Michael Palin personality. During this period Cleese contacted Palin about doing the show that would ultimately become "Monty Python's Flying Circus". At the same time the success of "Do Not Adjust Your Set" had led Palin, Jones, Idle and Gilliam to be offered their own series and, while it was still in production, Palin agreed to Cleese's proposal and brought along Idle, Jones and Gilliam. Thus the formation of the Monty Python troupe has been referred to as a result of Cleese's desire to work with Palin and the chance circumstances that brought the other four members into the fold. In "Monty
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days Palin managed to snap a few pictures which are seen in the documentary. While preparing for the journey, Palin had a chat with renowned documentarist Alan Whicker. In the book and an interview on the DVD, Palin mentions that Whicker had been the BBC's first choice of presenter, but he and two others (Miles Kington and Noel Edmonds) had declined; Palin was fourth on the BBC's list. On 30 December 2008, the BBC aired a special one-hour documentary entitled "Around the World in 20 Years". In it, Michael Palin goes in search of the crew of the "Al Shama", the