Monty Python star Sir Michael Palin has announced he’s cancelling an upcoming book tour, as he needs to undergo heart surgery.
Sir Michael had been scheduled to travel around the
UK in October to promote
North Korea Journal, a companion piece to his Channel 5 documentary that saw him exploring the nation.
However, he will now be taking this to recuperate from the upcoming procedure.“Five years ago, a routine health check revealed a leaky mitral valve in my heart,” he explained in an official statement. “Until the beginning of this year it had not affected my general level of fitness.
“Recently, though, I have felt my heart having to work harder and have been advised it’s time to have the valve repaired.
“I shall be undergoing surgery in September and should be back to normal, or rather better than normal, within three months.”
Penguin, the publisher behind Sir Michael’s book, has said that all ticket-holders will be refunded.
Sir Michael was knighted in June, after being featured on the New Year honours list for his services to travel, culture and geography, based on the travel documentaries and books that he’s become associated with since the end of Monty Python.
He and his former Python co-stars John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Terry Jones briefly reunited for a 10-show stint at London’s O2 Arena in 2014, but have not performed together since.
However, Sir Michael is to serve as executive producer on five upcoming Radio 4 programmes to commemorate the
comedy troupe’s 50th anniversary.