Michael Palin has written and starred in numerous TV programmes and films, from Monty Python and Ripping Yarns to The Missionary and American Friends.

He has also made several much-acclaimed travel documentaries, his journeys taking him to the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, the Himalayas, Eastern Europe and Brazil. His books include accounts of his journeys, novels (Hemingway’s Chair and The Truth) and several volumes of diaries.

From 2009 to 2012 he was president of the Royal Geographical Society, and in 2013 he was made a BAFTA fellow. He lives in London.

Alan Lee is the racing correspondent of The Times. A critically acclaimed sports journalist, he also spent 12 years as that paper’s cricket correspondent and has written books with former England captains Tony Greig, David Gower, Keith Fletcher, Bob Willis and Graham Gooch, and ex-England coach David Lloyd. Horse racing, however, is his first love.