Michael Palin has admitted his new travel series may not be all it seems.
The former Monty Python star has revealed that his voyage across the former Eastern Bloc in 'Michael Palin's New Europe' - presented as a single journey - was actually half a dozen separate trips with breaks in between.
That is in stark contrast to Palin's most famous TV odyssey, 'Around The World In 80 Days'.
The new seven-part series, which begins on BBC1 this Sunday, sees him visit 20 Eastern Bloc countries. "Obviously 80 Days was done in one go, but as a TV programme you have to make it look as though it's one journey otherwise you are making it less attractive to an audience," Palin told Broadcast magazine.
"I think that provided you don't lie and you don't edit people's conversations to make them say things they didn't say, then presenting it as a single journey - which is what it is over a period of time - is okay."
The new series kicks off with Palin in the Slovenian Alps where he tells viewers: "I'm turning my back on western Europe and heading east."
He does not mention that his journey will be broken up by several trips back to western Europe and his home.
The TV show sees Palin travel across such countries as Croatia, Bosnia, Romania, Russia and Poland by various means of transport.
It tackles often serious subjects including Auschwitz, the bombing of Dresden and sex trafficking.
The final episode, titled Journey's End, takes in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany.
In Palin's 1989 series, 'Around The World In 80 Days', the star retraced the journey made famous by Jules Verne. He travelled 28,000 miles non-stop in 79 days and seven hours.
In a statement, the BBC said: "This is a factual entertainment series, not an observational documentary (like ‘Around The World In 80 Days’) so how the travel is made off camera is irrelevant. "What is important is that we always remain true to the narrative which is absolutely the case in 'Michael Palin's New Europe'."
