Michael Palin has opened up on the grief he’s experiencing almost a year on from his wife Helen Gibbins’ death.
The Monty Python legend was married for 57 years to his childhood sweetheart, who sadly died last May.
The bereaved actor gave an update on his grief journey in a recent interview, explaining he misses “the jokes” as well as his late wife’s “reassurance”.
The 80-year-old contemplated: “It would have been our 58th anniversary. I find myself looking for reassurance she was terribly good at telling me what I should do and what I shouldn’t do.
“She knew what I liked and when I was happy with work, rather than getting into something I didn’t like, so I do miss that.”
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, he continued: “I miss the jokes that we used to have together. I mean it would be our 58th anniversary and every anniversary we used to try and do something with increasing incredulity – that humour, I do miss a lot.
Palin reflected on his grief almost a year on from his wife’s death
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“I knew Helen for 60 years and no-one else in my life have I known for such a long time.
“In that time you build up so many experiences, so many mutual experiences that you just don’t need to make a big thing out of it.”
Gibbins was the mother of Palin’s three children: 55-year-old Thomas, William, 53 and Rachel, 49.
She died last year after battling kidney failure for several years. Announcing her death at the time, Palin recalled meeting her for the first time in a statement: “We were both 16, and we married in our early 20s,” he reflected.
“Helen was the bedrock of my life. Her quietly-wise judgement informed all my decisions and her humour and practical good sense was at the heart of our life together.”
Palin talked about how he misses ‘the jokes’ he had with his late wife
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Earlier this month, Palin opened up on “tearful reunions” with his Monty Python co-stars.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he explained how the four surviving members which include himself, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle, all remain close friends.
Talking about how it feels when the comedy troupe are able to reunite, he explained he sees Gilliam “often” because they live near each other in London, but sees less of the other Python stars as they’re living further away.
“We’re close when we get together and we talk, there is that thing, you know, it’s like a long affair that took place many years ago and you get together and you’re rather tearful,” he admitted.
Palin is one of the four surviving members of Monty Python
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Delving further into his relationship with his co-stars, Palin confessed he “did not always agree” with his fellow troupe members as they brainstormed ideas.
“There were problems sometimes,” he remarked, referring to disagreements on whether to do the restaurant sketch from Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life.
He added: “There are other things we wrote sometimes that John and Graham and Eric didn’t like and vice versa and we set our standards really high.”
While the four men remain in the public eye and largely adored for their influence on comedy, other members Graham Chapman and Terry Jones have since died.
