UK talk show host Sir Michael Parkinson has died, aged 88

UK chat show host and broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson has died at the age of 88.

The former journalist hosted the talk show Parkinson, which initially ran on the BBC from 1971 to 1982.

He relaunched the show on the BBC in 1998 before it moved to ITV in 2004. The final series of the programme appeared in 2007.

In a statement released to the BBC, his family said:

“After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family.

“The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve.”

As tributes were shared following the announcement of his death, many remembered him as "the king of the chat show".

Director-general of the BBC Tim Davie said in a statement:

"Michael was the king of the chat show and he defined the format for all the presenters and shows that followed.

"He interviewed the biggest stars of the 20th century and did so in a way that enthralled the public. Michael was not only brilliant at asking questions, he was also a wonderful listener.

"Michael was truly one of a kind, an incredible broadcaster and journalist who will be hugely missed."

Sir Michael interviewed some of the most well-known people in the world over the course of more than 800 episodes, including Muhammad Ali, Sir Elton John, and George Michael. He also helped establish Sir Billy Connolly as a household celebrity.

During the hundreds of episodes of his talk show, he also interviewed stars including David Bowie, John Lennon and Celine Dion.

Headline-making interviews throughout his career included those with actresses Dame Helen Mirren and US star Meg Ryan.

 He famously introduced stage and screen star Dame Helen as the “sex queen” of the Royal Shakespeare Company during their 1975 chat show encounter and asked if her “equipment” hindered her from being recognised as a serious actress.

In 2003, his interview with Ryan made headlines following a frosty one-on-one with the Hollywood actress while she was promoting the poorly received erotic thriller In The Cut.

Ryan sat stony-faced for the sit-down, delivering one-word answers after allegedly being rude to her fellow guests on the show, the fashion double act Trinny and Susannah.

Sir Michael revealed he had prostate cancer in 2013 but insisted he had no plans to cease working.

 Footballer George Best, right, and Michael Parkinson. Photo / Getty Images

Additionally, he endured 11 years of back pain, which necessitated spinal surgery in 2017.

From 2012 to 2014, Parkinson, who couldn’t fully let go of his role as an interviewer, hosted a series on Sky Arts called Michael Parkinson: Masterclass with guests like Jamie Cullum, Michael Morpurgo, Carlos Acosta, and Lang Lang.

Although Parkinson didn’t have his own show, he continued to appear often on television as a popular guest on shows including This Morning, Loose Women, The Graham Norton Show, and Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.

Before his TV career, he started life as an only child, growing up in a council house in the coal mining village of Cudworth, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

As a teenager, his father, a miner, took him down the pit to put him off working there. When his dreams of playing cricket for Yorkshire were dashed, he left school aged 16 and began working at a local paper, later joining the Manchester Guardian and then the Daily Express.

His first TV job was as a producer at Granada, and he later moved to Thames TV, before landing his chat show Parkinson at the BBC.

He had a short-lived term at TV-am as part of the original presenting line-up alongside the likes of Angela Rippon and David Frost and appeared on the shows Give Us A Clue, one-off drama Ghostwatch and Going For A Song.

Sir Michael brought down the curtain on more than 30 years of his chat show at the end of 2007 with a final show featuring Beckham, Sir Michael Caine, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Edna Everage, Sir Billy Connolly, Peter Kay and Jamie Cullum in a two-hour special.

Speaking on the final show, he said:

“Over the years it has been a privilege to meet some of the most intelligent and interesting people. It has always been a great joy and I shall miss it.”

As well as his television career, he was a respected radio broadcaster, having hosted Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 as well as his own sports shows on Five Live. He was also an award-winning sports writer, having been a lifelong cricket fan.

He received an honorary doctorate in 2008, alongside cricket umpire and his good friend Dickie Bird, at the Barnsley campus of Huddersfield University.

He was knighted by the late Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2008, and said of the accolade:

“I never expected to be knighted - I thought there was more chance of me turning into a Martian really.”

Sir Michael revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013 and was given the all-clear after two years of treatment including radiotherapy.

He is survived by his wife Mary, who he married in 1959, and their three sons Michael, Andrew and Nicholas.

- Daily Telegraph UK republished here with permission and edits