Michael Palin

Michael Palin shares his hospital stories for book

Monty Python legend Michael Palin is sharing his lighter moments in hospital as part of a new book to raise money for NHS charities.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr, Palin said humour on hospital wards helps not only the patients - but also staff - get through the long days.

Well known for his travel documentaries, Palin said post lockdown we may have to 'travel less and travel better' and if that means exploring more of our own country - that isn't such a bad thing.

Media falls for fake news about Palin's house fire

Michael Palin has been the unwitting victim of fake news. It has transpired that the wide-reported story that he accidentally set his north London kitchen on fire and had to be rescued by an octogenarian neighbour was actually a joke in a lighthearted article that Palin wrote for the latest edition of The Idler.

Monty Python's Flying Circus, series 3 Blu-Ray review

Continuing my reviews of Network Distributing's remastered high-definition versions of Monty Python's Flying Circus (read the first and second parts here), Series 3 finds the show at its height of popularity on television, albeit with a few signs of fatigue or repetition and less classic sketches in its arsenal.

How Monty Python and the Holy Grail changed comedy

There has never been a movie with quite the combination of silliness and influence as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and there may never be again.

Michael Palin interview

It's now 50 years since Michael Palin first burst on to our television screens as part of anarchic comedy group Monty Python. Prior to an appearance at Seamus Heaney HomePlace last weekend, the comedian and famed travel presenter spoke to Jenny Lee about life after heart surgery, his trip to North Korea and his plans to keep on travelling.

Streaming with laughter: 50 best stand-up comedy shows

From Bill Hicks to Hannah Gadsby, Dave Chappelle to Josie Long - here are 50 specials you can watch right now.

Is A Fish Called Wanda still funny?

A restored version of the 1988 heist farce screens at the Berlin Film Festival later this month, and what works has as much to do with the craft of John Cleese and director Charles Crichton as the squashed lapdogs and swallowed fish, says Geoffrey Macnab.

BBC: far from perfect but has given us great comedy

The daft ditties of Glasgow's Ivor Cutler and Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks might never have seen the light 'without the BBC, writes Aidan Smith.

Review: Monty Python's Flying Circus, series 2 Blu-Ray

This Series 2 box-set review was being written when news of Terry Jones' passing broke on 22 January 2020, so it seems only fitting to single out his contribution to Monty Python as a founding member.