PHOENIX: Michael Palin has vowed never to go into care after playing a man in his eighties who is sent to a skilled nursing home. The best-selling author, actor and presenter, 71, said that he did not want to experience the disconnection and loneliness felt by Tom Parfitt, his character in the new BBC thriller Remember Me.
“My mother never went into a home,” he said. “My mother-in-law, who is over 100, has not gone into a home. My father was in a home for a bit, and however enlightened the people and friendly the care, I just was aware that he had lost something. And I know that if I was taken away from my home to go and live somewhere else, even if I needed the treatment, a whole part of my life would have gone; my connection with the past and all the objects I’ve collected… Keeping people in their own home environment for as long as possible is really important.”
Discussing his character, who witnesses the mysterious death of a social worker, Palin said: “I suppose I looked at Tom and thought, ‘I’m not going to be like that’”…