#will palin

Having a famous father has good and bad effects, says Will Palin, who sometimes denies any connection with the Monty Python star – to avoid embarrassment for the questioner and halt long conversations when he is in a hurry.

“Michael’s been fantastic,” he says. “To have a father who leaves it totally open for his children to decide what they do with their lives is quite amazing, quite brave, because we could have made all sorts of terrible decisions.

“He has trusted us to end up on our feet. And it has worked out for all three of us. Yes, he’s still funny, even silly, but it’s a cliché really. When you live with Michael he’s your father, you don’t see him as a funny man. He’s been a great father, no question about that, a man interested in people and other things, who has never been driven by money. He’s been lucky enough to do the things he loves – and make money from them.”

Will recalls listening to a talk on what makes a great writer by the late Hampstead novelist John Fowles.

“He said that if any of you want to be a successful writer, the first thing you have got to do is F*** your parents, get them out of your head. You can’t write for them. You’ve got to be yourself.