Michael Palin has compared the coronavirus lockdown to a ‘huge doctor’s note’ after he had heart surgery in September last year.
The actor, 77, said he accepted having to remain in his home quite happily, particularly after being away while filming his show Travels of a Lifetime.
Speaking to Radio Times, he said: ‘The great surprise is that I’ve been extremely content to be in the same place for some time.
Lockdown: Michael Palin has compared the coronavirus lockdown to a ‘huge doctor’s note’ after he had heart surgery in September last year (pictured in January)
‘I had heart surgery last September and was told to have rest and recuperation – then lockdown came along. I accepted it rather happily, it’s been like a huge doctor’s note. Anyway, coming home has always been the best part of the process. We live near Hampstead Heath in London and near friends.’
Michael has kept busy during lockdown and took part in an extract of Waiting for Godot for Lockdown Theatre in aid of the Royal Theatrical Fund.
The former Monty Python star, who likened television in 2020 to a ‘cottage industry’, was also featured on the BBC series looking back over his 30 years of travels.
Interviews and commentary for the show were done under strict regulations to ensure Michael was not exposed to Covid-19.
Staying put: The actor, 77, said he accepted having to remain in his home quite happily, particularly after being away while filming his show Travels of a Lifetime
He said: ‘I wasn’t allowed to touch anything they had touched. The microphone transmitter was sent first and I would put it on myself. My temperature was solemnly written down at the beginning and end of every session.’
Michael said that for years he still felt like he was 27 and it wasn’t until his heart problem came along last year that he started to feel older and more vulnerable.
When asked if he felt guilty about the so-called ‘Palin’ effect where tourists flooded places like Machu Pichu, Michael insisted he sees mass tourism as a deception.
The TV star explained many people go abroad and any socialise with those from their own country, which he thinks is not ‘opening yourself to the world’.
Michael married his wife Helen in 1966 and the couple are parents to Thomas, 51, William, 50, and Rachel, 45.
He said: ‘I accepted it rather happily, it’s been like a huge doctor’s note. Anyway, coming home has always been the best part of the process’
The presenter admitted he doesn’t know what his Christmas plans will be yet but expects celebrations will be ‘minimal’ after they already postponed William’s 50th birthday party.
It comes after Michael recently admitted that his recent heart scare has reminded him that his body ‘isn’t indestructible’.
He underwent a heart operation to fix a ‘leaky mitral valve’ after he was advised by doctors to have it repaired.
Reflecting on the past few months, the actor penned on his blog earlier: ‘My heart scare reminded me that my body isn’t indestructible and if I want to keep it that way I must know when to stop working as well as when to start again.
‘Over the last year I discovered a rather enjoyable equilibrium, a balance between work and relaxation that for the first time in my life favoured the latter.’
Family: Michael married his wife Helen in 1966 and the couple are pa rents to Thomas, 51, William, 50, and Rachel, 45 (pictured in 2015)
He added: ‘After forty years I’ve given up running, and taken to long walks instead. Running was a a fierce and competitive fight with myself, justified largely by how good I felt afterwards. Walking is something to enjoy at the time.’
Michael noted that he now enjoys long ‘phone-free’ walks in Hampstead Heath and he takes time to listen to his surroundings other than the ‘thump of his own heart’ and ‘slip-slap of trainers’.
The actor revealed in 2019 that he was undergoing a heart operation to fix a ‘leaky mitral valve’ after he was advised by doctors to have it repaired.
Health: Michael said that for years he still felt like he was 27 and it wasn’t until his heart problem came along last year that he started to feel older and more vulnerable
The mitral valve is a small flap in the heart that stops blood flowing the wrong way. If damaged, it can affect how blood flows around the body.
A ‘leaky’ mitral valve is the nickname for a condition called mitral regurgitation, when it doesn’t close tightly enough and blood goes the wrong way.
This puts a strain on the heart and often causes symptoms such as breathlessness and fatigue, Harvard Medical School states.
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