When Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, who died in tragic circumstances, he was determined to find out more. Travelling from Harry's childhood home in the UK to India and New Zealand, to the slaughtering grounds of Gallipoli and the Western Front, he found that he was an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life.

Michael Palin has written and starred in numerous TV programmes and films, from Monty Python and Ripping Yarns to The Missionary and The Death of Stalin. He has also made several much-acclaimed travel documentaries. His books include accounts of his journeys, novels (Hemingway's Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries. He received a BAFTA fellowship in 2013, and a knighthood in the 2019 New Year Honours list.