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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Nadeem Badshah

‘The bedrock of my life’: Michael Palin announces the death of his wife Helen

Michael Palin and his Helen Gibbins
Michael Palin with wife Helen Gibbins at the 2009 Galaxy British Book Awards. He said Helen had been dealing with chronic pain for years, and her condition had been compounded a few years ago by kidney failure. Photograph: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock

Sir Michael Palin has announced the death of his wife, Helen, after 57 years of marriage.

Palin, 79, described his wife as “the bedrock of my life” and said they first met while holidaying in the seaside town of Southwold, Suffolk, and he fictionalised the encounter in a 1987 BBC drama titled East Of Ipswich.

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