Broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson has died at the age of 88.
His agent said he died peacefully at home in the company of his family on Wednesday night, following a brief illness.
Sir Michael, a former journalist, was one of British television’s most famous faces through his talk show Parkinson, which initially ran on the BBC from 1971 to 1982. He relaunched the show in 1998 before it moved to ITV in 2004, remaining on air until he retired the programme in 2007.
Over more than 800 episodes, the TV host affectionately known as Parky interviewed some of the world’s most high-profile figures – including Muhammad Ali, Sir Elton John, Tom Cruise, Helen Mirren and George Michael – and helped make comedian Sir Billy Connolly a household name.
He was also famously attacked by Emu when the puppet appeared on the chat show sofa next to Rod Hull, and wrestled him to the ground. The star would often joke that he would always be remembered for “that bloody bird”.
Image: Pictured with football legend George Best, and below with Muhammad Ali in 1979
BBC to friends and interviewees – celebrities pay tribute
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.”
Image: Sir Michael received his Knighthood from the Queen at Buckingham Palace
Image: Pictured with the late Cilla Black
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, BBC broadcaster Nick Robinson said: “He was the greatest interviewer of our age who owned Saturday night TV for year after year.”
Meanwhile, former BBC News anchor Simon McCoy posted: “Simply the Best. Anyone who was anyone was interviewed by him. What an amazing career he had. Thoughts with his family.”
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Comedian Stephen Fry described being interviewed by Sir Michael as “impossibly thrilling” as he shared his memories.
“The genius of Parky was that (unlike most people… and most of his guests, me included) he was always 100% himself,” he wrote on Instagram. “On camera and off. ‘Authentic’ is the word I suppose.
“For one of the shows I was on with Robin Williams, a genius of unimaginable comic speed and brilliance. Now they’re both gone. One should get used to the parade of people constantly falling off the edge, but frankly one doesn’t. So long #parky.”
‘The coolest thing I ever saw pre-show’
BAFTA and Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser also shared tributes, with Ms Fraser describing the star as a “broadcasting giant who set a gold standard for the television interview”.
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Comedian Eddie Izzard remembered Sir Michael as the “king of the intelligent interview”, while British singer and actress Elaine Paige described him as “legendary”.
Sharing a picture of the pair on X, she wrote: “Such very sad breaking news that Sir Michael Parkinson has died. Have known him for many years, sang on his TV chat show & attended many events with him.
“A legendary interviewer that will be remembered as the best of his profession. We will never see his like again.”
Image: On Give Us A Clue with Liza Goddard and Lionel Blair
Comedian Dara O Briain shared a story of Sir Michael doing “the coolest thing I ever saw pre-show” during one of his three appearances on the “proper showbiz” programme.
“I was standing with the guests, waiting for the show to start,” O Briain wrote. “Michael arrived, chatted away to us, not a nerve in sight, when the band started playing the theme tune. Michael paused, smiled and said ‘They’re playing my tune’ and walked straight out and started the show. Lovely.”
Comedian and actor Matt Lucas also shared a tribute, remembering Sir Michael as “a titan” of television.
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Broadcaster and author Gyles Brandreth described the broadcaster as “one of my heroes”, saying it was a privilege to have known and worked with him.
“They were chat shows, of course – but they were mjuch (sic) more than that: they were truly engaging conversations that brought out the best in his guests,” he said.
“And what an array of guests. ‘Parky’ was one of my heroes – and a lovely guy. A privilege to have known and worked with him.”
Minute’s silence at cricket match
The world of sport also mourned Sir Michael’s death, with Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Barnsley FC both sharing tributes.
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Sir Michael was a lifelong fan of cricket, with his childhood dreams of playing for Yorkshire dashed when he left school aged 16 and instead began working at a local paper.
The cricket club announced a minute’s silence before play on Thursday, while Barnsley FC said the club had “lost one of its favourite sons”.
Monty Python star Eric Idle, who was interviewed by the TV host in 1982, wrote on X: “Farewell Parky. A great Yorkshireman and cricket fan and a lovely interviewer to be with.”
Life before TV – and how he rose to fame
Image: Michael Parkinson and Dame Helen Mirren
Sir Michael was an only child who grew up in a council house in the coal mining village of Cudworth, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. His father was a miner, and would take his son down the pit when he was a teenager to put him off working there.
After leaving school, he went on to work at a local paper, later joining the Manchester Guardian and then the Daily Express.
He got his break in TV as a producer at Granada, moving to Thames TV before landing his chat show Parkinson at the BBC.
He also 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.
On the radio, he hosted Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 as well as his own sports shows on Five Live.
Image: Hosting David Attenborough. Pic: Ken McKay/Shutterstock
The star received an honorary doctorate in 2008, alongside cricket umpire and his good friend Dickie Bird, at the Barnsley campus of Huddersfield University.
He was also knighted by the late Queen at Buckingham Palace that same year, and said of the accolade: “I never expected to be knighted – I thought there was more chance of me turning into a Martian really.”
In 2013, Sir Michael revealed he was being treated for prostate cancer – but said he had no intention of stopping working.
He had three sons with wife Mary, who he married in 1959.
Combs, 55, was one of the most influential hip-hop producers of the 1990s and 2000s, the founder of Bad Boy Records and a Grammy-winning artist in his own right.
Now, he faces up to 20 years in jail – although his defence team is arguing for much less.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of his sentencing.
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How the Diddy trial unfolded
What is transportation to engage in prostitution?
During the trial, the court heard details of sexual encounters called “freak offs” by Combs – also referred to as “hotel nights” – which involved his girlfriends and male sex workers.
The rapper would “orchestrate” these encounters between the women and the sex workers, while he watched. Sometimes, these sessions would take place in different states across the US, as well as abroad, and Combs would pay for the sex workers and the women to travel.
He was found guilty of two charges – one relating to sex workers he paid for while in a relationship with singer and model Cassie Ventura, and another relating to sex workers who took part in sessions with Jane*, a woman he was later in a relationship with who was not identified during the trial.
The charges fall under America’s Mann Act, which prohibits interstate commerce related to prostitution.
What about the other charges?
Image: Combs fell to his knees when the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
Combs was found not guilty of two counts of sex-trafficking, relating to both Cassie and Jane, and one count of racketeering conspiracy.
This means while jurors believed Combs broke the law over using sex workers, they did not find the sexual encounters involving the women were non-consensual, which is what prosecutors had argued.
Both Cassie and Jane gave evidence, telling the court they felt manipulated and coerced, and sometimes blackmailed, into taking part in the freak offs during their relationships with the rapper. However, defence lawyers argued these were consensual encounters and part of a “swingers lifestyle”.
“The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily,” defence lawyers said in legal submissions after the verdict. “The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted during the freak offs or hotel nights.”
Image: Brian Steel is among the lawyers on Combs’s defence team. Pic: Reuters
What is racketeering?
Racketeering broadly means engaging in an illegal scheme or enterprise, and the charge falls under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) in the US. According to the US justice department’s definition of RICO statute, it is also illegal to “conspire to violate” the laws.
Prosecutors alleged Combs led a racketeering conspiracy “that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes”. However, jurors also cleared him of this charge.
Had he been found guilty of the more serious charges, he could have faced life in prison.
Image: Cassie Ventura gave evidence during the trial. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
Will Combs be jailed for 20 years?
Each charge of transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, so in theory he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
However, it is thought his sentence will be less than this. Following the verdict, prosecutors said he should be sentenced to at least four to five years.
The music mogul has been denied bail several times since his arrest and again since the trial.
Image: Combs and Cassie at the 2017 Met Gala. Pic: zz/XPX/STAR MAX/IPx 2017/AP
What do his lawyers say?
Following the trial verdict, both prosecutors and the defence team have made arguments to the judge about sentencing.
Before this, they called for Combs to be acquitted or for a retrial on the prostitution-related charges. The US government “painted him as a monster”, they said, but argued his two-month trial showed the allegations were “not supported by credible evidence”.
The rapper’s lawyers have argued that, to their knowledge, he is “the only person” ever convicted of the Mann Act charges for the conduct he was accused of in court.
What has the judge said?
Image: US District Judge Arun Subramanian heard the trial and will sentence Combs. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
Judge Arun Subramanian, who presided over the trial, will decide Combs’s fate.
He has previously decided several times not to grant bail, saying the hip-hop mogul’s team have failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also citing admissions of previous violence made during the trial.
During her opening statement, Teny Geragos, who is on Combs’s defence team, described him as “a complicated man” and conceded he could be violent. However, she argued, this was not the charge against him.
Will Combs try to revive his career after ‘unspeakable shame’?
Image: Diddy performing at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2023. Pic: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Despite being convicted of the prostitution-related charges, his lawyers hailed the verdict a “victory”, given he was cleared of the more serious allegations. In interviews since, they have said he is planning a return to music with a New York gig.
However, in legal submissions, they have also said the trial brought Combs “unspeakable shame and monumental adverse consequences” and that his “legacy has been destroyed”.
After allegations against him were made public, Combs was removed from the boards at three charter schools he created in Harlem, the Bronx and Connecticut and was also stripped of an honorary doctorate degree from Howard University, which plans to return his prior donations, they said.
He was also forced to return the key to the city of New York that was previously presented to him by the mayor, and his career has “collapsed”.
As well as this case, he is also still facing several civil lawsuits – and has “mounting legal bills” from defending these and the criminal charges, his lawyers have said.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show will return to ABC affiliates belonging to Sinclair and Nexstar after the two major network operators took his programme off-air over his comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Kimmel was accused of being “offensive and insensitive” after using his programme, Jimmy Kimmel Live, to accuse Donald Trump and his allies of capitalising on the killing.
Disney-owned ABC suspended the show last week following threats of potential repercussions from the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Communications Commission.
Sinclair, which controls 38 ABC affiliates from Seattle to Washington DC, called on Kimmel to apologise to Mr Kirk’s family over the comments and asked him to “make a meaningful personal donation” to Turning Point USA, the nonprofit that the conservative activist founded.
Image: Actor Gregg Donovan holds a sign that says “Welcome Back Jimmy”. Pic: AP
On Tuesday, Disney announced the return of the programme after backlash to its suspension, but both Sinclair and Nexstar, which own more than 20% of ABC affiliates, initially said they would not resume airing the show.
Kimmel criticised the ABC affiliates who preempted his show during his TV return, saying: “That’s not legal. That’s not American. It’s un-American.”
Three days later, the two major network operators announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live would return to their TV stations after the week-long boycott.
More on Jimmy Kimmel
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The move came after Sinclair received “thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers and community leaders”.
In its statement, the company pointed to its “responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honouring our obligations to air national network programming.”
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Protests held outside company buildings in support of Kimmel
Nexstar, which controls 28 ABC affiliates from Kansas to New Orleans, said in a similar statement that it was airing content that is “in the best interest of the communities we serve”.
Both companies said their decisions were not affected by influence from the Trump administration or anyone else.
The president had criticised the programme’s return on Tuesday, writing on Truth Social that he “can’t believe” ABC gave Kimmel his show back and hinted at further action.
“Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,” Mr Trump wrote.
“He is yet another arm of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this.”
Image: Donald Trump criticised the return of Kimmel’s show. Pic: Reuters
During Kimmel’s first show since being taken off-air, the presenter said it was “never my intention to make light of” Mr Kirk’s death.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” he said as he choked up.
“Nor was it my intention to blame any specific group for the actions of what was obviously a deeply disturbed individual. That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make”.
Speaking on Tuesday night’s show, Kimmel said he understood why the remarks “felt either ill-timed or unclear, or maybe both”.
New episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live air Monday to Thursday, and Friday night’s rerun will be of Tuesday’s show, meaning viewers of Sinclair stations will be able to watch Kimmel’s emotional return to the air.
The Prince of Wales has told Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy that 2024 was the “hardest year” of his life.
The future king told the Hollywood star about last year, which saw his wife, the Princess of Wales, and his father, the King, both undergoing treatment for cancer.
The pair were catching up over a pint in a pub as part of Apple TV+ series The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy, which will air next month.
Image: The Prince of Wales and Eugene Levy in a pub in Windsor. Pic: PA
In the episode Living The Royal Life In The UK, William tells Levy: “I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had.
“Life is said to test us as well and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.”
Image: Eugene Levy and the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA
The preview of the episode also saw Levy invited to “pop down” to Windsor Castle for a private tour by the prince.
Levy, 78, can be seen reading out an invitation saying: “I heard that your travels have brought you to the UK and I wondered if you might like to see Windsor Castle?
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“If you’re free at 10 tomorrow, why don’t you pop down to the Castle for a private tour.
After touring the castle, Levy asks William what he does when he is at home, and the prince laughs and replies: “Sleep. When you have three small children, sleep is an important part of my life.”
New episodes of The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy will premiere weekly until the finale on 31 October 2025.
The special episode with William will air on 3 October.