Sir Michael Palin can’t walk without a Zimmer frame after a bathroom fall last month left him with broken ribs and a fractured pelvis.
Sir Michael Palin can’t walk without a Zimmer frame after a bathroom fall.
The 83-year-old Monty Python legend was forced to cancel a book tour last month after he broke his ribs and fractured his pelvis, and in a new update to fans, he revealed he’s still struggling with his mobility.
Sharing an image of himself with the walking aid, he wrote: “Sunday, November 8, 2026 – What Goes Around Comes Around.
“It’s now exactly a month since I thudded to my bathroom floor – returning from a pee at 3.30 in the morning. I still can’t walk without a Zimmer. The laughs are all on me.
“Zimmers were used in Monty Python when we wanted to play slow-moving elderly people.
“Now I’m an elderly person for real, having to move very slowly as I have three broken ribs and a cracked pelvis.
“Bones take time to heal and I’m probably doomed to play this particular Python character for a few weeks more.
“I’m feeling sore, not just because I’ll never be able to achieve my dream of being the oldest Olympic hurdler but that I was never able to finish my Philippines tour and had to disappoint so many who’d bought tickets.”
Michael joked he’ll be avoiding bathrooms from now on and will use his recovery to catch up on some of his favourite TV shows and a “stack” of books.
He added: “I promise not to go to the bathroom ever again, and I shall try and find some other show dates next year.
“For now, I have a stack of books to read and all the time in the world to catch up with Slow Horses and the absolutely compulsive This City Is Ours. And, if things get really low, the Fish Slapping Dance.
“Thank you all for your patience. Here’s to the next time.”
Michael – who had been due to head out on the road to promote his new book, Michael Palin – In the Philippines – previously admitted he had sustained his injuries in a “comedy fall”.
He wrote on Instagram last month: “My accident was quite unsensational, a slip in the family bathroom where I’ve walked for 58 years.
“I fell heavily on my left side resulting in three fractured ribs and a minor pelvic fracture. The recovery of bone fractures takes a long time especially when you’re 83.
“It was a comedy fall with no audience there to see it. I shall stick to fish slapping dances from now on.
“Sincere apologies to everyone who has already put a lot of work on the tour.
“I’d also like to say a huge thanks to the NHS for their incredible care.”
Sir Michael Palin needs Zimmer frame after accident
