C5 takes Palin to North Korea

Michael Palin in North Korea allowed the star to meet ordinary North Koreans

Monty Python star Michael Palin, who has more recently been known for his travelogue series for the BBC, will travel to the secretive nation of North Korea in his first show for the UK’s Channel 5.

ITN Productions is working on Michael Palin in North Korea (working title) for the Viacom-owned terrestrial channel.

Palin was in North Korea during the recent historic talks with the south and has gained unprecedented access to sites and locations in the country, as well as talking with citizens there from all walks of life.

The show was commissioned by C5’s head of factual Guy Davies and was directed by Neil Ferguson from FOMO Films. It will air later this year.

Comic actor Palin has more recently been known for BBC travel series such as Pole to Pole and Full Circle but this is his first project for C5.

Palin said: “To visit North Korea was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. For somewhere that is so often in the forefront of the news, it remains a complete mystery to most of us.

“In all my travels around the world I have never had the same sense of fascination and revelation as on this journey to North Korea.”