Michael Palin, 80, admits he struggles with the 'foreverness' of life without wife Helen Gibbins as he lifts the lid on his heartbreak nearly a year on from her death

Former Monty Python star Michael Palin said he still mourns the loss of his childhood sweetheart, Helen Gibbins last year - just weeks after their 57th wedding anniversary. 

Sir Michael, 80, described his wife as the 'bedrock of his life'. The pair met aged 16 while on holiday with their parents and got married in their 20s, spending almost six decades together. 

He said he struggles with the 'foreverness of it' and said life without his lifelong companion feels 'unreal'. 

The couple had three children. She was 80 when she died on May 2, 2023 having battled with kidney failure for several years. 

A chance meeting while on holiday with their families aged 16 led to a lifelong love affair.

He told The Mirror: 'We were both 16, and we married in our early 20s... Helen was the bedrock of my life. Her quietly-wise judgment informed all my decisions and her humour and practical good sense was at the heart of our life together.'

 He continued: 'It is kind of dealing with the foreverness of it. 

'That it is forever.”

In an interview broadcast later this week on BBC Radio 4, Sir Michael explains that he and his fellow Python stars are still good friends - despite reports of a feud. 

Former Python star Eric Idle has publicly criticised their manager Holly Gilliam, daughter of Terry Gilliam. 

'We see each other but not as often. I see Terry Gilliam as he lives close by. John lives in various parts of the world, I am not quite sure where, and Eric lives in America.

'We are not that close, but when we get together, we talk about "that thing" as if it was like a long affair from years ago, and we get rather tearful. Python is still selling around the world, not what it used to, [but] it achieved success that none of us would have dreamed of.'

Now Sir Michael is better known for his epic travel adventures which he hopes to continue. 

'I have always kept fit, and especially with the travel, you really have to be,” he explains. “I had open heart surgery in 2019. I had a little problem with the valves being loose. I have got a pacemaker in and all sorts of wonderful stuff. It is like one of the machines in one of the Python films that went "Ping!"

'So as long as I can, I will use my good health to carry on being able to travel, or write.

'I am 80 now and there has to be a point where you to sort of leave it to the younger generation.' 

Sir Michael's interview with John Wilson will broadcast on BBC Radio 4's This Cultural Life on Thursday at 11am. 

During the interview, Sir Michael discusses his early influences and the impact of radio comedy with shows such as Spike Milligan's The Goon Show. 

He also describes his work on David Frost's satirical The Frost Report - where he first met John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle.