Michael Palin, the 82-year-old comedy legend, was held at gunpoint by armed intelligence officers while filming a new travelogue in Venezuela. The Monty Python star was detained for several hours by SEBIN, the country's secret police, who confiscated his passport and searched his belongings.
Palin recalled the terrifying ordeal: 'It wasn't just the fact that they stopped us from filming, it was the force with which we were stopped. It started with a couple of policemen, then a couple of the National Guard, and then along came men with rifles, bulletproof vests and helmets.' He described the scene as 'the kind of thing you’d expect to encounter if an embassy was being bombed.'
Remarkably, Palin credited his freedom to an old Monty Python clip. While waiting to hear their fate, the guards Googled him and came across the famous Fish Slapping Dance. 'Nearly everyone in the world, from North Korea to Venezuela, cracks up when they see that,' Palin said. 'Once we'd shown them the fish slapping dance, I felt we were OK, and by the end of the day they finally released us.'
During the detention, officers photographed the contents of his bags, including his underwear, and kept them for hours without food. Palin copes with stress by eating British crackers. The team was eventually allowed to eat at a restaurant under armed guard.
Aside from the gunpoint incident, Palin also faced culinary challenges, eating grilled palm tree worms and ants' bottoms near Angel Falls. He remarked: 'I ate ants’ bottoms for the first and probably last time in my life, I don't think you can get them at Sainsbury's.' Despite the dangers, Palin has no plans to retire, saying: 'I’ve got no plans to retire at all.'
'Michael Palin In Venezuela' airs on Tuesday, 16th September at 9pm on Channel 5.
