FOLLOWING his series about China and India, Paul Merton has been casting his eye on some of our European neighbours in this 2CD release.

The recent six-part Channel Five series took out intrepid explorer to Germany, Ireland, Italy, France and Spain; only to find that there is more there than meets the eye.

For instance, in Germany, he finds a family who make their living from making wooden sex aids, has a bath in beer and after watching a game of chess boxing, spends the night in a prison cell..

In Ireland, he visits a town in which half the population are Brazilian and Italy is still a mystery to him as he struggles with unreliable guides and the simple fact that he doesn’t speak Italian.

France proves that it’s not just England that has the eccentrics as there are show-jumpers who actually perform without the horses; and the artist Monsieur Ehrmann and his Abode of Chaos is just too bizarre for words.

On his journey through Spain, he becomes part of a 200-person strong human tower and discovers bullfighters who leap over the charging animals.

And it is in Spain that the series ends, albeit on an incongruously serious note as he makes an emotional visit to a mass grave where victims of the Spanish Civil War were buried.

On the whole, it’s like a bizarre Michael Palin.

Thoroughly entertaining as the bemused Merton sees Europe at it’s most bizarre.

2 Entertain. 2EDVD0481.