Ha Ha! He was on a BBC4 radio programme, talking about his life - I think it may have been "Desert Island Discs". He actually said that, which I thought Pythonesque too, then went on to explain:

He was terribly shy as a boy. The local vicar came to visit. He was too shy to lift his head up to greet the vicar. I can't remember the exact details but in shyly pulling away he accidentally knocked over something alight - candlestick? - which touched the vicar and set his clothes on fire.

>OK, I've waited as long as I can, now I've gotta ask
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> "I once set a vicar on fire through shyness" - Humphrey Lyttleton
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>I know who he is, but what the hell does that mean or what was the context or ... ( it sounds more like John Cleese <s> )
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