The enormously popular presenter, comedy legend, bestselling author and actor is 81 years old, but he shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. He is still twice as busy as people half his age.
The show is based on the fourth instalment of Michael's acclaimed diaries, covering the years 1999 to 2009.
As one millennium rolls over into the next and Michael moves into middle age, his schedule is fuller than ever.
Drawing on rarely seen photos and video, he relives the landmark moments from the decade.
Michael takes us behind-the-scenes of his most productive period, at the same time as highlighting a wider world which is replete with infinite possibilities and new, unexpected perils.
Over two mesmerising hours, Michael recollects how the world was rocked by the successive seismic shocks of 9/11, 7/7 and the global financial crash.
Employing the magnetism and warmth that have made him a beloved figure the world over, Michael recounts the minutiae of living in a world battered by such potent winds of change.
And yet amid all the tumult, there is one constant: Michael's unquenchable inquisitiveness and endless thirst for adventure.
The show tracks his life as he films four blockbuster travel documentaries – Hemingway Adventure, Sahara, Himalaya and New Europe – and reaches the height of his fame as a much-loved TV traveller.
The presenter also homes in on his domestic life and recounts how five years after the last of his children flew the nest, he began his most affecting journey yet – as a devoted grandfather.
He is as delightful in person as he is on stage and screen. Not for nothing is he frequently described as the nicest man in showbiz.
Michael, who still writes a daily diary, gives his own précis of the show.
"It covers how my career panned out during that decade. I actually had no plans to carry on traveling at all. I wanted to go back to acting and writing. I was in fact writing a novel at the time.
"But I ended up being tempted back to globetrotting and in the end made a number of TV journeys that turned out to be among the best.."
And then:
"There were all these other things going on in the background. We think it was quiet time. But of course, there was 9/11, 7/7, the CJD crisis, when cattle were burnt in enormous numbers, and the war in Iraq."
On a happier note:
"I was gathering a number of very good friends around me. There are people like David Attenborough, Barry Cryer, and Alan Bennett, who feature a lot in the diaries.
"I always benefited from their wise words, and I feel very privileged to have spent so much time with them."
Michael will also be talking about his enduring friendship with his fellow members of the Monty Python team:.
"The best thing is, when we do get together, we still make each other laugh. That's the basic thing which holds us together, our humour and our delight in laughter and the same kind of jokes."
He smiles:
"John Cleese does a very good satire of my travel shows. He always says, "Who's seen one of Michael's travel programmes? All he asks is, "Where did you get that hat?"""
Assessing the cultural legacy of Monty Python – who have bequeathed to the world such timeless comedy moments as the "Dead Parrot" sketch - Michael recalls:
"In the early noughties we were persuaded into creating a lot of Python collectibles.
"One of them was a wine called the Norwegian Blue Red. We actually printed a label with that on it."
With a laugh, he adds:
"I realize my contribution to the world as it is today is as a parrot salesman. I never forget that!"
Another major topic in the show is Michaels family life:
"I think a good diary includes whatever is happening to you at the time, and a lot of my diaries are about being at home and how we all get on and how we are.
"So in these diaries, our last child leaves home, so it's just my wife and I together. I turned 60 in 2003, and we discussed whether I would retire. Of course, I didn't, but that was part of the family debate at the time."
He explains why he enjoys performing live so much:
"I love the theatre tour because it's different every single night. I get bored very quickly just doing the same thing. But whenever you step on stage, it's a different place and a different audience.
"Although you perform similar material at each show, it will be received in a different way by the audience every night. I enjoy the spontaneity of walking out on stage and changing things at the last minute.
"Also, you can actually see the people who like your material. On television, you don't know who's watching."
Michael Palin's 'There and Back - The Diary Tour 2024' visits Theatre Royal Brighton on 21st September 2024. CLICK HERE for tickets.