According to the late chat-show legend’s son, Michael Parkinson never got over his imposter syndrome. Not when he interviewed David Bowie, nor Lauren Bacall, nor even Posh and Becks. Parky was so famous that he eventually became part of the household furniture in this country, a man who seemed – if based on some of his more contentious interviews – more overconfident than racked with insecurity. Would someone who casually chatted with Muhammad Ali really have a nagging feeling that he didn’t quite belong? Apparently, yes.
“He was always acutely aware that he was with people that he felt were brighter than him, were more educated than him,” his son Mike told BBC Radio 4, following his death at the age of 88 earlier this month. “He was a man who was constantly questioning himself and didn’t have as much self-confidence as he appeared to have on television.”
