Lydon Goes Ape", in which he searched for gorillas in Central Africa, and "John Lydon's Shark Attack", in which he swam with sharks off South Africa. In late 2008 Lydon appeared in an advertising campaign for "Country Life", a popular brand of butter, on British television. Lydon defended the move by stating that the main reason he accepted the offer was to raise money to reform Public Image Ltd without a record deal. The advertising campaign proved to be highly successful, with sales of the brand raising
Malcolm McLaren was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in October 2009, and died of the disease on 8 April 2010 in a hospital in Switzerland. McLaren's last words were claimed by his son Joseph Corré to have been "Free Leonard Peltier". Tributes poured in from friends, associates and fans – including John Lydon, who had been at odds with McLaren since the demise of the Sex Pistols. "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you," he said in a statement as Johnny Rotten.