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Check back soon — we are tracking this show and will update with new episode details as soon as they become available. Michael Palin in the Philippines is currently Running.
Michael Palin in the Philippines had an episode air on Monday, October 12, 2026 at 9:00pm. Series 1, Episode 3 titled "Episode 3" was broadcast on 5.
Michael Palin's latest adventure is an epic 2,500-mile journey across the islands of the Philippines. Known as an idyllic tropical travel hotspot, Michael also delves deeper to reveal a surprising, darker side. The legacy of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos' spending, not just the shoes of legend but billions spent on monumental architecture, still haunts the country forty years on. Their son, Bongbong Marcos, is now President, and forty percent of the urban population lives in poverty, thirty thousand people have been lawlessly killed by vigilante anti-drug 'death squads', and a third of the country is on the UK Foreign Office 'do not travel list'. But despite all of this, Michael also experiences the Philippines as, ironically, one of the happiest and certainly the most beautiful countries he has ever visited.
Programme Information
Channel: 5
Status: Running
Genre(s): Adventure, Travel
Runtime: 60 minutes
Rating: N/A/10
Main Cast
Michael Palin as Michael Palin
Episode Details
Series: 1
Episode: 3
Episode Title: Episode 3
Air Date: Monday, October 12, 2026
Air Time: 9:00pm
Runtime: 60 minutes
Previous Episode
S1E2: Episode 2
Aired: Monday, October 5, 2026
Michael starts the second part of his Philippines journey on the tiny island of Palawan, exploring the magical Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, the longest navigable underground river in the world. The whole island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, but when Michael visits the town of Brooke's Point, he sees that its natural environment is under serious threat from a huge nearby nickel mine, which is suspected of poisoning the area.Michael then flies to Cebu City, the oldest city in the Philippines, and visits the Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Centre, a large prison where he witnesses the dazzling, if bizarre, synchronised disco dance routine performed by hundreds of smiling inmates. But later, he discovers that the cramped conditions in the cells are far less enjoyable.Back in the city, he meets comedian Margie DeLeon. He discovers that the Philippines is one of only two countries in the world where divorce is officially banned, the other being Vatican City!The Philippines is one of the largest exporters of coconuts in the world, and Michael witnesses a local farmer's death-defying climb to the top of a 20-metre-high tree to pick and throw the fruit to the ground. But while the Philippines is blessed with nature, it is also vulnerable to the increasingly strong typhoons that hit the archipelago. Michael visits a local town destroyed by flooding and learns how billions of dollars of public money, that was supposed to have been spent on flood control projects, has been lost to corruption.Finally, Michael arrives in the fishing town of Moalboal, where shoals of millions of sardines have settled in the bay. He meets local freediver, Gladys Documento, who has dived these waters for years. Enthused by stories of how spectacular being below the surface can be, 82-year-old Michael takes the plunge to see for himself the amazing sight of the huge formations of fish as they swirl beneath the waves, giving Michael an extraordinary experience he'll never forget.
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