A global comedy star has announced he will be kicking off his new tour in Norwich.

Sir Michael Palin has revealed he is visiting the city to launch his latest collection of diaries.

The Monty Python actor has previously talked of his love for the county and has family links to Norfolk.

He said: "My grandfather was a doctor in Fakenham and my father was born and brought up here, in a house called The Oaks, so I used to come here with my family on holiday to Sheringham for about 10 years and also Southwold in Suffolk.

Norwich Evening News: Actor and presenter Sir Michael Palin Actor and presenter Sir Michael Palin (Image: Isabel Infantes/PA)

"I think the area has its own style, I like it, it's not crowded and cluttered, it's not high-pressured.

"I feel like I calm right down when I come here, with all the nice country lanes and hedgerows and all those types of things."

In the fourth volume of his diaries, the 81-year-old revisits the years 1999 to 2009.

Titled There And Back, it covers the “most productive” decade of his life against the backdrop of 9/11, the 7/7 terror attacks in London, the financial crisis and the Iraq War.

“In There And Back – The Diary Tour 2024, I’ll bring to life the fourth collection of my diaries and the first to be released in 10 years," he said.

READ MORE: Michael Portillo travels through Norfolk on BBC Two show

“Lots of fun as I go through the noughties, and some dark times too. I constantly surprise myself with the sheer amount I took on.”

Last year, Sir Michael announced that his wife of 57 years, Helen Gibbins, had died after suffering from chronic pain and kidney failure.

The couple met when he was still a teenager and Sir Michael described her as “the bedrock of my life”.

Sir Michael will be at Norwich Theatre Royal on September 15 before travelling to 12 more destinations across the UK.