Karl Pilkington back on his travels

Ricky Gervais' much-mocked sidekick Karl Pilkington is returning to televison to do "stuff a lot of people want to do before they die".

The Office star sent Pilkington around the globe last year to see the seven wonders of the world as an "expensive practical joke" that was filmed for Sky 1's show An Idiot Abroad.

Pilkington, who became a cult hit after appearing in a series of podcasts with Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant where they poked fun at him for his odd views on life, told Richard Bacon's Radio 5 Live show he would be off again later this year.

He said: "It's travelling again and doing stuff a lot of people want to do before they die."

But he admitted he was not sure of the appeal of the show, reportedly to be called an An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List.

He said: "I don't get the concept. It's that thing of if you're dying are you in the mood to do anything?"

Pilkington, who admits to not liking travel, endured various trials during the first show including being set on fire while having a massage and being force-fed toad by a Chinese cook.

But he said he appreciated his travels more now.
He said: "It's like olives. I never used to like olives so someone said have four in a row and I got a taste for it."

Pilkington, often pilloried by Gervais and Merchant for "having a head like an orange", is described by Gervais as "a global village idiot, but the funniest man alive".