Sir Michael Parkinson obituary: A gentle Yorkshire accent and razor-sharp wit – the host that A-listers wanted to share their secrets with
A Barnsley-born lad, who through interviewing the world’s biggest stars, became a household name himself.
Sir Michael Parkinson’s illustrious career spanned five decades, during which he chatted to the likes of John Wayne, Fred Astaire, Orson Welles, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Muhammad Ali (four times), Bette Davis, Lauren Becall and Tommy Cooper.
More recent A-listers to grace his comfy chat show chairs included Tom Cruise, Madonna, and the Beckhams. His career saw him at the helm of more than 600 shows and 2,000 interviews.
‘Greatest interviewer of our time’ – reaction as Parky dies
Sir Michael and Muhammad Ali in 1979
Despite having talked to almost every celebrity worth their salt, he once described Frank Sinatra as “the one who got away” – having never got the chance to sit down with “Ol’ Blue Eyes”.
Known to many simply as “Parky”, his gentle Yorkshire accent, warm tone and razor-sharp mind combined to make him the host every celebrity wanted to share their secrets with – minus a few notable exceptions.
His 2003 interview with American actress Meg Ryan went down in history as one of the most awkward TV chat show moments of all time. When he asked the monosyllabic star what she would do in his place, she snapped: “Why not wrap it up?”
Ryan later compared the tone of his questions about her erotic thriller In The Cut – a departure from her more usual romcoms – to that of a “disapproving dad”.
Twenty years after the interview, Parkinson called it his “most difficult TV moment,” offering up an apology to the actress and admitting neither of them were on “top form”.
Actress Helen Mirren also famously called him out during his 1975 interview with her, when he asked the then 30-year-old star if her physical attributes had “hindered” her in her career. Parkinson later referred to it as just “good television”.
Another interviewee who gave as good as they got was Rod Hull’s Emu the following year, who wrestled Parkinson to the ground during their chat. Parkinson went on to jokingly bemoan the fact that despite a wealth of perfectly crafted interviews to his name, “I’ll probably be remembered for that bloody bird”. He was, in part, right.
Sir Michael Parkinson with Tom Cruise. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
From a family of miners
Sir Michael was born on 28 March 1935, in Cudworth, near Barnsley, in what was then the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Far from being born into showbiz, his father and grandfather before him were miners, and a young Parkinson left school with dreams of becoming a professional cricketer.
He once opened the batting for his local club alongside legendary cricketing umpire Dickie Bird, and underwent trials with Geoffrey Boycott.
But when a cricketing career didn’t work out, Parkinson turned to journalism, writing first for local newspapers before moving to London to work for the Daily Express.
Completing his national service in 1955, he was made a captain (the youngest in the British Army at the time) and saw active service in Egypt during the Suez Crisis.
Sir Michael with his wife Mary
After learning his trade in Fleet Street, he swapped print journalism for TV in the 1960s, first appearing on BBC nightly current affairs show Twenty-Four Hours, before fronting Granada’s late night film review show Cinema.
His hard work paid off, and in 1971 he was offered his own chat show – Parkinson – which ran until 1982.
Early in the show’s first run, when chatting to his interviewee Orson Welles ahead of filming, the director screwed up his list of carefully prepared questions. It was a moment Parkinson later cited as teaching him his craft, making him fully appreciate the art of giving his subjects space to talk.
Sir David Frost (centre) dishes out the champagne to Sir Michael, joined by (from left) Robert Kee, Angela Rippon and Anna Ford
A spooky Halloween trick
Sir Michael followed up his late-night chat with morning shifts, becoming one of the original TV-AM line-up in 1983, alongside Angela Rippon, Anna Ford, David Frost and Robert Kee.
Other TV credits include Parkinson One To One – with each show giving an in-depth chat with one celebrity, Give Us A Clue, and Going For A Song.
On Halloween night of 1992, he hosted controversial pseudo-documentary Ghostwatch, alongside presenters Sarah Greene and Mike Smith. The show garnered much press attention, with the BBC receiving tens of thousands of complaints from viewers unsure if the programme was real.
A music lover (he once called listening to music his “greatest joy in life,” adding, “I don’t know how people exist without [it]”), he presented Desert Island Discs from 1986 to 1989. He also presented a Sunday morning show on Radio 2 between 1996 and 2007, credited with bringing jazz to a more mainstream audience.
His eponymous BBC chat show was successfully revived in 1998, defecting to ITV in 2004 (due to a difference in opinion over scheduling), where it ran until 2007.
Sir Michael received a standing ovation after his final episode, later commenting that the conclusion of his show marked the end of “polite conversation”, citing more recent hosts – including Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton – as being more about the comedy than the chat, and their shows more a vehicle for the interviewer than their subject.
He went on to form his own production company, Parkinson Productions, along with his eldest son Michael Parkinson Jr.
In 2012, a Sky Arts show – Parkinson: Masterclass – saw Parkinson able to speak in depth with musicians and artists about their craft, with the show running for two years.
Sir Michael with George Best
‘I don’t see the point of him’
Never afraid to voice his opinions on fellow celebrities or the TV industry as a whole, Parkinson’s bluntness sometimes caused offence. His comments in a Radio Times article that the late Jade Goody represented “all that’s paltry and wretched about Britain today” led to criticism from the bishop who had married her.
The One Show (which he said was an example of the decline in TV), female comedians (not as funny as men) and Russell Brand (unfunny and creatively dull) were also on the receiving end of Parkinson’s sharp tongue, with him declaring of the latter: “I don’t see the point of him.”
However, he wasn’t afraid of a bit of celebrity stardust himself, popping up in a few surprising cameos, including the Christmas romcom Love Actually and the much-loved Australian soap Neighbours, when he bumped into Karl and Susan during their trip to London.
He also made a baffling appearance on the front cover of the 1973 Wings album Band On The Run, along with several other well-known figures and of course the band themselves.
Sir Michael wrote various books over the course of his career, including memoirs on Ali and footballer George Best, several sporting books centred around his love of cricket and golf, his family story in Like Father, Like Son and his 2009 autobiography Parky.
Like any self-respecting celebrity, he also wrote a series of children’s books – The Woofits – about a family of cuddly hat-loving dogs set in the fictional Yorkshire coal-mining village of Grimeworth, leading to a TV series which he narrated.
Sir Michael received his Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 2008
‘I have the best job in the world’
Knighted for services to broadcasting in 2008, following his CBE in 2000, Parkinson joked he was “not the type to get a knighthood,” adding, “they give it to anyone nowadays”.
As well as interviewing celebrities in a professional capacity, he also counted many as close personal friends, including chef Michel Roux and comedian Billy Connolly.
Sir Michael with Billy Connolly in 2016
Known as an interviewer, Parkinson admitted he actually enjoyed it when the tables were turned and he himself was interviewed.
A man who reached the top of his game, he recognised his own good fortune, saying: “I have the best job in the world and once you have a show named after yourself, where else do you go?”
A life-long lover of cricket, Parkinson described playing the sport as “compulsory” for anyone born in Yorkshire. Adopting golf in later life, he was eventually forced to give up the sport due to back troubles.
In 2013, Parkinson revealed he was being treated for prostate cancer, and in 2017 he underwent a serious back operation.
He leaves behind his wife of 64 years Mary, three sons – Michael Jr, Andrew and Nicholas – and eight grandchildren.
It has become almost impossible to book a driving test on the government website due to bots on the booking system, driving instructors have told Sky News.
The only official way to book a practical car driving test is through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website.
New test slots are released by the DVSA at 6am every Monday, but “no matter how fast I am, there’s nothing available”, said Aman Sanghera, a driving instructor based in west London.
Driving instructor Aman Sanghera wants ‘stronger oversight and regulation’ from the DVSA
When asked about the cause, she said: “All of the tests are taken by bots, they are definitely taking over the booking system.”
In this context, bots are automated software designed to mimic human behaviour and programmed to carry out actions like searching for and reserving driving test appointments on the official government website much faster than humans can.
Individuals and companies use bots to block-book driving test slots and then resell them at a profit, which is not illegal, although it is a violation of the DVSA’s terms of use.
Recent data shows the DVSA has closed over 800 business accounts for misuse of its booking service in the past two years.
It takes five months on average for a test in England – unless you pay a middleman
Ms Sanghera, who has been in the trade for over a decade, said the usage of bots started a few months ago “but is now getting out of hand”.
She said: “I’ve actually heard about driving instructors being approached by certain individuals to then take on their IDs to log in and to run this scam.
“I struggle to actually book a test for my students, which means that by the time my students are logging in, they’ve got no chance.”
Driving instructors can book driving tests on behalf of their pupils using a dedicated service, allowing them to bypass the general queue and potentially secure test slots more efficiently.
As a result, Ms Sanghera said students are “forced to go to third-party sites” to secure “the same test dates which are then available later on during the day at a premium rate of like £200-£300”.
She added: “Given that the DVSA is a government-regulated body, one would expect a more robust and fair system to ensure affordability and accessibility for all candidates.”
The long waiting lists and high demand for tests has led some to take advantage
The standard test fee is £62, offered by the DVSA, which is responsible for carrying out driving tests in Great Britain.
The biggest concern for the driving instructors Sky News has spoken to, including Ms Sanghera, is “the fact that students are being exploited”.
When Ahmed Ali struggled to find a practical test on the DVSA website, he turned to third-party sites – a decision he now regrets.
Ahmed Ali started looking for a test two years ago
He said: “I’ve spent about £650 on driving tests, and I’ve sat zero tests. I’ve given all this money to third-parties that look for cancellations so they could try to get you a faster test.”
But the 20-year-old said that despite making the payments, he “didn’t hear back from them again”, which is illegal.
“When you lose all that money, you get to a point where you can’t really afford to find another driving test,” he said.
“I just feel very frustrated because I’ve spent all this money, all this time into driving, and I haven’t sat a single driving test.”
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The DVSA urged applicants to only book tests via the official Gov.uk website and told Sky News it “deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly”.
“These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing,” it said.
From Tuesday, the DVSA will require learner drivers to provide 10 full working days’ notice to change or cancel their car driving test without losing the test fee, up from the current three days.
Also part of the DVSA’s crackdown to reduce waiting times is a consultation expected to launch in spring 2025 “to streamline the driving test booking process” and “tighten terms and conditions”.
The last blast furnaces left operating in Britain could see their fate sealed within days, after their Chinese owners took the decision to cut off the crucial supply of ingredients keeping them running.
Jingye, the owner of British Steel in Scunthorpe, has, according to union representatives, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
The upshot is that they may have to close next month – even sooner than the earliest date suggested for its closure.
Read more: Thousands of jobs at risk as British Steel consults unions over closure
The fate of the blast furnaces – the last two domestic sources of virgin steel, made from iron ore rather than recycled – is likely to be determined in a matter of days, with the Department for Business and Trade now actively pondering nationalisation.
The upshot is that even as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.
The talks between the government and Jingye broke down last week after the Chinese company, which bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, rejected a £500m offer of public money to replace the existing furnaces with electric arc furnaces.
The sum is the same one it offered to Tata Steel, which has shut down the other remaining UK blast furnaces in Port Talbot and is planning to build electric furnaces – which have far lower carbon emissions.
These steel workers could soon be out of work
However, the owners argue that the amount is too little to justify extra investment at Scunthorpe, and said last week they were now consulting on the date of shutting both the blast furnaces and the attached steelworks.
Since British Steel is the main provider of steel rails to Network Rail – as well as other construction steels available from only a few sites in the world – the closure would leave the UK more reliant on imports for critical infrastructure sites.
However, since the site belongs to its Chinese owners, a decision to nationalise the site would involve radical steps government officials are wary of taking.
They also fear leaving taxpayers exposed to a potentially loss-making business for the long run.
The dilemma has been heightened by the sharp turn in geopolitical sentiment following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The incipient trade war and threatened cut in American support to Europe have sparked fresh calls for countries to act urgently to secure their own supplies of critical materials, especially those used for defence and infrastructure.
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Gareth Stace, head of UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said: “Talks seem to have broken down between government and British Steel.
“My advice to government is: please, Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, get back round that negotiating table, thrash out a deal, and if a deal can’t be found in the next few days, then I fear for the very future of the sector, but also here for Scunthorpe steelworks.”
British Steel declined to comment.
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