Legendary TV interviewer Sir Michael Parkinson dead at 88

British broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson’s TV career spanned seven decades and included interviews with stars from the political, sport and entertainment worlds.

Sir Michael Parkinson, with Shane Warne, has passed away after a short illness.

Michael Parkinson, the ­British television host whose celebrity interviews captivated viewers in Australia and around the world, has died. He was 88.

Parkinson had interviewed some of the world’s most prominent figures over the course of his decorated career, including Muhammad Ali – nominated by Parkinson himself as his favourite interviewee – Shane Warne, John Lennon, Orson Welles, Tom Cruise and Elton John.

Kerry Packer and Parkinson on his TV show in 1979.

A BBC obituary noted that Parkinson had once described chat shows as “an unnatural act between consenting adults in public”.

“His interviews always ­adhered to his own rigorous journalistic standards and he was insistent that his guest, not himself, should be the star of the show,” the obituary said.

“He was at his best when he managed to winkle out sensitive details of a guest’s life without appearing prurient.”

Boxing great Muhammad Ali was one of the famed interviewer’s favourite sparring partners.

Parkinson’s family confirmed his death in a brief statement on Thursday night (AEST).

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

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

The son of a miner, Parkinson was born in South Yorkshire and was a talented cricketer before a stint of ­national service opened his eyes to the wider world and led him into journalism.

Legendary broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson has died at the age of 88.

Of the many incredible guests he interviewed over the years, he said boxer Muhammad Ali was his favourite.

Here's a clip from one of those memorable interviews from our @BBCArchivepic.twitter.com/3LaC7ckoBV

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 17, 2023

Singer Madonna on Parkinson’s show.

He started out as a newspaper journalist, working for the Guardian and the Daily Express, before being invited to audition for a new current affairs ­program. “Intending to go, purely so he could write a cynical ­newspaper piece on the upstart new ­medium, he was quickly swept up in what he referred to as the “theatrical excitement” of the television studio,” the obituary said.

That audition led to his eponymous talk show, which ran from 1971 to 2007.

With Dame Edna Everage at the recording of Parkinson's final chat show in the UK, in 2007.

According to the BBC, Parkinson later reflected that he had never thought of television as a career. “We had a contemptuous, bemused view of television at the Guardian in those days. We believed it would go away,” Parkinson once said.

His work included multiple series filmed in Australia, where his subjects included Bob Hawke, Dame Edna Everage and Olivia Newton-John.

BBC director-general Timothy Davie described Parkinson as the “king of the chat show”. 

“Michael was not only brilliant at asking questions, he was also a wonderful listener,” he said. “Michael was truly one of a kind, an incredible broadcaster and journalist who will be hugely missed.”

Legendary broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson has died aged 88. In a career spanning decades, he interviewed many of the world's biggest names. Back in 2019, #abc730's Leigh Sales turned the tables on the former chat show host. pic.twitter.com/hncfWcmuo7

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 17, 2023

In his final print interview, late last year with the UK Telegraph’s Oliver Brown, Sir Michael said the only guest he regretted not being able to talk to was Sir Donald Bradman.

Mr Brown said during his time with Sir Michael at his home in Bray, west of London, he was frail, but “also totally at peace with the process of ageing”.

“When we were taking a photo his manager was uneasy, but Sir Michael was perfectly fine about how he looked,” Mr Brown said.

Parkinson and his wife Mary at the London Palladium. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Brown said Sir Michael “lit up” when talking about cricket, with the subject matter ranging from the untimely death of Shane Warne to his idol, Keith Miller.

“It was striking that in more than 40 years of interviewing people, he never got an interview with Don Bradman, despite trying to do so when he was in Australia in the 1980s,’’ Mr Brown said.

“I also asked him about his home at Bray, which had lovely views of The Thames but he said choosing the house had nothing to do with the river, but everything to do with the picturesque village cricket pitch.”

Yorkshire County Cricket Club announced it will hold a minute’s silence before its game against Hampshire “to show our respects”.

Sir Michael, grew up in the village of Cudworth, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

He married his wife Mary in 1959. He had three sons and eight grandchildren.