Christopher Stevens, writing in the Daily Mail, said Michael Palin’s latest travel film for Channel 5, Michael Palin In Venezuela, showcases the broadcaster’s continuing appetite for adventure and his unfiltered curiosity at age 81.
Stevens highlighted a sequence in which Palin stands "drenched to the skin" behind a waterfall on the edge of the Amazon, shouting, "I'm 81, I shouldn't be here," as an example of the presenter's mix of enthusiasm and physicality. The critic also drew attention to Palin’s reporting from Caracas and the Petare barrios, where the programme depicts daily life amid Venezuela’s economic collapse and mass migration.
The documentary follows Palin as he visits a range of locations across Venezuela, from urban neighbourhoods to remote rainforest sites. Stevens described Palin meeting residents in brick-built one-room houses and chatting with a woman caring for her three-year-old nephew; the boy’s mother, the review noted, had fled to Florida amid the country’s shortages and now lives as an undocumented immigrant. Palin is shown making a videophone call to the absent mother and forming an immediate bond with the child.
Stevens also singled out lighter moments in the film. Palin is shown amused by a comic book celebrating President Nicolás Maduro, titled SuperBigote, which the critic translated as "Super Moustache." The reviewer quoted Palin asking a local woman, "Are Venezuelans good lovers?" and then explaining that, as "a dummy foreigner," he felt questions he would not ask in England were permissible abroad.
Physical sequences feature prominently. According to Stevens, Palin bounds up stone steps to reach the Salto El Sapo falls and is flown by helicopter to the base of Angel Falls, where he splashes in the shallows. The critic compared Palin’s childlike delight in such moments to the consoling mischief associated with the fictional Just William, calling him "a sort of octogenarian Just William."
Stevens said Palin’s approach — a combination of shameless curiosity, lack of cant about poverty, and obvious enjoyment of small pleasures — is a key reason his travelogues remain watchable. The review noted Palin’s long career as a television traveller, pointing back more than 35 years to his Around the World in 80 Days series and referencing more recent projects, including a series filmed in Lagos.
The Channel 5 film is presented as both a portrait of Venezuela’s contrasts and a showcase for Palin’s presentation style. Scenes in Caracas are framed alongside rural and wilderness visits, producing a programme that mixes humanitarian detail with moments of light humour and spectacle. Stevens observed that, despite the often dangerous reputation attached to locations he visits, Palin is typically received warmly by local people and appears to provoke frank responses.
The review appeared amid a wider column of television notes in which Stevens also mentioned other programmes, including Michael Portillo’s appearance on BBC Two’s 200 Years of the Railways, to illustrate the week’s broadcast highlights.
Michael Palin In Venezuela is scheduled on Channel 5. The Daily Mail review by Christopher Stevens ran on Sept. 16, 2025, and characterises the film as evidence that Palin’s curiosity and physical vigour remain central to his appeal as a travel presenter.