Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant sent their friend (and favourite source of mirth), Karl Pilkington, on an uncomfortable trip around the world - we caught up with them to find out why...
Note: The following is an excerpt of an article from the September 2010 issue of Sky Magazine. Check your issue for the complete, unedited chat!
SKY MAG: Lads, why did you think Karl's travel horizons needed broadening?
Stephen: In the past Karl has kept a diary of his trips to various holiday destinations, all of which have been insanely dull – unbearable detail about how he saw a fat bloke in the pool or went for a walk around a car park or something.
Ricky: You have to understand, this is a man who looks forward to a cup of tea and a biscuit. When him and his girlfriend go away for a weekend, they potter around, play Scrabble at night and sit in cafes with old people. He's looking forward to being old.
SKY MAG: Karl, how did you feel when Ricky and Stephen suggested the trip?
Karl: I didn't want to do it. I knew they'd have things in store for me. I think Steve's heart was in the right place, he thinks travel broadens the mind – whereas with Ricky it's just a wind-up most of the time... And then I found out about all the injections – there were about nine. Rabies – fair enough. Tetanus – fine. Then there was one in case I got bitten by a dirty chimp. I was like, 'Hang on, where am I going?!'
SKY MAG: What was the worst thing they made you do, Karl?
Karl: In Mexico, they told me to go to this event where you stick fireworks on your head and run down the street. I was like, 'I'm not doing it, it's dangerous this...'
Ricky: (Laughing) And we made him try Mexican wrestling. He didn't realize how unfit he was! But he really did go for it. He did his challenge – he wasn't going to give us the satisfaction of seeing him fail.
SKY MAG: And what about the food?
Stephen: He didn't enjoy being forced to eat toad in China. He was obsessed with toad, because he was terrified that he might get a taste for toad and then he wouldn't be able to get hold of toad when he was back in the UK.
Ricky: And he had to eat bull penis in Egypt. He didn't know what it was and he was saying things like 'Mmm, chewy,' and 'Oh, I recognize this, I've tasted this before.' I burst out laughing when I heard that.
Karl: After the first trip I took loads of Monster Munch with me, thinking that would get me through it all. But I found I was reaching for a bag every time I was fed up, to the point that I'm sick of them now. So they say travel broadens the mind, but actually all it's done is killed something I used to enjoy.
Read the complete interview – complete with Karl's musings on the most impressive of the Seven Wonders, the misery of experiencing some gastro-intestinal discomfort in Peru, and getting stuck on a camel for eight hours straight – in the September issue of Sky Magazine!
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