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Michael Palin on the loss of his wife of 57 years: ‘I’d love Helen to still be here, telling me off’

At 80, the comedian, author and presenter is off on his travels again - this time to Nigeria. He discusses grief, comedy and confrontation

(The project he says he’s proudest of is his 2018 book, Erebus: The Story of a Ship, about the eponymous vessel that ventured farther south than any human had ever been on its first voyage, and vanished with its 129-strong crew in the wastes of the Canadian Arctic on its second. He was introduced to future fellow Pythons, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Graham Chapman, who had all studied at Cambridge, and they decided to work as a team. Helen and I were together for 60 years, we lived in the same part of London a long time; I have never wanted to change the basics of my life: the relationships, the friends, the house.

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