Monty Python star Sir Michael Palin has said he still cannot walk without assistance, a month after falling at home and breaking three ribs and cracking his pelvis. The 83-year-old actor had to cancel a number of events, including his In The Philippines travel book tour, following the fall in his bathroom in October.
Health update on Instagram
Sir Michael shared a health update on Instagram, featuring a photograph of him standing in a disabled road bay. He wrote: “It’s now exactly a month since I thudded to my bathroom floor – returning from a pee at 3.30 in the morning. I still can’t walk without a zimmer.”
He added: “The laughs are all on me. Zimmers were used in Monty Python when we wanted to play slow-moving elderly people. Now I’m an elderly person for real, having to move very slowly as I have three broken ribs and a cracked pelvis. Bones take time to heal and I’m probably doomed to play this particular Python character for a few weeks more.”
Recovery and future plans
Sir Michael said he was recovering with a “stack of books” to read, as well as by watching the spy thriller Slow Horses and This City Is Ours. Referencing a well-loved Monty Python sketch starring Sir Michael and John Cleese, the actor added: “If things get really low, the Fish Slapping Dance.”
He said: “I promise not to go to the bathroom ever again, and I shall try and find some other show dates next year. Thank you all for your patience. Here’s to the next time.”
