Desert Island Discs from outside. Roy Plomley enforced these rules strictly. He did, however, grant a special dispensation to Princess Michael of Kent, who chose her pet cat. The rules are, however, less strictly enforced today; for instance, Lawley allowed John Cleese to take Michael Palin with him, on the condition that he was dead and stuffed. Examples of luxuries have included champagne and a piano, the latter of which is one of the most requested luxuries. After Plomley's death in 1985, the programme was presented by Michael Parkinson and from 1988 by Sue Lawley. Lawley stepped down in August 2006 after 18
Michael Palin North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe, Brazil, and North Korea. In 2000 Palin was honoured as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to television. From 2009 to 2012 Palin was the president of the Royal Geographical Society. On 12 May 2013, Palin was made a BAFTA fellow, the highest honour that is conferred by the organisation. Palin was born in Ranmoor, Sheffield, the second child and only son of Edward Moreton Palin (1900-1977). and Mary Rachel Lockhart (née Ovey; 1903-1990). His father was a Shrewsbury School and Cambridge